Mr. Pip: Chapter 8 Summary & Analysis

Matilda considers the effect of the Civil War on her village, writing that two babies died of malaria just before Christmas that year. She explains that it wasn’t until she was older that she fully understood the tensions between Bougainvilleans and the “redskins,” who had arrived on the island to work at the mine and then used their positions to edge natives out of their jobs. Many of the villagers, Matilda says, supported the rebel fighters who lurked in the jungle and fought against the “redskins.”

Matilda writes that she herself hoped only for “hope itself,” knowing that “things could change because they had for Pip.” She then briefly summarizes Pip’s changing luck, which comes about when, after working as a blacksmith, he learns that he is the beneficiary of a large amount of money and that the “money will be used to turn [him] into a gentleman.” Inspired by this idea, Mr. Watts explained to the class that a gentleman always does the right thing. When one of the students asked if a poor person could be a gentleman, Mr. Watts said, “Money and social standing don’t come into it. We are talking about qualities.” Resuming her overview of Pip’s ascent, Matilda explains that the young man left home—“the blacksmith’s forge”—for London.