Essay title: Having read 'Great expectations' how effective is the opening chapter? Discuss the methods Dickens used to ensure his readers' continuing interest.
In this essay I will be focusing on the novel, 'Great Expectations.' Charles Dickens is a 19th century writer which affects his writing and language used within the novel. He has also written many other famous books such as "Oliver Twist", "The Christmas carols", and "David Copperfield". The Dickens family were of middleclass status and had sturdy finances until the father was unable to manage their money efficiently and was briefly sent to Prison. During this time, Charles was also punished for his father's mistakes. The young Charles was forced to quit school and was sent to work in a 'warrens blacking factory' for a few months, earning an unsatisfactory wage which was just enough to ensure his basic survival. Charles experienced poverty at first hand and for many years he was rather disturbed by that short episode of his life. However, it was the ever present memories of those difficult periods of his life which enabled Charles to write with such considerate feeling about some subjects in his novels. Much of Dickens' writing was based around life and hardships of the poor, because he was once poor himself. The novel, 'Great Expectations' is set in London in the 19th century. It is about a young boy called Pip, ambitious to become a gentleman; He starts off as a naïve, innocent, young boy growing up in a working class family who is then tainted by wealth, desire and pride. As the writer, Charles Dickens worked in a 'warrens blacking factory' he knew what life was like to live as a working class. This influenced his writing of Pip being a blacksmith. Who goes to London leaving his working class status developing the expectation to grow on to a higher class status, however he finds out human values are much more important than pride and wealth. In order to entice the reader to the rest of the novel Charles Dickens employs a variety of techniques and narrative hooks in the opening chapter. Within the opening chapter Charles Dickens exploits engaging characters such as Pip who is portrayed as a young, inexperienced and guiltless boy who subsequently goes on to the outside world where he meets Magwitch, in which he learns that the world was not as simple as he assumed it to be. Charles also uses dramatic action and mysterious setting in the first chapter to hook the reader to the rest of the novel. The use of pathetic fallacy is also developed in the first chapter, where Charles uses the presentation of nature possessing human qualities. The theme of crime, childhood, and class is explored throughout the novel largely through the characters.
In the novel, Philip Pirrip or Pip is the protagonist who expects great things from life. Great Expectations is told by Pip in his own semi-autobiographic voice, tracing his life from his early days of childhood until adulthood. Pip is an adult looking back on the growth and development of his younger self. The use of a first person narrator only allows the reader to see events from the perspective of Pip but he is a brilliant teller of his tale and holds the interest of the reader throughout. Pip is introduced in the opening chapter, where the fact that Pip had no parents is revealed early on. The quote which supports this is, "As I never saw my father or my mother, and never saw any likeness of either of them'' this immediately captured the reader's sympathy for Pip because they knew what happened to orphans at the time of the Victorians, as they were not valued. Moreover, Pip makes a juvenile assumption on his parents appearance, "I drew a childish conclusion that my mother was freckled and sickly" Pip's innocent mind hallucinates about the appearance of his parents from their tombstones; his misreading of the situation represents a lack of communication. This creates sympathy for Pip because the reader knows that Pip's childish assumptions are shadowed from the truth. Pip's gloomy and unpleasant surroundings transform him into a "small bundle of shivers". The reader is once again reminded of Pip's vulnerability and defenselessness. The readers were particularly worried that a little boy like Pip was all alone in a graveyard, "a bleak place overgrown with nettles". Obviously nobody cared for the sad, lonely graveyard, just like the fact that no one cared for Pip. Death surrounds him; Pip's dead brothers were buried beside their parents. The readers are now starting to guess what's going to happen. This is because many children died early in Victorian times, it was entirely possible that Pip would be joining his brothers very soon. Although very young, Pip had plenty of experiences with death; he had a limited ability to cope with what had happened. The evidence for this was when he had cried for no apparent reason. In paragraph 3 Dickens also uses the phrase "and that" 6 times, Dickens uses long lists instead of placing separate sentences to give the impression that Pip took everything in even though he was innocent. The odds were piled against him. Even the weather is bad, with the wind rushing. Pip, the main character of the book is described as very temperate, and polite this can be established by examining a quote from the first chapter where Pip spoke to the imminent convict, Magwitch in a civil manner, "If you would kindly please to let me upright, sir, perhaps I shouldn't be sick, and perhaps I could attend more." Even though Pip did not know Magwitch he still conceded on using his dialect in a very formal and proper manner; this particularly shows that Pip was apprehensively very humble and loyal towards Magwitch, even though he was a complete stranger to Pip and was described as a convict.
