Great expectations may be read as a bildungsroman how does the first volume of Great Expectations chart Pip's progress from childhood to young adulthood?

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GREAT EXPECTATIONS MAY BE READ AS A BILDUNGSROMAN HOW DOES THE FIRST VOLUME OF GREAT EXPECTATIONS CHART PIP’S PROGRESS FROM CHILDHOOD TO YOUNG ADULTHOOD?

BY DHARMESH BHUDIA

        

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 bildungsroman genre and how the novel charts Pip’s progress from childhood to adulthood.

        The opening of the novel confirms that the novel fits bildungsroman genre as we are immediately introduced to the main character, Pip and he is the one who is telling the story. “I called myself Pip.” It is “Old Pip” telling the story as “young Pip” as he remembers it. “Old Pip” is the omnipotent narrator and “Young Pip” is the protagonist and the first narrator. We can see the day to day maturation of pip and also hear how events turn out for Pip as he is the omnipotent narrator. This also means that we get a biased opinion from Pip as he can modify and cut out bits of his past to make others seem bad or to make us feel more sympathetic towards him. This is one of the reasons why “Great Expectations” may not be classified as a bildungsroman. We discover that Pip has had a hard upbringing and this helps us see how Pip develops throughout the course of the novel. “As I never saw my father or my mother”. He has suffered a great loss at childhood. This allows us to see how he deals with this loss. This is an aspect which makes a bildungsroman. We are also informed of Pip’s 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 convict early on in the novel reinforces Pip’s 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.

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        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. “…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 ...

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