Great Expectations 2

Dickens' creation of the character, Orlick, acts as not only asistance to Joe in the forge but also has quite a effect on Pip's life. Dickens chose orlicks name based on the two obvious syllables "or" and "lick". These two words combine to desribe Orlick based on his position in society and his actions toward Pip.
"Or" meanig "to indicate an alternative"(www.merriam-webster.com) to a situation or idea, describes Orlick's position in relation to Joe's blacksmith industry. Orlick provides alternative support and help in Joe's trade by acting as his assistant as introduced by Pip as saying how Joe held him as, " a journeyman at weekly wages whose name was Orlick"(112). This example clearly shows Orlicks position in life in is proffesion. He simply acts as an alternative helping source in the Forge and is nothing more to Joe.
Lick as desribed as one of the possible defintions at www.merriam-webster.com, can mean "to strike repeatedly". This definition pays tribute to how Pip has desribed Orlick as to treating him. Pip's description includes statements of, "he gave me to understand that the Devil lived in a black corner of the forge, and that he knew the fiend very well: also that it was necessary to make up the fire, once in seven years, with a live boy, and that I might consider myself fuel"(112-113). These past occurences that Pip has explained a inhumane side of Orlick of repeatedly striking Pip with outragous claims that can cause fear in a young boy. These strikes may not be physical strikes but they are repetive strikes that have ceartinley impacted Pip to the extent that he has now mentioned them as a description of how awful Orlick is. Orlick actions toward Pip have been cruel and harsh just as the actions of anyone who is committing the act of "striking repeatedly".