When Magwitch was first introduced, we were not given a warning. He just "started up from among the graves". The actual confrontation with Pip and the convict is sudden and is quite shocking, " Hold your noise!' cried a terrible voice, as a man started up" this quick, spontaneous meeting creates suspense and tension giving the convict a more frightening appeal.The fact that Magwitch was a convict was made clear by the "great iron" on his leg. The reader now has a very good reason to be afraid. The tension is growing because we are now scared for Pip. Dickens described events in a broad ways to begin with. The first three paragraphs were descriptions, nothing really happened in these first few paragraphs. Gradually as we learn more about a character and his capabilities, we begin to expect an event, or guess what might happen. In Magwitch's case, when he said "keep still, you little devil, or I'll cut your throat" we now know that Magwitch will scare Pip into obedience, it also gives the reader the expression that Magwitch is rather spiteful and offensive. Dickens then continues to describe Magwitch as "A fearful man, all in coarse grey" This description is characteristic of a convict. The adjectives "fearful" and "coarse" force us to believe that Magwitch is terrifying, dangerous and to some extent a deadly character. This makes the readers feel very sympathetic towards Pip and his current situation pertaining to the convict at the mysterious graveyard. However, Magwitch's fearfulness is inflated because he is seen through Pip's eyes. The reader sees all of this through the eyes of a child, so the description of Magwitch is exaggerated since Pip had a limited knowledge of the world in general. As a child sees things differently they have known fewer people, each person they meet is scrutinized according to their short pasts. Moreover, Magwitch has a very strong cockney accent and Dickens picks up on this by spelling some words so that they are pronounced phonetically, 'Pint out the place' would be said as it is shown to get across the fact that he has a very strong cockney accent. Later on in the novel the technique of depicting speech phonetically also gives a comic twist to Magwitch's speech, "Thankee sir" this sense of humour in the 19th century was very assuming for the people at the time. Magwitch uses Formal language as well as informal, we see traces of Magwitch's intelligence as his formal language is well-spoken an example of this is, "The question is weather you are to let her live." Magwitch sounds intelligent saying this, however his intelligence has not come from education it has come from his own doing, what he has piled up in his own life time. We see informal language when he is frightening the boy, "hold your noise!" Dickens makes the readers foreshadow on what will happen next, so they continue on reading and hold interest in the novel. The fact that Pip was used to doing what he was told; He had agreed to help Magwitch because he was unaware of the dangers. This may mean that Pip could get himself tangled up in a criminal activity and be punished for it even if his intentions were good. The readers start to feel that is very unfair, and naturally are worried and then wonder what's going to happen next. Dickens secured the reader's interest by playing on their sympathy. The readers can't feel completely at ease knowing it was entirely possible for Pip to get into at awkward position in any time since children are less cautious. Innocence and trust is a hazard of childhood. Pip was both innocent and trusting.
In contrast, Pip acts as a dynamic character throughout the novel and undergoes many changes through the course of the book. One of the causes for Pip's change in the novel was predominantly from after he met Magwitch in the first chapter. Pip, is a gentle character to begin with, his traits include humbleness, kindness, and lovingness and these traits are most likely the root of his childhood poverty and appreciating life where it stands. At the beginning of the novel Pip is a mild mannered, little boy who goes on with his own humble life but this ...
