Telling Stories as a Means of Survival in the Novel “Mr Pip”

Excerpts from the Paper

Telling Stories as a Means of Survival in the Novel "Mr Pip"
At the end of the novel, Mr. Pip, Matilda states that she never once saw Mr. Pip with a machete; his survival weapon, as it turned out, was story. The following paper looks at how the characters in the aforementioned novel use the telling of stories as a means of coping with situations that threaten them. The three specific examples to be reviewed are: Mr. Pip’s penchant for dressing up; the story about the devil woman as reported by the minister; and (most subtly) the story told about the renaming of his wife, Grace, as “Sheba” – so that she might transform into a woman of real wisdom. In each of these tales or stories, there is an effort to recreate events and people so that...

.....n a time when the redshirts threaten can be overcome.
Overall, the story detailed above is one that uses story and narrative as a coping tool and survival tool. The stories are oral but, over time, they become written as Matilda takes the stories with her through life. In the end, story-telling gives us the power to create a new life for ourselves or to make our old one appear better; it can also allow us to wear a protective veil that protects us from those who might wish to harm us if they perceive us as a threat.
Works Cited
Jones, Lloyd. Mister Pip. Toronto: Random House, 2007.
Text Publishing.
“Mister Pip: Teacher’s resource kit.”
N.d.
19 Jan. 2012 http://textpublishing.com.au/static/files/assets/6fd1522b/MisterPip_TeachersResource.pdf