Guilt in Great Expectations Bernice Zarb 12th Grade

Guilt represents an important aspect of Pip’s life throughout the novel. The bildungsroman that transforms the innocent boy to a decadent gentleman, then into a truly noble gentleman, shows how such negative ideals resulting into misery can be atoned for through redemption. Thus, after all of Pip’s wrongdoings, he is forgiven by the man he hurt the most, Joe, in saying “God knows as I forgive you,”.

Guilt is seen throughout the whole novel. As a young boy, Pip is made to feel guilty by his sister Mrs Joe. He was brought up “by hand”, thus suffering under Mrs Joe’s techniques of education such as the “tickler” and tar-water. Him and Joe were “fellow sufferers” and while he was made to feel guilty for even existing, as he was a burden on his sister, she also lashed out on Joe whilst “I sat at the corner, looking guiltily on.” Thus, Pip had the guilt beaten up in him, leaving him with little compassion towards his sister. However, Pip's internalization of guilt is expressed in his reaction to the assault on his sister, leaving him with a “shock of regret”. Through the intertextual reference to the ‘Tragedy of George Barnwell’, Pip identifies himself with the murder as he describes the murderous apprentice's actions as his own,...