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In contrast, Pip acts as a dynamic character throughout the novel and undergoes many changes through the course of the book. One of the causes for Pip's change in the novel was predominantly from after he met Magwitch in the first chapter. Pip, is a gentle character to begin with, his traits include humbleness, kindness, and lovingness and these traits are most likely the root of his childhood poverty and appreciating life where it stands. At the beginning of the novel Pip is a mild mannered, little boy who goes on with his own humble life but this is changed as he meets Magwitch, a thief and future benefactor. Pip's kindness goes out to help the convict, Magwitch when he gives food and clothing to him. Magwitch tells Pip that he'll never forget his kindness and will remember Pip always and forever and this is the beginning of Pip's dynamic change. Furthermore, Pips sister, Mrs. Joe is always reminding him how much she has suffered because of him. One of the reasons for Pips forceful changes is because of his sister's messages, which fuels him with desires, ambitions and snobbery. Charles Dickens describes Mrs. Joe Gargery as 'Tall and bony' this shows that she is a skinny person who grows but she does not eat much. This quote also suggests that Mrs Joe Gargery does not take care of her self and has a lack of warmth towards herself abut mostly she has a lack of warmth towards Pip. No one can get to her feelings this is shown by the quote 'square impregnable bib'. The quote 'wore a course apron' suggests that she is not a very nice person and is quite unpleasant. Another quote that makes Mrs Joe Gargery sound unhappy and angry is 'redness of skin' which suggests that she is always in a bad mood and is always angry. The reader would knows she is angry is because the colour red which suggests anger and love however in this case it is anger. Dickens uses the phrase brought up 'by hand' many times in the early life of the novel. Usually, the phrase 'by hand' implies being brought up with care and love, but with the description of Mrs. Joe as 'knowing her to have a heavy hand', the confusion is cleared up as to what exactly that expression meant. Also, a mother would breast feed her child, whereas Mrs. Joe, although acting as Pip's mother, does not have as much love for him and because of her nature, she provides food and milk by hand instead. Charles dickens develops Mrs. Joe Gargery's character to create an imagination of her personality and nature in the readers mind. The reader's first appearance of Mrs. Joe's are of a cold and domineering woman because of the way Dickens describes her appearance. In comparison Mr. Joe, who is also one of Pip's forefathers is described as quite calm and gentle, "fair...undecided blue...mixed with their own whites." The colours used to describe Joe are quite mild. Dickens uses Mrs. Joe in order to unite Pip and Joe early on in the book by her violent acts. This relationship between the two is very important especially nearer the end of the book when Pip is in trouble. Both Pip and Joe suffered from Mrs. Joe, which is why they felt closer to one another, "Joe and I being fellow-sufferers, and having confidences as such," when Pip is first given the great news that he has received money from a mysterious benefactor, as Jaggers states; "the name of the person who is your liberal benefactor remains a profound secret,"
In chapter 8 we are introduced to Estella and Miss Havisham, Pip is sent to 'Satis House' to 'play' where he meets a beautiful but cold hearted, Estella and a rather eccentric Miss Havisham. As Dickens is a master of characterization, the reader already has a subtle impression of Miss. Havisham from the last part of her name "sham" this means to trick people. Her character is not exactly believable to the readers. Miss. Havisham is very vengeful, ever since that day she found out Compeyson had betrayed her as he did not turn up to their wedding. The moment when she learnt Compeyson was gone; she stopped all the clocks in the Satis house and only wears one shoe as she only managed to put on 1 shoe before she found out Compeyson's betrayal. Charles Dickens describes her; "She was dressed in rich materials-satin's, and lace, and silks-all of white" this tells us that Miss. Havisham is wealthy but does not keep herself in a good condition because she is heart-broken. Charles Dickens also uses pathetic fallacy to describe Miss. Havisham as the Satis House reflects Miss. Havisham's feelings. When Pip fist sees Satis House, and Miss Havisham's room he notices that there were: 'No glimpses of daylight' and that it was 'empty and deceived'. Miss Havisham's clothes and she also seem melancholy and decayed: 'everything within my view which ought to be white ...was faded and yellow.' This shows how she's depressed and old. At first, the reader may feel that Miss Havisham is mad or eccentric. The reader will feel little sympathy for her situation until later on in the novel when they learn the cause of her misery. Another use of pathetic fallacy is in chapter eleven, is where dickens portrays her to be bitter and disturbed. He describes the smoke, "reluctant smoke which hung in the room". This makes the reader think that maybe