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92218
Mr. Pagtakhan
2 Honors Sophomore English
October 1, 2014
Social Quotient + Bank Balance = Happiness
Famed writer and politician Winston Churchill once remarked that [one makes] a living
by what [one gets], but [one makes] a life by what [one gives]. Churchill, a master of diplomacy
and social interactions, knew that giving happiness and building relationships are much more
indicative of a fulfilling life than hoarding material possessions. In Charles Dickens novel,
Great Expectations, the protagonist, Pip, initially fails to realize this, using money to better
societys perception of himself while neglecting to reveal his true self to others. When Pip starts
treating wealth not as a way to improve his standing in society, but as a means to cultivate his
relationships, he finally attains happiness and peace with himself.
Although Pip has all the wealth he could ever need when he becomes a gentleman, his
self-centered use of his riches results in him leading a dissatisfied and unhappy life. When the
initial euphoria of finding out he is entitled to a fortune dissipates, Pip feels strangely
melancholic, conceding to himself that the first night of [his] bright fortunes [had been] the
loneliest [he] had ever known (112; ch. 18). Pip immediately shuns Joe and Biddy upon
receiving the good news of his fortune, because he believes that doing so validates his migration
to the upper class. His preoccupation with using his new-found wealth to rise up in social rank,
however, makes him forsake Joe and Biddy, the two people whose constant support allowed him
to stand for himself in the first place. Pip is disappointed with himself, and does not know why;
ironically, the cause of Pips disappointment, his poor treatment of Joe and Biddy, does not let

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him recover from his malcontent feelings, as Pip typically finds solace and support in Joe or
Biddy whenever he is troubled about something, but cannot do so now. Pip cannot even celebrate
his so-called good fortune, because any such celebration is hollow without the affection of the
people he loves. Afterwards, Pip and Herbert begin spending vast amounts of money at
Barnards Inn, all the while aware that this materialistic way of spending their wealth causes
them to be always more or less miserable with their lives (215; ch. 34). Although his
knowledge of proper upper-class behavior tells Pip that he should appear loose with his money in
this way, Pip actually receives none of the respect and esteem he hopes to obtain. Rather,
because he gives nothing to his acquaintances, he receives nothing in turn, and this void of
interaction forces him to deal with the hard truth that a rise in social standing does not equate to a
rise in social acceptance. Indeed, Pip eventually becomes a slave to his own fortune: his
narcissistic use of his money alienates him from the rest of society, and also bars him from truly
expressing himself to the people whose approval he so desperately craves. Pip acts selfishly with
his wealth in the vain hope that his actions will allow people to think better of him; all they do,
however, is rob the little respect he already has.
After Magwitch dies, Pip learns the value of social bonds and connectivity, and using his
wealth for this purpose allows him to finally attain happiness. When Magwitch is at deaths door,
Pip promises Magwitch that he will be as true to [Magwitch] as [Magwitch had] been to [him]
(351; ch. 52). Pip knows that his fortune has been dissolved with Magwitchs arrest, yet he cares
about this fact much less than that he was not able to repay Magwitch for all he had done for Pip.
Much like he was unhappy in Barnards Inn because he helped nobody and consequently no one
helped him, Pip now understands that to be truly happy, he will have to fulfill the opposite: repay
Magwitch for his continual help in establishing and maintaining Pips dreams. Moreover, Pip

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realizes that although he no longer has monetary wealth, the commitment and support he can
give Magwitch now, in Magwitchs darkest moments, are worth much more than any sum of
money he could have offered him when he had his riches. Pips relationship with Joe also comes
full circle when the physically weak Pip relies on Joe to emotionally and physically support him,
in a manner so similar to that of Pips childhood that Pip [half believed] that all [his] life since
the days of the old kitchen had been merely a dream (366; ch. 57). Pip, previously trying to flee
from his past, has now matured enough to realize that his childhood relationship with Joe, in
which each had unspoken support for and dependence on the other in times of need, was what
kept him afloat in the swirling storm of Mrs. Joe, Magwitch, Miss Havisham, and Estella. Pip
can now discern that although healthy relationships, such as the ones he has with Magwitch and
Joe, require significant trust and commitment, the ultimate return, fulfillment and happiness,
makes the investment worth it. Pip also attains domestic happiness; when living with Herbert in
Cairo, he [lives] frugally[, maintains] a constant correspondence with Biddy and Joe, and
leads an overall satisfied life (377; ch. 58). Although Pip no longer has the immense fortune of
his earlier years, he now knows exactly what to do with what he does have: use it to maintain his
relationships, in place of nothing else. Pip realizes that he does not need dozens of superficial
sources of happiness when he has one true source, his relationship with Biddy, Herbert, and Joe,
that will give him joy forevermore. Ironically, it is when Pip has the least money that he realizes
its true purpose: to make other people happy.
Pips transformation allows him to see that all he needs for happiness are people with
whom he can share that happiness. Although written over 150 years ago, Charles Dickens story,
and this lack of comprehension of this fundamental truth, unfortunately applies to almost every
modern white-collar worker today. Executives and business professionals surround themselves

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with plush SUVs and expensive watches; rarely, however, do they share true moments of
happiness with their families, and rarely can a smile be seen on their faces. Stuck in the
perception of happiness that society has forced upon them, they are unable to see things for what
they truly are. If such a transformation were to happen to them, the world, perhaps, would be a
happier place.

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Works Cited
Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2001. Print.