As a coming-of-age novel, Charles Dickens' Great Expectations presents the growth and development of Philip Pirrip, better known as Pip. Pip is both the main character of the story and the narrator, telling his story many years after the events. Pip goes from being a young boy living in poverty in swampy Kent to becoming a gentleman of high rank in London. Pip's growth and maturation in Great Expectations leads him to realize that social status has no relation to one's actual character. Great Expectations is essentially a novel about a young man's education in life's lessons. Pip analyzes himself through his memories and from the point of view of maturity (“Charles Dickens” 1). Pip meets all the people who marked his life during his childhood. The first and most obvious is his family. Mrs. Joe and Joe Gargery, Pip's sister and brother-in-law, are the only family Pip has ever known. Mrs. Joe Gargery is Joe's wife and Pip's only living relative. She is a very domineering woman who always punishes Pip for something. Joe is like a father to Pip, who goes to Joe with all his problems and worries. They are always honest with each other and protect each other from Mrs. Joe when she lashes out. Although Joe is an adult, he is also Pip's only true friend during his childhood. Joe is the most loyal person in Pip's life. In this protected and isolated village, young Pip did not know society; however, he still manages to reach it. The first experience is a chance encounter with an escaped convict, who scares Pip into stealing food and drink (Hobsbaum 223). Pip has no way of knowing this, but the convict turns out to be one of the most im...... middle of paper...... his way of thinking is wrong and he admits that he has wrong and reconciles with his friends and family. Works Cited “Charles Dickens: Great Expectations.” » (February 2, 2006): 2. Online. World Wide Web. February 2, 2006. Available at http://www.uned.es/dpto-filologias-extranjeras/cursos/LenguaIglesaIII/TextosYComentarios/dickens.htm.Glancy, Ruth. Student companion of Charles Dickens. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1999. “Great Expectations.” Novels for Students 4. (1998): 12. Online. Discovery of the collection. February 6, 2006. Available at http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/DC.Hobsbaum, Philip. A Reader's Guide to Charles Dickens. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1972. “Themes and Construction: Great Expectations” Exploring Novels (2005): 8. Online. Discovery of the collection. February 7, 2006. Available at http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/DC.