Great Expectations by Charles Dickens is a novel which is very much involved with issues of social classes. During this time period, as in most time periods of history there are members of the lower, or working class and of course the high class citizens. The character Pip sees different people from all different social standpoints throughout his life and learns from them how an upstanding human being of society is supposed to act. Throughout Pip's life he grows to an understanding of what a proper gentleman truthfully is. His opinion of what being a true gentleman entails changes drastically with his experience.

At Pip's first encounter with upper-class he only perceives the concept of being a gentleman as meaning one's wealth and comfort. Pip's realization of the differences between himself and Estella cause him to wish he is a gentleman. Pip has been living a life of...