• PUMBLECHOOK

Dickens' public liked broad comic caricatures, so he always
included some. Pumblechook is a stock character: the
pompous, bullying hypocrite. Dickens frequently satirized this
particular type of person, which he hated.

Pumblechook is a caricature. He resembles his name, with his
gaping mouth and hair on end as if he had been choked. With
real characters, we may speculate on their feelings;
Pumblechook doesn't have any, he's there simply to spice up
the comic scenes, to irritate Pip, and to display certain
character traits in an exaggerated form. As you read, compare
Pumblechook to the other fawners and snobs in the story. Also,
compare him, who claims to be Pip's benefactor, to the real
benefactors.

Pip is disgusted with Pumblechook throughout the book. Even
as a boy, Pip instinctively dislikes the way Pumblechook
moralizes and lords it over the family. When Pip's a teenager,
his greatest contempt is saved for Pumblechook's preening,
possessive manner. True, Pip's snobbery may sharpen his
original dislike of the man. Once Pip has reformed, we should
perhaps expect him to treat Pumblechook better-but no. At the
end of the book, Pumblechook is still horrible, patronizing and
insulting Pip at the same time. Pip can't help being rude to him.
And somehow we can't blame him; there are always some
people who really deserve to be hated, and Pumblechook is one
of them.

When Pip first meets Herbert-"the pale young gentleman"- at
Satis House, he's like a breath of fresh air there. Herbert is
definitely from a different class than Pip; he wants to box, not
wrestle, using rules Pip never heard of. But he's not a snob; he's
cheerful, forthright, and generous. Later we learn of his faulty
upbringing, with a title-chasing mother and absent-minded
father, so we admire his sane good sense all the more for
surviving unscathed.

In London, Herbert becomes Pip's best friend, the first peer Pip
can share things with. Herbert is a good example of a
gentleman for Pip to follow. Herbert tactfully corrects Pip's
manners and introduces him to a new way of life.
Unfortunately, Pip's money is stronger than Herbert's good
influence, and both young men run into debt.

Pip and Herbert are kindred spirits, but they also contrast in
many ways. Compare Pip's and Herbert's attitudes toward Miss
Havisham, towards Estella, and towards love. Compare
Herbert's "expectations" (of becoming a great merchant) to
Pip's, and then compare their respective benefactors.

Although he has common sense, Herbert will stick with Pip in
spite of his faults, and will risk real danger for him. Pip can
learn more than table manners from Herbert Pocket.

• WEMMICK

Like Pumblechook, Jaggers' clerk Wemmick is a caricature-
but Dickens handles Wemmick with affection. He looks like a
cartoon, with his square wooden face, a mouth like a mail-box
slot, and the morbid rings, brooches, and mementoes he wears.
He has certain slogan phrases-"portable property," "the aged
parent," "Walmouth sentiments." Whereas Pumblechook is
full-blown from the start, Wemmick grows on us, as more
details are added to the caricature. Compare our first
"professional" view of him-hard, cynical, practical-to our first
glimpse of his "personal" side-friendly and frivolous. In later
scenes, we see Wemmick's comical house, comical family, and
comical ladyfriend. We also see his liveliness at the office,
with his crazy fondness for the plaster casts of Jaggers'
criminal clients.

How should we view Wemmick's sharply divided life? It may
be a kind of sad schizophrenia, or it may be an exaggeration of
the way most people behave-a survival tactic. (Compare how
Jaggers is eaten up by his work.)

Though he's absurd, Wemmick is a good friend to Pip. Like
Herbert, he's cheery, resourceful, and loyal. Pip's friendship
with Wemmick tells us that Pip is not so much of a snob as he
thinks he is. As an eccentric figure, Wemmick highlights
certain character traits. Consider Wemmick's care for his
father, his acceptance of the human degradation at Newgate,
his light-hearted attitude toward love and marriage; compare
these to Pip's attitudes. Wemmick rises above his life's
problems. Pip could learn something from that.

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