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Fiction

Notes who was a “well to do corn-chandler” who “drove his own chaise-cart.” The discussion over
dinner was how fortunate Pip should feel about being raised “by hand” by Mrs. Joe and how
much trouble she has gone through in that endeavor, though Pip’s opinion was never requested.
Mr. Pumblechook nearly chokes on some brandy after the meal and Pip realizes that he
poured tar water in the brandy bottle when he stole some for the convict. Mrs. Joe becomes
too busy in the kitchen to afford a full investigation, but then announces that she is going to
present the pork pie. Sure that he is going to get caught, Pip jumps up from the table and runs
to the door, only to meet face to face with a group of soldiers who appear to be there to arrest
him.

Analysis

The suspense grows in this chapter as the reader and Pip fearfully await the discovery by
Mrs. Joe of the things which are missing from the kitchen. The apprehension is kept light,
however, with a foolish dialogue between the adults over how much trouble Pip is to raise for
Mrs. Joe. Mr. Pumblechook is presented as a loud mouth idiot, full of himself. The only
sympathetic character is Joe, who continues to make gestures of support toward Pip. Dicken’s
little social commentary here is clear: It is often the dim witted and poor (Joe) who acts with
more grace and charity than wealthy loud mouths (Mr. Pumblechook and Mr. Wopsle) who
claim that they do.

Chapter 5

The soldiers do not want to arrest Pip but they do need a pair of handcuffs fixed by Joe. They
are invited in, Mr. Pumblechook offers up Mrs. Joe’s sherry and port, and Joe gets to work on
the handcuffs in the forge. They are, in fact, hunting two convicts who were seen recently in
the marshes. After Joe fixes the handcuffs, he, Pip, and Mr. Wopsle are allowed to follow the
soldiers into the marshes. They soon find the two convicts wrestling each other in the mud.
The one with the hat accuses the other, Pip’s convict, of trying to kill him, but the other replies
that he would have done it if he really wanted to. Instead, he had been the one who had called
for the soldiers and was willing to sacrifice himself just so the one with the hat would get
caught again.
The bring the two back to a boathouse where Pip’s convict, eyeing Pip, admits to stealing
Mrs. Joe’s pork pie by himself, thus getting Pip off the hook. Joe and Pip watch as the two
convicts are brought back to the prisonship.

Analysis

The reader is presented with the question of why the two convicts are fighting each other.
Pip’s convict goes so far as to say that he deliberately got himself caught, just so he could
make sure the man with the hat would go back to prison. What hatred did this man have that
would make him go back to prison just to see another suffer as well?

The relationship between the convict and Pip continues to grow as well, even though they do
not speak and the convict hardly looks at him. The convict obviously wants to protect the boy
and, suspecting Pip may be threatened, takes the blame for stealing the pork pie. The two are,
once again, united in secrecy.

Chapter 6
Joe, Pip, and Mr. Wopsle walk back home. Pop decides not to tell Joe the truth about his file
and the pork pie — he is afraid of losing his respect. When they return, the topic of discussion
is the question of how the convict managed to get into the locked house. Through his bombastic
overbearance, Mr. Pumblechook argument wins: the convict crawled down the chimney.
Mrs. Joe sends Pip to bed.

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