The landed property owners use Joe to repair farming implements. Even the soldiers from the prison ship need Joe to repair the manacles before they resume their search. Joe’s occupation is certainly important and useful in his society although he enjoys no special significance or lofty stature in the community. Joe labors daily in a tedious manner right at his home thus making his jaunts to the Jolly Bargemen all the more pleasurable.In contrast to Joe Gargery’s trade is the position of John Wemmick who serves as Jaggers’ clerk in the law office. Wemmick commutes to work each day, handles all the clerical duties in the office such as record keeping and screening Jaggers’ clients, and then returns home each evening to a charming abode which he lovingly calls his castle. Wemmick is able to make work and home life two very distinct experiences unlike Joe who toils in the same place he lives. Wemmick also enjoys a certain notoriety since clients and potential clients of Jaggers view him as a direct link to the prominent lawyer. While Joe works with his hands, Wemmick works with his mind. Each has his pleasures in life, and each is a major influence on Pip in the novel.Dickens takes the world of work one step further with his inclusion of Jaggers in Great Expectations. Jaggers is certainly the most successful character in the novel in terms of an occupation. He is a lawyer, a paid confidante and advisor, and a manipulator who can successfully defend seemingly guilty clients through cunning and guile. Dickens makes it quite clear that Jaggers performs no task without just compensation. Jaggers is a professional who can pick and choose his clients unlike Joe and Wemmick who are both subservient either to the public or to an employer. Jaggers’ only allegiance is to his clients or rather the fees his clients pay for the benefit of his judicial brilliance. In stark contrast to Joe and Wemmick, however, Jaggers has n...
