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This is a hulk, the prison ship mentioned in the novel. These ships served as prisons for convicts who were waiting to be shipped to penal colonies.
Since he can remember, Pip has talked with Joe about becoming his apprentice. This is significant.
Why doesn't Pip tell on the convict and turn him into Joe? Why does the convict trust him? Why does the convict trust Pip?
Clearly the convict knows the unidentified escapee that Pip came upon first...what seems to be their connection based on the information you have so far?
18 comments:
Pip does not tell on the convict because he warned Pip that if he did his savage friend would tear out his heart and liver! That would be enough to scare me out of snitching on someone at that young age! I think the convict trusts Pip because he is young and naive and as a child, you believe almost everything you are told by adults. Pip being frightened obeys without a second thought.
Pip always talking about becoming Joe's apprentice makes it apparent that Joe is Pip's number one, and possibly only, role model. When Pip thinks about whom he wants to become, Joe is thought of. Pip very much wants to tell Joe but his young and still naive perception and understanding of people leaves him believing and fearing the convict and his "young man," even after many hints have suggested otherwise. The convict does not trust in Pip specifically, but he trusts in the gullibility of children, and honestly,Pip made it quite obvious that he whole-heartedly believed and feared the convict's threats. At the time, the convict's reaction to the unidentified escapee seemed like they had planned and attempted escaping together but had been seperated due to some pressing conditions. I found Pip's thought, "I had often watched a large dog of ours eating his food; and I now noticed a decided similarity between the dog's way of eating, and the man's," quite intriguing. I think it was a subtle attack or hint of the similarity between a convict and a dog; once one becomes a prisoner, he/she becomes an animal.
Pip is a naive character -- as we know he is a young boy at the story's beginning. Young children are more likely to believe what others say to them than adults. Pip was likely to believe the convict's threat of hiring a personal assasin, because the convict, a scruffy, grungy adult, fit Pip's unspoken definition of a scary guy. Accordingly, Pip listens to the convict and does not tell anyone of their encounter, not even Joe. Perhaps the convict trusts Pip because he senses the young boy's sincerity and fear of him. Pip also returns with food, just as the convict asks, meaning he (Pip) may be reliable.
Pip is young and naive, so I don't blame him for not turning in the convict. As Robin said, the convict told Pip he would have his friend tear out his heart and his liver. Now that's a gruesome threat! I don't think you have to be young and naive to be afraid of that. As for the unidentified escapee that Pip thought was the other guy, I think the two convicts are foes and they fear each other but their hatred for one another overcomes that fear.
I also agree with what has been said above. Being a young, naive boy it would make sense for him to not tell on the convict. I think anyone would do anything the convict said to avoid having your liver and heart ripped out! I don't blame him at all for not turning the convict in.
Pip is young, foolish, and naive. These character traits really showed when the convict threatened him about his friend. He didn't want to snitch on him because the convict told him that his savage friend will hunt him down and rip out his heart and liver. This statemant sounds ridiculous and unbelivable, but to a young and immature boy this sounds believable. The convict trust Pip because he knows from his body launguage how naive he is.
Pip wouldn't dare to tell Joe about the convict. Even if the convict hadn't threatened Pip, I still think Pip would have kept the convict a secret. Pip seems like he feels useful now that he is taking care of someone. The convict trusts him because he knows that Pip is young and innocent. I'm guessing that the other convict might be "the young man" the convict spoke to Pip about.
In the first chapter, the convict said that there was a younger man with him. I thought it was strange how we didn’t see this character. Then, in this chapter, Pip runs into a new convict and mistakes him for the “younger man.” When Pip tells the original convict of this, the man seems to have forgotten about the “younger man.” So this makes me believe that the convict lied to Pip in the beginning. Also, I find it strange that Pip refers to this menace as a friend. At the end of this chapter, he comes across as crazier than he seemed to be in the beginning. He was so involved in himself that he didn’t even notice that Pip had slipped away from him. I suppose that Pip was to scared to tattle on the convict. He was threatened in the first chapter. Why does the convict trust Pip? Maybe it’s not trust, but merely desperation? The connection between the convicts does not seem to be friendly. When Pip’s convict hears of the new one, he begins to eat faster and tries to hide some of the food.
Fear is a main factor as to why Pip didn't tell on the convict. Yet, the narrator continues to explain Pip's emotions as guilty instead of fear. When the policemen came asking for Joe and Pip to help them on their manhunt for the convicts, Pip worries about their well-being. This gives us a conclusion that Pip emphasizes with the convicts because he too has lived such a depressing life. The convict has trust for Pip because Pip had not disappointed yet. He tried to give him food. If Pip were unreliable he would have already turned him in to the police.
