HELP Select the correct answer. Which statement best reflects a theme that the author introduces in this excerpt? A. A child doesn't truly understand the world until he or she has an education. B. Change usually brings regret, regardless of the circumstances. C. New environments can change one's sense of self-worth. D. Being brought up with more opportunities creates greed.

C. New environments can change one's sense of self-worth.

Explanation:

Charles Dickens' Great Expectations tells the story of a young orphan named Pip and his rise to being a gentleman. But more importantly, his childhood days, the education and knowledge that he learned along the way during his various encounters with different sorts of people and the theme of belonging, loss of innocence, and society are all dealt with in the story.

In the given excerpt from Chapter VIII of the text, the scene shows Pip's first encounter with Miss Havisham and also Estella. Pip admits he had never questioned his childhood until that day when after meeting with Miss Havisham, was led to the courtyard under the bright sunlight. As though everything hidden in the dark is illuminated by the sun, Pip also feels ashamed of his appearance and even regrets not being taught properly by Joe. He admits his shame in realizing his "coarse hands and my common boots" were seen by Miss Havisham, admits that "they had never troubled me before, but they troubled me now as vulgar appendages". He even expressed his "wish [that] Joe had been rather more genteely brought up, and then I should have been so too", which shows his feeling of inferiority in the face of Miss Havisham, or in general, in front of someone richer or 'classier' than them.