the smoke is lingering in the room reluctant to pass, just like Miss Havisham is lingering in the past reluctant to move on. Estella, Miss. Havisham's adopted daughter is described as scornful and arrogant, "that girl hard and haughty and capricious to the last degree" Estella belittles Pip and looks down on him as she thinks Pip is a hoi-polloi. This makes Pip think that all women are like his sister, so he does not realise how malevolent Estella really is and can only obey her like he is forced to obey Mrs. Joe. Estella is condescending towards Pip making him believe he is nothing, "'He calls the knaves, Jacks, this boy!' said Estella with disdain, before our first game was out 'And what coarse hands he has! And what thick boots!' " This gives Pip a very negative view on his own class, Pip takes these comments to heart; perhaps if Mrs. Joe had not been so cruel to him then he would have ignored Estella. If he did not listen to Estella, he might not have been so ashamed of himself and possibly not have wanted to go to London and ruined his life. Mrs. Joe is the root of all the bad that happens to Pip. The reason that Mrs. Joe, Estella and most of the women in "Great Expectations" are depicted as being malicious and cruel is possibly because Dickens might have had bad experiences with women in his life. Pip's character to become less likable is those that he develops after being introduced to Miss Havisham and Estella. During his first visit to the Satis House, Estella makes fun of Pip. Pip seems to fall in love with Estella during that moment. After just one afternoon at the house, Pip shows a desire to become more conformed to Estella, in hopes that her attitude toward him would change. When walking back to his home, Pip begins to feel ashamed of his life. His mind is filled with regretful thoughts such as "that I was a common labouring-boy; that my hands were coarse; that my boots were thick; and generally that I was in a low-lived bad way". Pip realizes that his personality and perception on his life is changing as he states, "That was a memorable day to me, for it made great changes in me." Estella is aware of her actions but makes the mistake of thinking that she cannot be hurt by such a destructive way of life. However, later on in the novel after her experiences with Drummle and the passing of time makes her realise what she lost when she rejected Pip's love.
Jaggers' is another forefather figure of Pip and is Pip's guardian whilst he was in London. He is recognized well as a lawyer as he states when he first meets Pip, "I am pretty well known." When he was first introduced to the novel his name "Jaggers" already gives an impression to the readers that he is "jaggered". Jaggers' is a lawyer and is of high-class. This portrays Jaggers as intelligent and successful. When Pip first goes to London, having gained an inheritance from his mystery benefactor, he is extremely observant of the office and its surroundings, subconsciously drawing from it conclusions about Jaggers' character and the type of person he is. Here, Dickens is slyly introducing Jaggers and his position in the novel with relation to Pip, This allows us (his readers), to have some idea of the man we are soon to meet, how we are supposed to look to him, and what our feelings are towards him, as we are practically watching the story unfold from behind the point of view of Pip, our narrator. As Pip examines Jaggers office he comprehends "...the room was lighted by skylight only...a most dismal place" the fact that it is lighted by skylight only, suggests that there needs to be more. Immediately, this gives an impression of an unwelcoming environment, in a place that one ought to avoid, a place where Pip has just stepped. It is dark and dismal, possibly reflecting the personality of the man to whom this office belongs objects around; "an old, rusty pistol, a sword in a scabbard, two dreadful casts on a shelf..." they are all little reminders of death -the ultimate price to pay if full attention is not given to Jaggers. When Pip asks Jaggers' clerk, Wemmick about the lawyer's odd manner, Wemmick replied, "It's not personal, it's professional; only professional." This shows that Jaggers is detached from human emotion. He sees that if he shows his emotions that he is unprofessional. In the novel Jaggers is shown as cold-hearted and powerful, he is so cold and powerful that when he talks people are terrified. When Pip entered the room he said, "The wall, especially opposite to Mr Jaggers' chair, being greasy with shoulders." This means when he talks to someone he is so commanding that the person stands as far away as possible and sweats as if he was standing a metre away from the sun. Jaggers is a forefather of Pip and someone to look up to as towards the end of the novel, Jaggers rescues Estella from her mean beginnings. This shows that Jaggers seemed to have a conscience and a moral sense. Jaggers' brings Pip a large sum of money, but Jaggers also tells Pip that the wealthy person who adopted him would like to remain unknown. Although the money he receives is off Magwitch, Pip assumes that Miss Havisham has given the money to him. This large amount of money allows Pip to become snobbish, as now he can look down on the lower class people.