I think Pip talking to Joe about becoming his apprentice is significant because it shows that Pip looks up to Joe and wants to someday be like him. Like many of the other comments, I believe that Pip didn’t tell on the convict was because he was frightened by the threats and was young so he didn’t know any better. This is also the reason why the convict trusts Pip. He is a much easier target than an older adult that knows better than to get threatened and would instead turn in the convict to the police. Based on the information so far I think the convicts were perhaps together at one time but now are separated and possibly don’t like each other and/or are rivalries.
I believe that Pip doesn't tell on the convict and turn him into Joe because Pip, being naive, believes the story the convict tells him about his companion. Pip was clearly frightened by the convict's lie, and imagines losing his heart and liver, and fear drives him to keep his promise to the convict. In turn, the convict trusts Pip because as he threatened him, Pip clearly showed fear. Once the convict discovered that Pip was afraid of him, he knew that Pip wouldn't turn on him in fear for his own life.
Well first of all I do not understand why anyone would think it was a smart idea to keep convicts on a boat, which is obviously very easy to escape from. Pip does not tell on the convict and turn him into Joe because he is terrified, and I don't blame the kid. A one-legged convict would make me scared too. Children are very easily influenced and the convict knows this and uses it to his advantage. He trusts Pip because he knows he is too intimidated to fight against him or turn him in.
Pip does not tell Joe about the convict out of fear for his life. Pip is young and gullible and believes the convict’s tale of the savage young man who would tear out his heart and liver. The convict also tells Pip how the young man could kill Pip in his sleep and Pip probably thinks that even if he were to tell Joe about the convict this mysterious young man would still be able to kill him. The convict trusts Pip because he can see in Pips demeanor the fear that his threats had created and he believes, rightly so, that this fear will stop Pip from turning him in. When Pip returns we can deduce from the convict’s reaction when Pip asks about saving food for the young man that the young man is just an illusion created by the convict to scare Pip into cooperating. When Pip tells his convict about the other escapee it is obvious from his reaction that he knows the other escapee. It appears from the little information that we have regarding the convicts connection that the pair have fought recently and that Pips convict means to hurt or kill the other convict.
Out of sheer fear does Pip not turn the convict in! Honestly, if someone had threatened to rip out your heart and liver, would you really chance a bloody end by doing what was right?!? I certainly don't blame Pip at all for keeping his mouth shut about the con. I think that the convict trusted Pip simply because of the fear that he manifested in the poor kid. He knew that if Pip knew what was best for him, he would do what he was told without question(which he did). The slimy con successfully forced his way to an impromptu free meal!
My first disappointment is that Great Expectations isn’t a sequel to Great Gatsby. My second is that the name of the protagonist is Pip. I can understand giving characters unique names to make them more memorable but saying that he just couldn’t pronounce Philip is like cheating. Pip sounds like something an Australian would name their dog and Gargery sounds like a pokemon. Pip’s family is pretty believable. His sister whipped poor Joe into submission and I think the way they act really goes along with everything we know about them. What’s Mrs. Joe’s first name? Why did she name her cane Tickler; that really disturbs me.
I don’t get the bread thing. So what, he ate his bread really fast, is that such a problem? Is there really any need to be so worried? I guess these really were different times, when bolting down your food required a capital letter and every ruffian and highwayman started out as a Bolter. It really is a mercy that Bolters don’t Bolt themselves dead. How can Joe pronounce “betwixt” but not “convict.” Does Joe speak in a strange accent or does he just slur his words or something. Why does he say conwict? What do they mean that he’s a Hercules in strength, and also in weakness? Does that mean he’s physically strong? I don’t remember if that was actually in the book or if I read that in someone’s post. How does he have Hercules weakness? Does that mean that Joe is going to lose his mind and brutally murder Mrs. Joe and Pip? I like Joe though; he seems to be kind and respectable, even though he’s not very smart.
Pip is terrified of the other man the convict says is with him. The convict said this man would eat Pip's liver if Pip told. Pip is so scared of this other man that he will not confide in Joe. The convict trust Pip because the convict knows Pip is scared, especially when Pip says he saw the other man the convict had told him about. The convict may be comrades with this other man. He saved some of the food Pip brought, but only after hearing about the other man, and his description.
As it has been said above, the main reason that Pip does not turn in the convict is because of the fear of young man that the convict threatened would kill him if Pip told anyone. However, another reason could be that Pip did not want to involve Joe in the situation. Pip had already lied to Mrs. Joe on where he had been and telling Joe would probably just complicate matters. Again, the convict probably trusts Pip based on the confidence that Pip is scared out of his mind. However, I think that the convict likes Pip, in a weird way. I think that the convict was not convinced that Pip would return, and when he did, it settled any doubts the convict had. Based on what we know, the other man is also a prisoner from the same hulk. It is obvious that Pip’s convict does not care for the other, and becomes angry when Pip tells him about seeing him.
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