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Paragraph 7
It is Bentley Drummle, indeed, 
(1)
who symbolises the
worst aspects of the London society to which Pip
aspires to belong. 
(2)
Drummle is cold, calculating,
snobbish, proud and cruel, and it is no surprise
when the equally cold Estella marries him
eventually. Pip is Drummle’s love rival and they both
belong to the Finches, a club for young gentlemen.
Because Pip feels he has to belong in this world, he
begins to overspend and runs up huge debts. He has
come a long way from being a penniless blacksmith’s
apprentice, but he is no happier for it. 
(3)
He has by
now lost touch with the values that had been forged
in him through Joe and Biddy. 
(4)
Paragraph 8
The return of Magwitch, however, 
(1)
forces Pip to face
up to some realities. 
(2)
Miss Havisham is not his
anonymous benefactor, who turns out to be the
convict he had helped all those years ago. This
revelation is devastating to Pip, and all his illusions
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12 –S
AMPLE ESSAY
7:
WRITING ABOUT A NOVEL

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about his being the favoured protégé of Miss
Havisham are shattered. Initially, he is full of
horror at having to have dealings with the ex-
convict and contemplates abandoning him.
Gradually, however, he realises he owes this man a
great deal and is touched by Magwitch’s belief in his
loyalty and gratitude. He does his best to protect
him and decides that he must return to Australia
with him, a plan that is thwarted at the last
moment. 
(3)
By assuming the mantle of responsibility
for Magwitch, Pip regains the moral values he has
lost. It is ironic that he is breaking the law in doing
so, but Pip appears to acknowledge that there is a
higher law he must obey, the law of common
humanity. 
(4)
Paragraph 9
As a result of his debts, Pip is almost destitute and he
has reached the lowest point of his life and falls
gravely ill. 
(1)
Joe and Biddy help to nurse him back
to life, symbolising their forgiveness for his neglect
and shabby treatment of them. Pip even
contemplates marrying Biddy, but discovers that Joe
and Biddy have married after Pip’s sister dies. Part
of Pip’s regeneration process is that he has to leave
the country and earn an honest living abroad
before he returns to England, restored to health and
having a purpose to his life. 
(2)
He is reunited with
Joe and Biddy, which symbolises his embrace of the
values they stand for. Dickens decided to attach a
happy ending to the novel with the implication that
Estella and Pip will get married, but this is
unconvincing. Estella has herself discarded her
former false values, having discovered her own
humble origins. 
(3)
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