Dickens use of ambition through Pip....

Now that we are getting pretty deep into Great Expectations something that really stood out to me was the way Dickens is using ambition through Pip.

After getting his first real taste of the upper class society and people with the Havisham's, Pip was instantly hooked. He falls in love with this way of life and the people (Estella). We soon start to see that this is what Pip wants, he does not want to be apart of the "common people" he wants to live big and be successful in this thought of money, status, and love.

We see this ambition as he repeatedly goes to the Havisham's for months and through his talks with Joe. But, as the days and weeks go by we start to see Pip change. He starts to separate himself from his family and friends(Biddy). He starts to lose his honesty and the way of life he use to live. I see him as a person who started to be ashamed of his life, family and friends after being exposed to the high society of life.

I see this as Dickens trying to show us that even though ambition is great, moving away from your roots sometimes hurts you in the end. Sometimes our ambition exposes us to the "better things" (wether they really are better or not) and we cant adjust back. We only have read a chapter after Pips life was flipped upside down when Miss Havisham abandoned him, but I think Dickens is saying to always stay with your roots in a sense, they are the reason you are today.

I also see a little bit of Dickens showing us that our ambition can sometimes leave us in the dust.