"Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens

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. …