How Is Joe Gargery Selfish

Selfish can be defined as lacking consideration for others, while selfless can be defined as concerned more with the needs and wishes of others than with one's own. Throughout Great Expectations,character’s choices and actions play a large role into the plot of Charles Dickens’ novel. Though some are clearly selfless, such as Joe, and some clearly selfish, such as Pumblechook, Pip Pirrup walks a fine line between the two. Joe Gargery is an honest man who is selfless in his actions. He always chooses to do what will help others, such as Pip, rather than making a decision that will benefit himself. His wife and the protagonist's sister, Mrs. Joe, was given the responsibility of taking care of Pip, following their parent’s death. Rather than
Throughout the story, we can see Pip’s perspectives on life change as he grows from being a child, to an adolescent, then an adult. As a young child, Pip’s cowardice, lack of previous hardships, and innocence have led his decisions to be selfless. Out of pity for an ex-convict who approached him, Pip gave him bread, brandy, and a file. Had he been caught, his sister would have been enraged, due to the fact that they were in a low class and had a diet based off of bare necessities themselves. This shows that Pip had compassion towards everyone during his childhood, even those who had different economical and social backgrounds than
In Part 1, he treats Pip disgracefully, calling him “Pork” and commending Mrs. Joe for raising the child by hand. Later, when Pip becomes a gentleman, Mr. Pumblechook decides to take credit for all of his success. "'To think,' said Mr. Pumblechook, after snorting admiration to me for some moments, 'that I should have been the humble instrument of leading up to this, is a proud reward.'" (162). Suddenly, he was treating Pip kindly, due to the fact that he would be the one to be praised, though it was short lived. Once Pip loses the fortune, he goes back to his normal tendencies of talking down to Pip. This pattern proves Mr. Pumblechook’s desire for attention and lack of consideration for