Charles Dickens the story of the young lad, Pip in a very light vein. We learn about many people and characters as the book progresses and all of these characters make the book what it is and everyone helps in making the book a novel of growth.

We are introduced to Pip who lives with his sister, who is very commanding and harsh towards him. He is hired as a companion by Miss Havisham and there he falls in love with her adopted daughter Estella. In the meanwhile we learn that Pip offers some food to an escaped convict to save his life. It is a very generous and great gesture anyone can do. Pip’s aspiration to make name by leaving his simple life behind seems to be hard to achieve considering the fact that he lives in a small town.

After being a companion to Miss Havisham, he joins as an apprentice to Joe and expects that one day he would be a good blacksmith. But his dream of making a great name seems to be nearing him, though in a way he completely not have thought of. One day an attorney comes and tells Pip that on behalf of an anonymous benefactor, he is invited to be trained as a gentleman.

With the help of tutors, nice clothing, and culture he is on his way of becoming a gentleman in London. Though he loves his newly promoted status, he soon becomes tired of the mechanical life he is leading and he wants more to his life and he wants to do something to achieve it. When the identity of his benefactor is revealed, he is shocked to learn that the convict whom he saved when he was a kid is helping him this way.

At the same time, we learn the changes in Estella’s life too. This cold hearted girl who provokes love in Pip as a kid, meets him in London too, though by accident. This lady can love any man and she doesn’t mind about the people she has loved in the past. She sends messages to Pip that she would meet him and this makes the love for her grow in his heart. Though she tells Pip about her nature occasionally, he doesn’t mind that. Meanwhile her mother arranges her marriage with another guy and they get married. This makes Pip’s heart break. But we get to know that she is harassed by her husband and we see her in her mother’s house at the end of the novel when Pip comes to see the house. The Estella we see at that time is not the same cold hearted Estella we see in the earlier chapters.

Most of the characters grow as the novel progresses and finishes. Though the main characters to be named are Pip and Estella, we see this growth in other characters too, though not so drastic.