Bildungsroman Elements In Great Expectations

The bildungsroman genre is defined as a coming-of-age novel, dealing more specifically with the journey of intellectual and emotional development within the protagonist. Charles Dickens is famous for his use of the bildungsroman genre in his novel, Great Expectations. Dickens’ work consists of Pip and his journey to maturity and manhood. However, he learns many difficult but important life lessons as he develops emotionally and intellectually. In Pip’s early life, he quickly experiences life’s disappointments. One of them is the loneliness Pip experiences as an orphan. He has no idea where he came from or what his parents looked like because “their days were long before the days of photographs” (Dickens, 1). The only memory Pip has of them is

Right away, Dickens reveals that Pip struggles with his self-identity because he has no knowledge of his family’s morals or standards, which ties in with the use of bildungsroman. However, Pip does have a father figure in his life: Joe Gargery, the blacksmith. Joe and Pip live a simple life but they enjoy each other’s company because Joe is the only person that treats Pip with kindness and love. Joe’s kindness is shown at Christmas Day dinner. Pip is ridiculed and criticized by family all day long. Pip describes that his family “wouldn’t leave [him] alone” but through it all Joe “aided and comforted”(19) Pip when he could in his own method. Pip in return demonstrates that love and kindness to strangers, one of whom is a convict. Pip feeds the convict a feast consisting of “some bread, some rind of cheese, about half a jar of mincemeat, some brandy...a meat bone with very little on it, and a beautiful compact pork pie” (11), when the convict begged for a little food and a file, and helped him to escape because young Pip has a kind heart and an innocence about him. Pip risked getting beat by his sister for taking the pork pie because he knew the convict needed it more; this