The Deveopment of Pip in Dickens Great Expectations Essay

The Deveopment of Pip in Dickens Great Expectations Great expectations maybe considered as being a bildungsroman as it charts the development of the main character (Pip) from childhood to adulthood. Traditionally a bildungsroman contains the progress of one character as he or she deals with death, love, social status and other life effecting factors. In this way Great expectations fits the bildungsroman genre. In some ways Great expectations does not fit the traditional bildungsroman as the person is telling the story as an adult reflecting on his life from childhood. Primarily bildungsromans are narrated by a protagonist and no one else. This essay will deliberate how the novel fits into the†¦show more content†¦This is an aspect which makes a bildungsroman. We are also informed of Pips social status at the start of the novel. Mrs Joe Gargery who married the blacksmith. This is of vital importance to see the change of Pip and as it has been early on in the novel we are more aware of this change. The introduction to the convi ct early on in the novel reinforces Pips social status and the harshness of his life. This is also mirrored in the setting. It is described as being bleak, raw, savage and wild. There is a suggestion that the place is inhabited and primitive. This implies that Pip feels like this. Establishing the setting is important as it allows us to contrast it with the London setting later on in the novel. This is also of great importance as the convict changes his life later on in the novel. Pip is presented to us as a lonely child who has suffered a huge loss early on in his life. We discover that he has lost his parents and a number of siblings. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Were sacred to the memory of five little brothers of mine This is important for a bildungsroman novel as the main character usually suffers a loss early on in life. This also helps us see how the main character deals and gets over this loss. Old Pip is reporting what Young Pip is saying and feeling beginning to cry was Pip. We also meet Pip in the graveyard indicating to us