Experiential Learning In Bildungsroman Literature: A Study Of Personal Growth And Transformation In Charles Dickens’s Novels

Abstract

This paper explores the significance of experiential learning in the context of the Bildungsroman genre, with a specific focus on Charles Dickens’s novels Great Expectations, David Copperfield, and Oliver Twist. The aim of the study is to analyze how Dickens’s protagonists undergo personal growth and transformation through lived experiences rather than formal education or inherited privilege. The method employed is textual analysis, supported by theoretical frameworks from John Dewey and David Kolb on experiential learning, and Lawrence Kohlberg’s moral development theory. Results indicate that Dickens’s characters—Pip, David, and Oliver—develop resilience, humility, and moral clarity through encounters with poverty, injustice, love, and self-discovery. Each protagonist exemplifies the experiential learning cycle, where hardship and reflection foster maturity and ethical awareness. Comparative analysis further reveals Dickens’s consistent reliance on experiential learning as the driver of transformation across his Bildungsroman novels. The major conclusion is that Dickens presents personal growth and identity formation as inseparable from lived experience, emphasizing that true character development arises from adversity, relationships, and reflection. His works thus highlight the enduring significance of experiential learning in shaping moral responsibility and human maturity.