Charles Dickens' Great Expectations explores the journey of an innocent common boy when his initial dreams result in disappointments and eventually leads him to become a genuinely good man. Dickens points out that greed can corrupt and the essential goodness of simplicity can form far better and memorable traits. Pip goes through significant changes that form the main themes of the story, which include greed, pride, arrogance, suspense, and love. Dickens uses Pip's descent of a naïve, loving boy into an arrogant man and his redemption as a simple, hardworking person to demonstrate that unrealistic expectations can lead to undesirable traits.

In the beginning, Pip is characterized as a harmless, considerate boy who draws great sympathy from the reader. When Magwitch first seizes and threatens Pip, he responds, "Oh! Don't cut my throat, sir, O pray don't do it sir" (1.2). Pip's confrontation with the convict shows his...