Pip In Charles Dickens Great Expectations

Great Expectations is solely about Pip and his expectations over time and for the reader to be able to understand how and why his expectations change, Dickens purposely has Pip describe his life as a child, adolescent and mild aged man. The purpose of Dickens using a bildungsroman is to have Pip grow from a young boy who has many fears and expectations into a man who can then reflect on his mistakes and his life as a whole. One of the first scenes of the novel begins with Pip running into Magwitch and having Magwitch demand that Pip bring him a file and Pip does exactly that but instead of just brining the file he also brings some food. Pip explains that he did this because he was so tremendously afraid of the man, “On the present occasion, though I was hungry I dared not eat my slice. I felt that I must have something in reserve for my dreadful acquaintance, and his ally the still more dreadful young man”(Dickens 6). This quote demonstrates how afraid he is saying he rather stay hungry than have Magwitch …show more content…
“My dear Biddy, I have forgotten nothing in my life that ever had a foremost place there, and little that ever had any place there. But that poor dream, as I onced used to call it, has all gone by, Biddy, all gone by!”(Dickens 378). In this passage Pip demonstrates that he has not forgot what he has done and that he has learned from his past mistakes. He also mentions his “poor dream”, and how he no longer has such desires as he once had. The main part of his old dream that he mentions has to do with Estella and how he no longer is in love with her and feels the need to prove to her that he is enough. Later on after this scene he runs into Estella and they both basically confess that they regret what had happened and wish to