Throughout the novel of Great Expectations, the character Pip, gradually changes from a kind and humble character to a character that is bitter, then Pip becomes so snobbish that he starts to neglect and look down on the people who have loved and cared for him during his life, (Joe and Biddy.) Joe provides food and clothes for Pip and Biddy tutors Pip, helping him with reading and writing, as he is not very literate. However, when Pip and Magwitch's character changes during the course of the novel it is quite shocking. This is unexpected as Magwitch is the convict in the beginning of the novel then comes out to be the benefactor of Pip. Pip finds out that it was really Magwitch who gave the money to him to become a gentleman. This was Pip's dream. This is quite a twist to the story as Pip thought it was Miss. Havisham who sent the money for Pip to become a gentleman. Pip considers that Miss. Havisham was the person who organised everything so he could go to London; this is evident from the quote, "Ah! I knew directly. Miss. Havisham's relation" he comes to this conclusion because he thought that Miss. Havisham sent her relation to tutor him as well. However when he finds out Magwitch sent the money for him to become a gentleman as he mentions this in chapter 39 "Yes, Pip, dear boy, I've made a gentleman on you!", it opens Pip's heart to realise the pain he has caused to many people because of his snobbery, as he even started to hate Magwitch during the course of the novel. Magwitch sends this money in order to thank him for helping him in the marshes. After finding out about this Pip and Wemmick persuades Magwitch to get out of England because Pip does not want Magwitch to get an execution on is hands.The convict persona is later altered and modified by Dickens in the novel as he presents the ideas that Magwitch is affectionate, caring and does not deserve his earlier hardships. The idea of the character being a convict may cause readers who have strong opinions already developed to be bias against him. Dickens still expresses his views on injustice and the drawbacks of the social system effectively. In chapter 42 Dickens draws flashback techniques to trace what really happened in Magwitch's, there is a gradual uncovering a denouement by him in chapter 42 called "Compeyson." We find out a lot about Magwitch's heritage that he was born poor and that he had no family. Magwitch talks of his first memories as a young child he says, "I first become aware of myself...a-thieving turnips for my living. Someone had run away from me...and he'd took the fire with him and left me very cold." This shows how society has neglected orphans his first memories is of stealing and being betrayal. Magwitch talks about his trial where Compeyson got 7 years and Magwitch got 14 years. Compeyson got half the sentence because, "First of all what a gentleman Compeyson looked with his curly hair and black clothes and his white pocket handkerchief and what a common sort of wretch I (Magwitch) looked." Magwitch said that he had given up all hope when he said, "I was hiding among the graves there envying them as was in them." This definitely shows how poor people and convicts were treated that society did not look after them and that these people felt no sense of place or belonging in the world. Dickens uses this chapter to show the inadequacy in the legal system and also that there is a lot wrong with society. Magwitch was not legally married to Molly but only married "over the broomstick" this shows that there is no legal marriage or protection for the poor. I think that society is using Magwitch, as a scapegoat so that they can charge him for crimes he did not commit so they can feel better about their society thinking it is safer. Whereas the real criminals in the novel are free, for example Compeyson a forger, Orlick a murderer and Drummle a wife beater.
