The character development of the protagonist in Charles Dickens' novel great expectations

By learning literary works, the students do not only gain vocabulary. There are certain benefits that they can gain such as Literature can give the pleasure that they expect to experience in their daily life, the enjoyment in people’s life. Literature can also broaden students’ knowledge and build their intellectual and personal. The writer is interested in analyzing a novel in her thesis because a novel has its length, which makes it possible for the writer to develop the elements of the novel that she wants. Here the writer chooses Charles Dickens’ novel to be analyzed with the consideration that Charles Diskens is one of the most successful English novelists in the Victorian age. He has written a great number of novels, his brilliant examples in writing historical romances ie Great Expectations, his novel is the finest novel that he over wrote. In Great Expectations, Dickens created whole worlds of characters, exaggerated but unforgettable he also constructed plots which keep the reader’s attention to the end. Using qualitative research and analytic research aided with the principles of Content Analysis and Literary Analysis whenever necessary, this study tries to find out the character development of the protagonist during the story. This study also tries to find out the relationship between the protagonist and the other characters that affect the protagonist’s life. After analyzing Charles Dickens’ novel Great Expectations, the writer finds the results. First, Pip has been described as the major character of the protagonist who shows development of character during the story he changes from a frightened boy, to the snobbery, to the wisdom that the other characters’ goodness like Joe and Magwitch finally force on him. At the end, he makes a fortune through his own hard work, but he no longer feels that money makes him superior. He is able to become a gentleman in the moral sense. Second, the relationship of the protagonist with Miss Havisham and Estella encourages Pip’s snobeery. Because of knowing them he cuts himself off from his humble origins. The only purpose of his life is to raise his social status by becoming a rich gentleman. However, Pip finally realizes his mistakes with the help of Joe and Magwitch. Their affection and kindness change Pip to become a good man