I walked away at a good pace, thinking it was easier to go than I had supposed it would be, and reflecting that it would never have done to have had an old shoe thrown after the coach, in sight of all the High Street. I whistled and made nothing of going. But the village was very peaceful and quiet, and the light mists were solemnly rising, as if to show me the world, and I had been so innocent and little there, and all beyond was so unknown and great, that in a moment with a strong heave and sob I broke into tears.
– Charles Dickens
Great Expectations, Chapter 19. Pip leaves his small home town in Kent and humble beginnings to start a new life in London as a gentleman of wealth. Having asked Joe not to walk with him to the coach, Pip departs the house in the early hours and Joe and Biddy throw old shoes after him. He is relieved that the traditional send-off of hurling an old shoe after the coach has not been witnessed by villagers. Reflected here is Pip’s newly acquired snobbery and his ungrateful and cold nature towards the people he grew up with, Joe and Biddy. Also indicated is his embarrassment over their “common” ways and his own humble origins. His bursting into tears is a sign of the conflicting emotions and guilt he feels at abandoning those who love him.