How Can Great Expectations Be Seen As A Coming Of Age Novel

Great expectations tells the tale of a boy named Pip’s life. It is cited as a coming of age novel, also known as a Bildungsroman due to the telling of Pip’s growth. There are multiple ways Dickens was able to express this genre throughout the novel. He told of Pip’s childhood, his early adulthood, and his older adulthood in order to really pull this Bildungsroman into a true coming of age novel.

When Dickens tells of Pip as a young boy it is obvious that he is innocent and naive. He has no true ambition in life quite yet and is told that it is his destiny to grow into the family blacksmith business. As of the beginning of the novel, these are Pip’s expectations. For example, Dickens shows Pip’s expectations by stating, “I was always treated

He suddenly can see himself with a different future. Pip thinks that being around Mrs.. Havisham will bring him out of the lower class and make him more high class. When he does get out of his impoverished lifestyle, he excludes everyone from that social class so as to not drag him down again. For instance, it is clear how Pip feels when he says, “Whatever I inquired, I tried to impart on Joe. This statement sounds so well, that I can’t in my conscience let it pass unexplained. I wanted to make Joe less ignorant and common, that he might be worthier of my society and less open to estella’s reproach,” (Dickens 84). The diction Dickens used for Pip to describe Joe implies Pip’s superior look on himself and how he feels that Joe is inferior. He uses words such as “ignorant” and “common” to express that he feels he is no longer associated with this social class any more. Pip expects to have a better life and feel better about himself after he becomes a gentleman. He even hopes that he will marry estella and become permanently high class. He tries as hard as he can to erase his past and create happiness from the society around him but he never seems

This is when Pip’s life takes an unexpected turn. His whole life he always thought that Mrs. Havisham was his benefactor and when he find out it is Magwitch he feels betrayed. He tries to push Magwitch away and keep his gentleman’s lifestyle but he feels like he owes Magwitch. As time goes on he grows to understand Magwitch a little better and learns to care for him. Throughout this part of the novel we see a transition in Pip’s character. As a matter of fact, we even see Magwitch become something of a fatherly figure to pip when Magwitch tells Pip, “Look’ee here, Pip. I’m your second father. You’re my son- more to me nor any son. I’ve put away money, only for you to spend,” (Dickens 251). Even though Magwitch says this when he first meets up with Pip after Pip’s benefactor is revealed, he still feels like he was able to be a fatherly figure to Pip by providing for him. Pip begins to expect different things out of life. He no longer prioritizes being a gentleman and puts other people’s feelings