CHAPTER 6 Practice Quiz — Great Expectations
by Charles Dickens — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: CHAPTER 6
How does Pip get home from the marshes after the convict is captured?
Joe carries Pip home on his back because Pip is too exhausted and sleepy to walk.
What does the convict confess to during his arrest that protects Pip?
The convict claims he broke into the forge himself and stole the food and the file, covering for Pip's theft.
What theory does Mr. Pumblechook propose about how the convict entered the house?
He claims the convict climbed onto the forge roof, then the house roof, and lowered himself down the kitchen chimney using a rope made from his bedding cut into strips.
Why is Mr. Pumblechook's theory accepted by the household?
Because he is forceful and self-important — Dickens notes he "drove his own chaise-cart — over everybody" — so no one challenges him.
What happens to Mr. Wopsle when he objects to Pumblechook's theory?
He is unanimously dismissed because he has no alternative theory, no coat on, and is steaming by the fire — none of which inspires confidence.
How does Mrs. Joe send Pip to bed at the end of the chapter?
She clutches him roughly and drags him upstairs with such force that Pip feels as though he has fifty boots on, dangling against the stair edges.
Does Pip eventually confess the truth about the theft to Joe?
No. Pip decides to keep his secret, and his guilt persists long after the household stops discussing the incident.
Why does Pip say he loves Joe in the early days of their relationship?
Pip says he loves Joe "perhaps for no better reason...than because the dear fellow let me love him," suggesting Joe's gentle acceptance is what draws Pip to him.
Does Pip feel any guilt toward Mrs. Joe in this chapter?
No. Pip explicitly says he does not recall feeling any tenderness of conscience toward Mrs. Joe once the fear of being found out was lifted. His guilt is directed entirely at Joe.
What is Mr. Wopsle's mood on the journey home from the marshes?
He is in a very bad temper from exhaustion, so irritable that Dickens jokes he would have excommunicated the whole expedition if the Church had been open.
How does Joe react to the convict's confession about stealing food and the file?
Joe accepts the confession at face value and reports it to the household without suspicion, demonstrating his trusting and guileless nature.
What does Pip imagine Joe doing that would remind Pip of his secret guilt?
Pip imagines Joe glancing at yesterday's meat, feeling his fair whisker by the fireside, or remarking that his beer tastes flat — each ordinary act becoming a silent accusation.
What is the central moral conflict Pip faces in Chapter 6?
Pip knows he should tell Joe the truth about stealing the food and file, but he fears losing Joe's love and trust more than he values honesty.
How does Chapter 6 introduce the theme of reputation versus integrity?
Pip chooses to preserve Joe's good opinion of him rather than confess the truth, prioritizing how he appears to others over moral honesty — a pattern that defines his character throughout the novel.
What does Pip mean when he calls himself "too cowardly" twice in the same sentence?
He was too cowardly to refuse helping the convict (doing what he knew was wrong) and too cowardly to confess it to Joe (failing to do what he knew was right) — a double moral failure.
What does Chapter 6 suggest about the source of conscience?
Dickens suggests conscience comes from love, not from fear of punishment. Pip feels no guilt toward the punishing Mrs. Joe but is tormented by the thought of disappointing the gentle, loving Joe.
How does Dickens use comic irony in the scene where the adults discuss the break-in?
The adults earnestly debate how the convict entered the house, concocting absurd theories, while the reader knows Pip — standing right there — is the actual thief.
What narrative technique does Dickens use to convey Pip's guilt?
First-person retrospective narration allows the adult Pip to look back with self-awareness, labeling his childhood behavior as cowardly while still conveying the child's genuine fear.
Identify the hyperbole when Mrs. Joe takes Pip to bed.
Pip says she assisted him upstairs "with such a strong hand that I seemed to have fifty boots on, and to be dangling them all against the edges of the stairs."
What does "exonerated" mean in the context of this chapter?
It means cleared of blame or guilt. Pip was unexpectedly exonerated when the convict claimed responsibility for the theft.
What does "morbidly" mean when Pip says he "morbidly represented to myself"?
It means in an unhealthily obsessive or exaggerated way. Pip dwells on imagined scenarios of Joe's suspicion with excessive, anxious intensity.
Complete this quote from Pip: "I was too cowardly to do what I knew to be right..."
"...as I had been too cowardly to avoid doing what I knew to be wrong."
What does Pip mean by "thenceforth sitting in the chimney-corner at night staring drearily at my for ever lost companion and friend"?
He fears that if Joe learned the truth, their close relationship would be permanently destroyed, and Pip would spend his evenings in silent grief beside a friend who no longer trusted him.