moral maturity
In Charles Dickens' novel, Great Expectations, the main character Pip undergoes a constant moral maturing. Pip's original childhood innocence was stripped of him when he began to desire material wealth and influence. His fear of certain characters like Mrs. Joe and Magwitch inspired him to do some undesirable things. Next, when Pip was in London being supported by his convict, he spent his money recklessly in an attempt to gratify himself. Finally, after Pip realized the truth about people, his formerly selfish attitude turned altruistic and he accepted others for whom they are: not for what they look like. In Charles Dickens' novel Great Expectations, Pip experienced three basic stages of moral maturity: fear, self- satisfaction, and altruism.The first stage Pip went through relative to his moral development was fear. in this stage, Pip's main excuse for his actions was his fear of punishment. Fear can inspire a person to think irrationally and make him/her aware only of themselves. Reacting out of fear is natural, but it must be overcome sooner or later to spur on further growth as a person. Pip displayed this weakness because Mrs. Joe was constantly beating and threatening him. This kind of behavior made Pip
Finally, Pip's change from self-satisfaction to altruism is indeed very noble. Pip realizes that he should not judge others based on appearance, but rather on who they are on the inside. This point of change was made only after spending time with Magwitch and realizing how much he was grateful to him and how much Magwitch loved him. Pip stays true to the end with Magwitch and never abandons him as shown when Pip states, "I will never stir from your side... when I am suffered to be near you. Please God, I will be as true to you as you have been to me." (ch. 54, pg. 457) This goes to prove that people can change, but only after they experience love. Pip's unconditional love for Magwitch was definite because he had nothing to gain from him. Only now does Pip realize how much he has missed in life and how sorry he is for missing it. His apology to Joe and Biddy shows that they are forgiving characters and that Pip is now one of them. Pip's acting out of the goodness of his heart demonstrates that deep down inside, he was a sort of hero to himself. .... I cannot tell you how dependent and uncertain I feel.,, (ch. 30, pg. 269) Sadly enough, Pip still feels as though he must have everything if he wants to be a "gentleman," so he joins an elite clu
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Approximate Word count = 844
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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