Great Expectations

How does Pip describe the company of Mr. Pumblechook?

Describe the company

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As a child, Pip of Great Expectations describes Uncle Pumblechook as "wretched company" as he gives Pip little to eat the day that he is to go play at Miss Havisham's. As he drops Pip off, he scolds him,

"Boy Let our behavior her be a credit unto them which brought you up by hand!"

Uncle Pumblechook (he is Joe's uncle) is a pompous merchant who, throughout the novel, tries to take credit for Pip's learning and improving social status. While he does arrange Pip's first meeting with Miss Havisham, he is obsessed with money and is therefore not interesting or fun to be around. He spends a great deal of the novel acting as if he has been the sole cause of Pip's good fortune and his achieving of his "great expectations."