Literary Analysis Thing

This novel is about a young boy named Pip who, by chance, comes into a wonderful fortune. He goes through a lot of trials and he has to wait for a long period of time before he knows who his benefactor is. The theme that I found most apparent in this book is that what goes around comes around. This passage I chose to use develops my theme because it helps to explain and clarify who his benefactor is.
The passage is on page 340 paragraph 5:
“Look’ee here, Pip. I’m your second father. You’re my son- more to me nor any son. I’ve put away money, only for you to spend. When I was a hired-out shepherd in a solitary hut, not seeing no faces but faces of sheep till I half forgot wot men’s and women’s faces wos like, I see yourn. I drops my knife many a time in that hut when I was a eating my dinner or my supper, and I says, “Here’s the boy again, a looking at me whiles I eats and drinks!” I see you there a many times, as plain as ever I see you on them misty marshes. “Lord strike me dead!” I say each time-and I goes out in the air to say it under the open heavens- “but wot, if I gets liberty and money, I’ll make that boy a gentleman!” And I done it. Why, look at you, dear boy! Look at these here lodgings o’yourn, fit for a lord! A lord? Ah! You shall show money with lords for wagers, and beat ‘em!”
This passage is very significant to my theme because it shows that the convict that turned out to be Pip’s benefactor really wanted to reward Pip for helping him in the past. My theme is the basic definition of karma and this is a great example of that. He is so grateful because of the food and file that Pip brought to him that he decides that if he ever gets a lot of money, he will save it for Pip. This man is a dirt poor convict but he decides to help a boy who helped him!
Not only is this passage significant to my theme, it is also significant to the entire story. If Pip would have gotten too scared to bring the convict what he promised to bring him, he wouldn’t have received his great expectations and then there wouldn’t be a novel! I also think that if anyone else was the benefactor, the story would be lame because it would be too obvious. Letting the convict be his benefactor adds a nice twist to this story.
I love the imagery in this passage because I can really see what the convict is describing to me. It speaks of him working very hard and almost forgetting what people looked like. When he saw Pip, it brought back the memory of the time when he helped him out on the marshes. I think that the fact that Pip was the only person who took the time to look at him really cemented the fact that the convict had to reward Pip for his help.
The narrative voice used in this passage has a lot of force and power. You can tell that this man really wants Pip to like him and show the proper amount of appreciation towards him. In the passages following and preceding the passage I chose, Pip is very resentful and pensive about the fact that his convict was the mysterious benefactor. This really helps the story because if Pip wasn’t feeling that way towards him, events after this speech couldn’t have occurred nor had the same feel if they did occur.
The reason why I chose this theme to analyze because I feel that the majority of the novel centers on the fact that Pip came into his fortune. And the reason he received his fortune was because he decided to help a desperate convict one day on the marshes. This passage that I analyzed above really ties the whole book together because you finally discover who his benefactor is! It greatly supports the rest of the novel because without karma, Pip would probably have never become a gentleman.
To conclude, I just want to say that even thought this book was challenging, it was a wonderful chance to test my ability to analyze and internalize a certain subject. I have never spent so much time thinking about a book and trying to understand the deeper meaning of it all. There were so many different important themes that jumped out at me while I was reading this book; it was hard to choose just one! I gained so much from reading this book because I learned that I really have a great ability to think about and an elaborate on any subject if I want to. I think that because of this challenge, I will find it easier to read and write in my life!