Faith and Morality in Mister Pip

Haley Williams

English 213

Throughout Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones, there is a struggle between the two supporting characters that have a major influence upon the life of the protagonist.  Matilda’s mother, Dolores, and the second character Mr. Watts, who is the only white man left on the island after the blockade, end up in a conflict that causes the impressionable Matilda to struggle with the different ideals and cultures that she is presented with.   Dolores creates an enemy out of Mr. Watts as she sees him as merely another white man imposing upon her people and spreading ideas that she does not relate to.

Throughout the blockade the villagers are cut off from the surrounding world and must survive with what the island can provide.  They are left with only basic food supplies, but as Matilda remarks; “we had our pride” (10).  The villagers also had faith and the notion of spirituality plays an important role throughout the novel.  The faith in the old ways, like the wisdom of crabs and filefish, is discussed as is faith in Christianity which Dolores attempts to pass on to her daughter and the other students.  When sharing her knowledge she states that “faith is like oxygen. It keeps you afloat at all times.  Sometimes you need it. Sometimes you don’t.  But when you do need it you better be practiced at having faith, otherwise it won’t work” (44).

It is faith in God that finally allows Dolores to put aside her differences with Mr. Watts and proclaim herself God’s witness to his murder at the hands of the rebels.  This defiance of the rebel commander’s power leads to her rape and following murder. 

Matilda relates this series of events to the teaching of Mr. Watts on what it means to be a gentleman, from Great Expectations by Dickens, and how as humans we have moral responsibilities.  As a moral person, “you cannot have a day off when it suits you,” and that this was something that her mother knew “when she stepped forward to proclaim herself God’s witness to the cold-blooded butchery of her old enemy” (210). 

Questions for Discussion

1.       Was it Dolores’ responsibility to stand up for Mr. Watts in front of the rebels? 

2.       Do you think that it was beneficial for Dolores to hold on strongly to her pride and faith throughout the blockade?  How does this relate to other conflicts presented in previous novels discussed?