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How Does Pip Change Throughout The Novel

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The most significant changes affect an individual mentally or psychologically. Change can happen to the most unaware people; yet, at the same time people can incite change within themselves.This phenomenon can be undoubtedly observed within the main character, Pip: the narrator and main character of the book Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. A major theme in this book is moral development. Pip’s definition of what a true gentlemen is evolves in Pip’s mind as the story progresses and as Dickens manages to give this internal event excitement associated with external action . He has great expectations for himself and what his life is going to be like causing his growth into a true gentleman to be affected by guilt, ambition, and

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As he steps foot into Miss Havisham’s house, he longs to be a wealthy man. His desires to improve himself as an individual is a change of consciousness morally and socially. These motivate Pip’s best behavior throughout the novel. He is hard on himself when he acts unethically and feels a guilt that encourages him to act better in the future. When Pip is leaving for London, he criticizes himself for treating Joe and Biddy harshly saying “I was after I had cried, than before-more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle” (124). Pip’s behavior toward Joe and Biddy leads him to self-improvement where he learns to lose his immaturity. This is a step closer to him becoming a man. Furthermore, Pip has an ambition of improving himself socially after meeting Estella. Because he is in love with her, he desires to be a member of her social class. “Miss Havisham’s intentions towards me, all a mere dream; Estella not designed for me; I only suffered in Satis House as a convenience, a sting for the greedy relations” (254). However, Pip’s great expectations only lead to suffering, but suffering is what makes Pip turn into a

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