Great Expectations

Pip’s sister guilts Pip about what a burden he is to her, constantly claiming she brought him up “by hand.” Contrary to her lofty self-perception, however, Pip’s sister is a rough-mannered woman who frequently beats him using a can, which she calls a “tickler.” When Pip arrives back at the house, Joe warns him that his sister is in a rage. Joe is Pip’s comrade in physical and emotional suffering at Mrs. Joe’s hands, and he tries to protect Pip from her.

At dinner, Pip’s sister cuts and butters bread for the three of them. Pip manages to swiftly sneak his slice down his pants for the convict, which is a difficult task because Joe usually watches him eat as sign of camaraderie. Noticing the sudden disappearance of Pip’s bread, Joe worries that he hasn’t chewed his food enough. As a punishment, Pip’s sister demands that Pip take a dose of bitter medicine and forces Joe to take some as well.

While stirring the Christmas pudding, Pip hears shots firing from a distance. Joe and his wife explain that a convict is on the loose and the prison ships are firing warning shots. Hearing about the convicts makes Pip feel even more anxious and guilty about stealing from his sister.

The next morning, Pip wakes early and steals whatever food he can carry from the pantry, including bread, cheese, brandy, and a Christmas pie. He also steals a file from Joe’s forge. With the promised goods in his arms, Pip runs off to meet the convict at the old Battery.

Pip heads to the Battery with a sense of foreboding. On the way, he sees another escaped convict. The young man tries to grab Pip, but he runs away just in time.

At the Battery, Pip finds the convict from the night before. The man looks very cold and hungry. Pip gives him the file, the food, and the brandy, and watches as the man eats and drinks ravenously. Pip feels pity for him and tells him he’s glad he enjoys the food. Pip remarks that there will be no food left for the other young convict he saw on his way to the Battery. As Pip describes the young man, the convict becomes frantic to file off his leg iron, working furiously as his leg bleeds. He asks Pip which direction he saw the other man, clearly desperate to find him.

Afraid that his sister will notice his absence, Pip heads back home. As he runs, he can still hear the file scraping furiously. 

Back at home, Pip’s family hosts Christmas dinner with the bombastic local clergyman Mr. Wopsle, the wheelwright Mr. Hubble, Mrs. Hubble, and Joe’s Uncle Pumblechook. Uncle Pumblechook is given to dramatic flourishes and is a comparatively wealthy chandler, or candle maker, from a neighboring town. At dinner, Uncle Pumblechook waxes absurdly about the kindness of Pip’s sister and the ingratitude of young people, advising Pip to be grateful. Pip feels uncomfortable amidst this self-righteous grown-up conversation.

Pip worries that the guests will notice the brandy is weak and discover that he gave some to the mysterious man and filled the rest of the bottle with tar water. Pumblechook drinks the brandy and begins to cough, exclaiming, “Tar!” His sister wonders how tar came to be in the brandy, but Pumblechook dismisses the matter.

Pip’s sister then goes to fetch the Christmas pie that Pip has also stolen, and he flees the house guiltily. He runs into a party of musket-bearing soldiers. Pip notices that one of the soldiers holds a pair of handcuffs, and he is terrified that they have come to arrest him for stealing.

The soldiers come into the Gargery’s kitchen, and the sergeant announces he’s looking for the blacksmith, as he needs Joe to repair the lock of a handcuff. Joe says the job will take two hours, so the soldiers crowd around to wait at the kitchen table. As the adults drink wine together, Pip wonders about the fugitive. Joe repairs the cuff and the soldiers invite the men to search for the escaped convicts alongside them. Wopsle agrees to join, and Joe and Pip feel obligated to tag along, though Pip hopes they don’t find the convicts.

The sergeant finds both convicts fighting in a ditch. The older convict Pip knows offers the other convict up to the soldiers. The other convict tells the guards that Pip’s convict tried to murder him. The sergeant orders the soldiers to light their torches. With the new light, Pip’s convict notices Pip for the first time. He gazes at him intensely. Together, the group marches back toward the ship. Before leaving, the convict tells the sergeant he stole some food from the blacksmith. He apologizes to Joe for eating his pie, and Joe says he wouldn’t want him to starve. Joe also significantly calls Pip by his name in the convict’s hearing. 

Pip struggles with feelings of guilt. He wants to tell Joe the full truth, but he fears that Joe would think poorly of him. He can’t bear the idea of losing Joe’s good favor.

Joe carries the sleepy Pip on his back until they reach the house. The guests are still there, and Pip hears Joe telling them about the convict’s confession. Everyone at the party has a different theory about how the convict snuck into the pantry. Pip falls asleep to the sounds of their chattering.