ided him as a blacksmith. It isnt until Magwitch is dying that Pip learns that friends are more important than wealth or position. Pip was with Joe, holding his hand (431) when he finally learns to appreciate Joe for the all that he is. Pip shows his appreciation to Joe when he kissed his hand (432) and helped him write a letter to Biddy. Dickens wants the reader to see Pips actions as an act of reverence and of change. Pip has come full circle in his life and is able to accept Joe and himself.Dickens thought it was important to receive a good education so it comes as no surprise to the reader that his main character Pip also shares this belief. Pips education as a child comes from an unlikely source. He is raised and educated by his sister and brother-in-law. Dickens never gives Pips sister a name other than Mrs. Joe Gargery. Instead, he uses the imagery of the word hand when he repeats over and over again the fact that she has brought Pip up by hand (G.E. 6). This fact makes the reader believe that her identity is unimportant, whereas her actions are what defines who she is. In an article called Charles Dickenss Great Expectations and the Probable Source of the Expression Brought Up By Hand, C.J.P. Beatty finds that the expression brought up by hand comes from a study on children who were bottle fed rather than breast fed. According to Beatty, this information could likely have been, used in the Dickens family for one generation of infants, or possibly two, since it was apparently available and much read, well into Charles Dickenss own lifetime (315). We know that Pip wasnt breast fed because his parents died when he was merely an infant. However, the reader can find more significance in Dickens descriptions of Mrs. Joe having a hard and heavy hand (6) and beating her hands upon her bosom (106). Dickens uses Mrs. Joes hands to show that she is a physical character and not an emotional character. William Cohen states ...
