Great Expectations Character Analysis

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Great Expectations is a bildungsroman written by Charles Dickens about the development of a boy named Pip. The novel focuses on the moral, psychological and physical growth of Pip and how much he changes throughout his life. Initially Pips retrospective point of view makes him seem like a simple but well brought up boy, but as the story progresses, we get to see the more dramatic and judgmental side of him – these characteristics grow in him as he gains a bad influence from various different characters. In chapter 20, Pip moves to London to begin his life as a proper gentleman and during this time we can see Pips maturity grow and his switch into adulthood very clearly. In chapter 20, Pip is presented as rather judgmental and a bit shocked…show more content…
During this section of the novel, Pip makes many new friends along the way that guide and help him to become a proper gentleman. One of these that is particularly notable is, Herbert Pocket. Herbert seems to be Pips ‘best’ friend throughout his transformation because they relate to each other in more ways than one. As well as this, Herbert is the one to tell Pip the full story about Miss Havisham and her unfortunate past. This story of Miss Havisham mirrors some of the themes that go on in the novel such as social class, romantic anguish and criminality. In a way, just the fact that Pip is now aware of her story, marks his new found maturity and in a way shows his transformation into a gentleman: ‘It had not occurred to me before, that he had led up to the theme for the purpose of clearing it out of our way”. In this quotation, we can see how much information that Pip was unaware of before becoming a gentleman. This knowledge that he has gained, symbolises how he has become a gentleman. As well as this, Herbert shows Pip proper table manners, which Pip goes on to try and

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