Pip is an extremely timid young cabin boy. Although he is mentioned beforehand I didn’t really notice his presence in the novel until chapter 93 when he is a replacement oarsman. He is introduced at first as an Alabama boy which leads me to believe he is a former slave that escaped to New Bedford. His timid affect would be understandable given this background story. He seems to be relatively young which again would explain his terror when he was thrown into the harpoon boat with Stubb. He panics when a whale hits the bottom of the boat and jumps into the water and Stubb is angry that, first they had to go save a very tangled Pip and second and more importantly that to do so they had to cut a whale loose that they had harpooned. Stubb threatens that if he does it again he won’t come back. He does of course and Stubb leaves him to float. After this experience Pip seems to go mad he has some sort of omniscient vision and almost god-like wisdom. This is when Pips character seems to become more prominent and like some students have posted before me have said he becomes a prophetic character.

It was common in this time that if a slave escaped to one of the whaling towns (many of which are full of Quakers who believe everyone is created equal) they would be given papers that allowed them to work on whaling vessels. I feel bad for Pip more than anything else. Whaling is his only option. This terrifying career is the only other option besides returning as a slave. He needs to somehow support himself and whaling is the only way he can be free to do so. I understand his terror; he’s never been treated with respect and a whaling vessels crew isn’t exactly any more conducive to that.