Introduction

After reading the introduction to the story and profiles of the main characters, I have learned the gist of the book. Pip, like many of us from the bottom social stratum, strives to improve himself, only to find it's to hard to overcome the obstacles.
Few people are born cruel and wicked. There are but not many people like Dolge Orlick who is malicious and shrewd, hurting people simply because he enjoys it. Most people choose to be kind or cruel either out of different circumstances or because of different life backgrounds.
Pip doesn't climb through the social hierarchies under his own sweat as many of us from the low caste usually do, but he is lifted out of poverty and transformed into an upper class life abruptly thanks to a mysterious benefactor. That would probably trigger a lot of envy from people sharing similar background.