Great Expectations: A Character Sketch of Herbert Describing the Importance of Friendship

"Without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods," (Aristotle). Friends are the most valuable possessions of any person, no matter who the person is. More than 2300 years later, Aristotle's statement holds true. One example of the ultimate value of friendship can be found in Charles Dickens's Great Expectations. One of the few characters who remains stationary throughout the novel is Herbert Pocket, the dearest friend of Philip Pirrip, also …

…point: "It was true. When she stopped to think about it, she was a little lonely-lonely for female companionship," (671). Sir Francis Bacon tells us, "The worst solitude is to be destitute of sincere friendship." And from an unknown source, "Life's truest happiness is found in friendships we make along the way." Food, water, and shelter are not life's only necessities; we must add friendship to the list, for without friendship, no one could ever survive.