Jamie WiederholtMrs. CarsonAP Literature12 August 2015Great Expectations is a bildungsroman. This novel is the story of a boy named Pip, his early dreams and subsequent disappointments that ultimately lead him to become a truly good man. During his journey to adulthood, Pip comes to realize two different concepts of being a gentleman, and comes to discover that the real gentlemen in his life are not the people he had thought. The most important turning point in Pip's development is when he discovers what a true gentleman is, who his true benefactor is, and his high expectations come to an end. Pip originally believes that his benefactress is Miss Havisham and that he is destined to marry Estella, Miss Havisham's adopted daughter. Miss Havisham cruelly treats Pip like a toy; he makes him play with Estella, encouraging her to insult him and flirt with him. He encourages Estella to do so by saying, "You can break his heart." (Dickens, 61). She liked seeing Pip shamed and offended. His desire to marry Estella and enter the upper classes arises from his first meeting in the Satis house. Once he understood ideas such as poverty, ignorance and immorality, he wanted the opposite for himself. This realization is shown in the quote, “I took opportunity to stand alone in the yard, to look at my coarse hands and my common boots” (Dickens, 68). He liked Estella, and her cruel insults led him to behave badly towards the people who cared about him most. In Pip's eyes a gentleman must be wealthy, educated and of high class; he wants them to win Estella. In his mind, Pip linked the ideas of moral, social and educational progress so that everyone depends on others to be a gentleman. Not... middle of paper... humanity, that of a true kind-hearted gentleman, who narrates the novel. At the conclusion of Great Expectations, Pip's fate is acceptable and entertaining. Early in his life, he had transformed from an innocent and caring boy into an arrogant young man due to his unrealistic hopes and expectations. However, when his expectations end, so do his undesirable traits, for he then becomes a truly good-natured person and a true gentleman. Pip's change came from his awareness of his benefactor and the collapse of his idea of ​​a wealthy, cultured, high-class gentleman. Works Cited Dickens, Charles. Great expectations. Champaign, Illinois: Project Gutenberg, 1992. Print."Pip's Great Expectations." Pip's Great Expectations. 7 May 2002. Web. 10 August 2015. "Pip, Estella and Miss Havisham." Pip, Estella and Miss Havisham. November 6, 2005. Web. August 10. 2015.