1. Mr. Dick
David is vulnerable in his desire to keep Mr. Dick content as his friend. For example, when Mr. Dick asks David “I suppose history never lies, does it?” with “a gleam of hope,” David responds “Oh dear, no, sir” because he “was ingenuous and young” (216). David knows that Mr. Dick is mentally ill, but still enjoys spending time with him, and, in turn, is quick to agree with him.
2. Uriah Heep and his mother
David is vulnerable to Uriah Heep and his mother when he is pressured into divulging information that he feels uncomfortable discussing. For instance, when David visits with Uriah and Mrs. Heep he relays to the reader, “They did just what they liked with me; and wormed things out of me that I had no desire to tell, with a certainty I blush to think of: the more especially as, in my juvenile frankness, I took some credit to myself for being so confidential, and felt that I was quite the patron of my two respectful entertainers” (221). Uriah and Mrs. Heep are both so obsessed with maintaining the appearance of humility that they come off as arrogant and insensitive to the feelings of those around them.
3. Mr. and Mrs. Micawber
David is naive to the idea that Mr. and Mrs. Micawber are swindlers. To illustrate, after David receives a letter from Mr. Micawber signed “The Beggared Outcast,” David runs to Mr. and Mrs. Micawber’s hotel to console Mr. Micawber, but instead witnesses “Mr. Micawber, the very picture of tranquil enjoyment, smiling at Mrs. Micawber’s conversation, eating walnuts out of a paper bag, with a bottle sticking out of his breast pocket” (229). Although Mr. Micawber is generally kind to David, the reader is able to recognize that Mr. Micawber is so careless when it comes to money that he feels the need to constantly sponge off of others and avoid debt collectors.
4. Miss Shepherd and Miss Larkins
David’s first crush since Emily, Miss Shepherd, is wrought with innocence. For example, when Miss Shepherd and David are placed together as partners at the dancing-school, David states: “I touch Miss Shepherd’s glove, and feel a thrill go up the right arm of my jacket, and come out at my hair. I say nothing tender to Miss Shepherd, but we understand each other. Miss Shepherd and myself live but to be united” (230). David is so smitten with Miss Shepherd that he assumes that the feelings must be mutual.
David’s naivety then continues when he establishes a crush on Miss Larkins, a woman of about thirty years of age. For example, when Miss Larkins introduces David to Mr. Chestle, he states, “I am lost in the recollection of this delicious interview, and the waltz, when she comes to me again, with a plain elderly gentleman, who has been playing whist all night, upon her arm… I feel at once that he is a friend of the family, and am much gratified” (234). David feels overconfident about his crush yet again, assumes that there is an undeniable connection between the two, and fails to notice that he may be in competition with someone else.
5. Annie Strong and Mr. Wickfield
David is vulnerable to the influence of Mr. Wickfield’s suspicions of Annie Strong. For instance, during a conversation with Doctor Strong, Mr. Wickfield tells him “to take care,” of himself enough so that he’s “not imposed on” (239). This is only one of several ominous statements that Mr. Wickfield makes about people who may take advantage of Doctor Strong, as him and many others question Annie’s motives.
6. Steerforth
Steerforth does not respect David as an individual or an equal, and David is naive to this. By way of illustration, during David’s visit with Steerforth, Steerforth says, “I should like to hear what you are doing, and where you are going, and all about you. I feel as if you were my property,” David is “Glowing with pleasure to find that he had still this interest in me” (249). David still idolizes Steerforth long after their days spent together at Salem House, so much so that he ignores the fact that Steerforth thinks of him as his ‘property.’ The reader soon learns that Steerforth’s mother idolizes him in her own way, and proudly provides the reason why Steerforth has grown up with an overpowering sense of entitlement.