Great Expectations Innocence Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #7

"[…] see how I am going on. Dissatisfied, and uncomfortable, and—what would it signify to me, being coarse and common, if nobody had told me so!" (17.33)

Pip seems to associate ignorance with innocence—but that's probably not going to work as an excuse when you don't want to study for your econ test.

Quote #8

I put my light out, and crept into bed; and it was an uneasy bed now, and I never slept the old sound sleep in it any more. (18.132)

All of a sudden, Pip is thinking about the "future": he has dreams desires, goals, and complex emotions. It sounds like part of losing your innocence is becoming aware of the passage of time.

Quote #9

"Don't be afraid of my being a blessing to him," said Estella; "I shall not be that. Come! Here is my hand. Do we part on this, you visionary boy—or man?" (44.65)

Estella may pretend that she never thinks about Pip, but it sounds like she's actually been keeping quite the eye on him. The "visionary boy" is the boy who continues to hope she will requite his love. The man in Pip is he who is wise enough to give up and to recognize that Estella can't be won nor melted. Which one is Pip? We're not sure, and we don't think he is, either.