story as the spot where the reader loses sympathy and warmth for Pip. (In fact, the adult Pip would be plainly disliked by readers, were it not for how Dickens gives us occasional glimpses of the childhood Pip and proofs that this Pip actually is still in possession of a conscience.)Later that week, he told Joe that I felt very miserable, and that I hadn't been able to explain myself to Mrs. Joe and Pumblechook who were so rude to me, and that there had been a beautiful young lady at Miss Havisham's who was dreadfully proud, and that she had said I was common, and that I knew I was common, and that I wished I was not common, and that the lies had come of it somehow, though I didn't know how. This single sentence is a direct proof of his change: in the beginning of the book, he was almost incapable of telling a lie and, even when he succeeded, felt awfully guilty for a long time afterwards. But now, after making acquaintance with Miss Havisham and Estella, the lies came to him naturally, just flowing out of his mouth.Not long after this event, well on his road to being a gentleman, Pip discovers that, wherever hes gotten himself to now, this is not where his happiness lies.It is a most miserable thing to feel ashamed of home. There may be black ingratitude in the thing, and the punishment may be retributive and well deserved; but, that it is a miserable thing, I can testify.Estella is an enormous factor that ultimately leads Pip to his obnoxious and contemptible behavior later on in the novel; it is for her love that he is willing to wrench himself away from those who actually love him, all for a girl who didnt even take the time to learn his monosyllabic name. Another major influence on the impressionable young boy is Miss Havisham herself, a severely heartbroken, man-hating old woman surrounded by misery and bitterness, an emotional cripple. Combined, these two women slowly change Pip and wear down his innocence. Every encounter that...
