6. Great Expectations

"'Well, Pip,'said Joe, 'be it so, or be it son't, you must be a common scholar afore you can be a oncommon one, I should hope.'" (69).

This quote explains that in order to be unique, one must be normal first. Charles Dickens throws this into this novel to teach young Pip and readers that the first step in anything is to learn the basics. From there, one is able to move on and add new techniques and knowledge to what one has already learned. This quote speaks to the reader and places them inside Pip's head as he sits and listens to Joe speak. Joe is not very well educated, but he knows a lot about people and how to learn. He is one of the wisest characters Charles Dickens creates and he also the simplest. This line can also be used to foreshadow how Pip does start off as a nobody and then transforms into the person he wants to become because he has gained so much knowledge. However, that knowledge helped him to realize that what he desired was not what he truly wanted.