Dickins and his social commentary

I feel sad for the characters in this book, especially Pip. He thinks that all of these social advances will bring him happiness, but they don't.

I feel like that in much of especially American society we try to achieve material goods in the hopes of filling the void in our lives. Satisfaction is a rare thing to find in this world.

From reading the posts on Estrella and her self awareness, I realize that few people have the sympathy that I have for her. She has been brainwashed by the only guardian she ever knew, and while some argue that she could change her attitude if she wanted too, I don' think, that she thinks, that this is a possibility.

I wonder if there has been a paper using psychological criticism on Estrella.