Pip generally views Joe as a child, though his level of respect rises after Joe’s story about his parents. However, Pip also feels anger toward Joe. Pip reacts in an argumentative way to the compliments Joe pays his sister. Joe puts a quick stop to this, but Pip has an accurate sense of self here. He feels some righteous anger at the man who allows Mrs. Joe to abuse him. Pip knows that Mrs. Joe’s bringing him up by hand does not give her the right to bring him up “by jerks.” As with all children as they grow, Pip is also starting to realize that the all-knowing, all-powerful adults are not perfect. His anger intensifies later when Estella humiliates him over things Pip feels Joe should have known if only Joe had been more genteelly brought up. To a certain extent, Pip’s later abandonment of Joe is understandable as a form of rebellion against a man that Pip feels let him down. With no way to express his passion or rage, Pip suppresses his feelings or takes them out on himself. He tries to hide his tears after Estella hurts him, resorting, instead, to kicking the brewery wall and pulling his hair out. The rising level of anger at Joe, Mrs. Joe, and Estella cannot be directed at the source, so it goes inside. This results in depression, and Pip often seems to approach life as a passive victim.
Pip’s rising anger shows when he almost belligerently refuses to give his sister and Pumblechook any details about Miss Havisham. Partly, he feels he won’t be understood, something he thinks is universal to children his age. He also feels attacked and cornered. Lastly, he feels protective of Miss Havisham, refusing to expose her to someone like his sister. So he lies or refuses to answer — his way of getting back at the two adults.
