Great Expectations: Character Analysis

The word pip, a name used by Charles Dickens in Great Expectations, has many different meanings. One meaning is "Something small" which can be Charles Dickens saying Pip is useless, unnoticed, meaningless. Another definition of the word pip is "Some sort of a contagious disease." If this was the definition Charles Dickens was referring to when choosing Pip's name, then he was probably trying to tell the reader that Pip isn't going to turn out too great so he isn't the kind of person anyone would want to be around. A third interpretation of the word is to break out of a shell as a baby bird. This could mean that Pip, once a mindless, motionless "egg", may some day turn into something great and beautiful. The next meaning of the word pip is to "defeat". This pip comes from British slang so Charles Dickens may have been familiar with this world. If he used it with the definition "to defeat" in mind then he may have been saying that Pip will come out on top. I believe Dickens had the "to defeat" or the "to hatch" definition in mind when choosing Pip's name because Dickens has "GREAT EXPECTATIONS" for Pip and for his life.