Looking towards the open window, I saw light wreaths from Joe’s pipe floating there, and I fancied it was like a blessing from Joe – not obtruded on me or paraded before me, but pervading the air we shared together. I put my light out, and crept into bed; and it was an uneasy bed now, and I never slept the old sound sleep in it any more.
– Charles Dickens
Great Expectations, Chapter 18. As Pip goes to bed he watches the clouds of smoke from Joe’s pipe floating past his window. In a powerful simile, he imagines them to be a blessing from the good and almost saint-like Joe. The imagery and language evoke a sense of peace and family life and point to the close bond that Pip shares with Joe. But a discordant note is sounded when Pip personifies his bed as “uneasy” and says he cannot sleep easily anymore. Reflected here is Pip’s transition from a poor childhood to a more privileged adulthood, where the future troubles that will bring are foreshadowed.