Ambition and Self-Improvement

All great novels have major themes on which the plot is based on, and Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, is no different. One of the major themes in this novel is ambition and self-improvement. Dickens uses this as a universal idea for his novel, and from this theme he gets his title of Great Expectations. Another major theme in the novel is social class. Dickens uses the theme of social class to feed into his theme of ambition and self-improvement. With both ambition and self-improvement Pip is able to become a gentleman. Pip, from the lower class, has the longing to be with Estella,…