Characters use hands throughout Great Expectations to express love and affection towards others. Quite often, characters in this novel use their hands in a variety of ways to express affection, such as when Magwitch meets Pip, his benefactor for many years. On that special night, Pip recalls "that he [Magwitch] was holding out both his hands to me," (Dickens 340) which clearly shows how Magwitch expresses his deep affection towards Pip by a simple, open gesture with his hands. Just as Magwitch uses hands to express his complex feelings toward Pip, Ms. Havisham utilizes hand gestures for a similar purpose. Forker explains how Ms. Havisham stretches out her hand toward Pip "in order to show how she has undergone a shift of attitude and now seeks compassion and love from Pip" (291). Clearly, this action shows how such delicate feelings can sometimes only be clearly expressed towards another through the use of hands. This general idea can also be observed in many other instances, such as Pip and Herberts' friendship. When Pip and Herbert meet for the first time and shake hands, "they do so warmly, showing mutual agreement and thus an honest friendship develops from this shaking of hands," (Hornback 90). Hornback also states how Herbert offers his thoughtful, friendly assistance to Pip when Pip needs to confide in a friend by "seizing a warm grip of [Pip's] hand," (Hornback quoting Dickens 357). This gesture of hands represents the comforting, kind council of a friend (Hornback 91). Not only are hands often used to express friendship, hands are also used to reveal feelings of love, such as seen between Pip and Estella. It is evident that Pip and Estella have a complex relationship which is best expressed through the use of hands. At the very end of the novel, Pip recalls, "[I] took her hand in mine, and we went out of the ruined place," (521). This gesture of hands shows the unity and love of Pip and Estella's relationship. Dickens wisely chose to show this deep, complex feeling between the two with hands, which illustrates its importance in expressing feelings in life and explains why people often utilize hands as a means of expressing their feelings. It is evident that, as is seen in Great Expectations numerous times, hands are often used in everyday life to express many complex feelings such as affection and love towards others.

    Clearly it can now be seen through Charles Dicken's novel Great Expectations that people use hands in everyday life to show complex feelings which could not be expressed in any other manner. Characters in Great Expectations express such feelings as pain, strength, and love with hands. Obviously, hands must be extremely important in everyday life if people use hands 65% of the time during communication to express their feelings.