When Herbert and Pip first become roommates, in his great desire to become a gentleman, Pip asks Herbert if he will teach him table manners. Herbert politely replies, "With pleasure...though I venture to prophesy that you'll want [need] very few hints. Will you begin at once to call me by my Christian name, Herbert?" Herbert wishes to put Pip at ease by complimenting him, giving him some confidence, and putting them on an equal plane by calling him by his first name. These gestures are those of one who wishes to be a friend.
Pip describes Herbert as "so unassuming that I felt grateful to him for not being puffed up. It was a pleasnt addition to his naturall pleasant ways, and we got on famously." Even when Joe comes to visit and Pip is embarrassed by his awkward behavior, Herbert, a true gentleman, eases the tension by acting the gracious host to Joe. He even goes so far as to aid Pip in helping the convict Magwitch escape. Tolerant, fair, and loyal, Herbert always tries to ease Pip's discomfiture--a true friend.
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