The conflict between choosing to take a path that benefits others or letting our selfish nature get the better of us. It often drives the internal struggle within all of us. Now more than ever, this internal struggle has effectively confined us to our domain and limits our ability to thrive as a person. The term altruism is generally associated with a selfless concern for the well-being of others. A word reserved for those who seek to benefit others before themselves. Charles Dickens uses his characters in Great Expectations to demonstrate that selfless acts and their redeeming qualities do not only impact those who receive them. However, as well as those who perform it in a positive way. Shedding light on one aspect that being kind and honest leads to a happy and contented life. This novel describes how altruism is not instinctive but is innate in all of us. The quality of being kind and thoughtful is inherent in us. However, to reach this state of nature you need to turn a key. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay At the beginning of the novel, Pip is a character with a great sense of compassion and kindness. Guided by his guardian Joe Gargery, Pip is able to walk a path of honesty as a child, thus allowing him to experience what love and affection are. A moment of sympathy and goodness in Pip is when Pip communicates to his inmate, “I'm glad you like him,” revealing the fact that even though this inmate may have killed a man and gone to prison. A human being is still a human being and deserves to be treated as such and nothing else. This demonstrates Pip's genuine kindness as he can see beyond a stranger's general appearance and look into their humanity to find their true emotions. The inmate is sincerely touched by Pip's selfless action as “something clicked in his throat” recognizing the sheer amount of goodness that hit the inmate's cold, broken heart due to Pip's single selfless act. This feeling of tenderness is something he has never felt before in his life and was conveyed to him for the first time in his life by Pip. A little boy taught to always be kind and considerate to everyone with the help of his guardian Joe. This guided him down a path of altruistic values ​​that Pip carries forward throughout his early childhood. Pip is given the key needed to turn his altruistic nature into effect and that is his brother-in-law, Joe Gargery. Joe sets the stage for Pip to see the power of how altruism can become a core belief. Establish the difference between those who honestly have a genuine heart for others and those who seek to benefit only themselves. Pip is given the opportunity to see the benefits of altruism due to Joe's altruistic nature, allowing Pip a sense of integrity and morals that is ingrained in him at a young age. Guaranteeing him the means to live an honest and contented life, like his brother-in-law Joe. Pip during his adolescence finds himself in a great expectation of new riches and fortunes. Thus, opening up an unknown path for Pip to explore and enter. Pip gains a new sense of arrogance and pomposity with his recent prosperity and begins to develop into a character of callousness and selfishness. Pip begins to perceive his loved ones who raised him from scratch as common and crass as he proclaims, "I am disgusted with my calling and my life" describing how selfish and self-centered he has become. His old ways of being kind and thoughtful; all pushed out of the back of his mind andreplaced with thoughts of selfish desires and greedy impulses. Pip began to embody a personality full of hatred and discontent towards himself and those around him. Hoping and wishing that this expectation will lead him in a direction that can bring happiness and contentment into his life and away from his hometown. Not realizing that his home and family at this time, love and praise him for who he is and genuinely care about him as a person. Pip is misled by his desire for wealth and status so much so that he thinks of himself as "in general living in a bad state" communicating to himself, self-deprecating thoughts and disappointment not only with himself, but with others around him. Pip is shrouded in misguided judgment that has warped his perception of altruism and integrity, leading him down a path of selfishness and, ultimately, the hamartia of his character. Dragged into a false sense of reality, Pip simply can no longer accept his mundane and commonplace lifestyle. The key that once gave Pip the ability to see the light of his altruistic nature; now neglected by Pip himself due to an irrational dream and a non-traditional lifestyle. The path that previously tended towards altruism; blocked by Pip's selfish desires and gluttonous personality. Controlled by his presumptuous impulses, Pip lives his fantasy life, far from home, in the big city, with wealth and status. All in all, Pip's current lifestyle is much improved over his previous living conditions, as he says: "I began to spend a sum of money which within a few months I should have considered almost fabulous." Everything he ever dreamed of has come true. Pip is living his best life, not worrying about money, not needing a job, living his so-called dream of being a gentleman. Life couldn't be better for Pip, having large sums of money to spend. However, he likes it. Learn how to become a gentleman, improve yourself intellectually and gain awareness of how vast and complex the world is. It wasn't until Pip loses all his money and becomes incredibly ill, making him realize the mistakes of his past and the mistreatment of his loved ones. After losing his mysterious benefactor, Magwitch, the person who gave Pip wealth and opportunity to his great expectations, and who becomes injured, Pip is taken into Joe's care. Joe nurses Pip back to health, even though Pip underestimated Joe his entire life and never truly appreciated Joe's altruistic nature that cared for him all those years during his childhood. Pip initially finds Joe's care for him painful as he feels his guilt so deeply and feels a sense of remorse towards Joe. When Pip reveals “Hit me, Joe. Tell me about my ingratitude. Don't be so good to me!” (468). Pip cannot help but feel regret and reproach for himself and his past actions. Seeing Joe be so kind to him makes Pip remember all the cruel and terrible things he said behind Joe's back. Creating an ache inside Pip that is so heartbreaking and painful. Pip is unable to resist and feels as if a wound has reopened and generates a whole new sensation of immense torment. Joe's selfless actions towards Pip help him recognize all his previous wrong actions and make him want to change for the better. It is through Joe's act of love during a critical moment for Pip, that he can open his eyes to his flaws and see how selfish he has been acting all this time. This makes Pip want to return to his original, true and caring character. The forgotten key,.