To what extent is Joe’s influence a help or a hindrance to Pip’s :: Free Essay Writer

To what extent is Joe’s influence a help or a hindrance to Pip’s development? In Great Expectations, the character of Joe is portrayed upon the reader as the comical but also sensitive grown-up figure towards Pip. Much of Joe’s upbringing was simple. As a result he lacks the intelligence to question the moral values that he was taught as a child. â€Å"There’s one thing you may be sure of Pip, said Joe, after some rumination, namely that lies is lies. How sever they come, they didn’t ought to come, and they come from the father of lies, and work round to the same. Don’t you tell no more of ‘em Pip† Due to this he does not have the same moral dilemmas that most people have. Joe’s innocence is then passed onto Pip who is the closet thing to a son that he will ever have. This innocence that Joe aspires can be considered a good thing, which aids Pip’s moral development, but it can also be considered a hindrance to Pip’s personal growth and his self-esteem. In a way, much of the story comes across with Joe acting more like a child with Pip than a father. â€Å"I always treated him as a larger species of child, and as no more than my equal.† Because of Pip’s lack of proper parents when he was young and Joe’s lack of love from Mrs Joe Gargery, the two of them form a strong bond with each other as both of them share the same treatment by Mrs Joe Gargery. â€Å"Joe and I being fellow sufferers and having confidences as such, Joe imparted a confidence to me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  As a result of this bond Joe’s personality is then somehow absorbed by Pip as Pip portrays a typical childlike quality in which he is easily influenced by those around him. Joe’s influence to Pip can come across as a positive outlook on Pip as Pip learns to respect others and their wishes as well as himself, but also not to retaliate and lower himself to someone else’s level if they provoke him. â€Å"She says many hard things of you, yet you say nothing of her. What do you think of her? I don’t like to say, I stammered.† In this quote, Pip refuses to tell Miss Havisham what he thought of Estella, because he did not want to create any more tension than there already was. This then backs up my point as its illustrating Pip’s control over his emotions due to Joe’s influence over Pip’s social behaviour. On the other hand, Joe’s influence can also be established as a form