The opening chapter is in the desolate setting of a marshy graveyard. Already an ambience of anxiety and uncertainty has been created. The marsh is a symbol of wilderness, amid which stands a lonely Pip. Pip is physically and mentally alone in his surroundings; he has no sense of belonging. This helps the reader empathise Pip's helplessness and isolation. The wet and marshy scenery resemble a distorted nature, which reflects the events happening in Pip's life. The graveyard symbolizes death and terror. It is in the graveyard that Pip realises the death of his parents and encounters Magwitch. Pathetic fallacy is used in chapter 1, an example of this is the quote, 'distant savage lair from which the wind was rushing' the passage is used to create a tense, dark atmosphere but also prepares the reader for the entrance of Magwitch. A 'lair' is generally associated with beast creatures for example, bears or lions and together with the wind is rushing creates an image of a beast like creature coming out rapidly towards you, leaving you helpless. This is precisely what happens to Pip when Magwitch emerges from behind a grave, so the scenery is mirroring the character. As Pip's and Magwitch's characters develop the reader starts to expect an event, this creates tension, and tension is created by suspense. The setting is also a key factor in the first chapter because it sets a spooky atmosphere and also the mood of the reader by saying "a memorable raw afternoon" it makes the reader envision that the weather is the worst thing that is happening but it also describes the graveyard as "over grown with nettles" it makes the reader feel that the place is uncared for a bit like Pip is uncared for. We are told that it was 'afternoon towards evening' indicating it was the time shadows are most likely to be seen putting across a spooky atmosphere with objects taking different forms. Words like 'bleak' and 'raw' are important as they describe the extreme conditions. Dickens uses colour imagery well within his descriptive writing, phrases like 'long black horizontal line' to describe the marshes and 'a row of long red angry lines and dense black lines intermixed' works well because using colours increases intensity, as well as using adjectives creatively. Dickens also uses pathetic fallacy in which an inanimate object takes on the emotions of a human, an example of this in the first chapter is when "raw afternoon" making it seem like a unpleasantly damp and chilly day. Another use of pathetic fallacy within the first chapter is where Dickens describes the sky which "was just a row of angry red lines and dense black lines intermixed." the dark blurred surroundings could be compared to Pips Dark blurred thoughts about the convict. Personification is quite similar to pathetic fallacy except personification is an inanimate object doing something; an example of this is "the wind was rushing" this is an extraordinarily effective sentence as the language describes the weather as being angry, ferocious, dark and evil, this builds a sense of fear through suspense.
Also here the metaphors give the reader a cinematographic view of what Pip sees. The setting has objects and points which are very concentrated points of fear for Pip like "a jibbet with some chains hanging to it which had once held a pirate. The man limped towards it as if he were the pirate come to life." This shows Pip merging the convict and the jibbet from two individual points of fear into one much more terrifying illusion. Dickens uses the setting to again emphasize Pips vivid imagination, "As I saw the cattle lifting their heads to look after him I wondered if they thought the same." This emphasizes how Pip can see anything and make into something quite paranormal. Dickens uses black humour a lot during the first chapter. For example Pip believed his mother's name was actually 'also Georgiana wife of the above' and his fathers 'Phillip Pirrip, late of this parish' this allows us to feel sorry for Pip but be half smiling at the same time. Another humorous event which happens in the first chapter of the novel when Magwitch reflects upon thinking Pip's mum was actually there in the graveyard, "He started, made a short run, and stopped and looked over his shoulder." This is a misconception of Magwitch to think that Pip's mother was in the graveyard, alive, however she really lay deep down beneath the soil, lifeless. Later on in the book Charles Dickens exploits more comedic devices within the novel in which Joe was "being providentially attracted by his hat, which was toppling."
Moreover, the Satis house, which is introduced afterwards, is described as the "perfect reflection of Miss Havisham's living death: the once luxurious house has been allowed to decay around her". The courtyard outside of the house is described as "paved and clean, but grass was growing in every crevice". This could show that barely anyone had walked on it, and that it had been left without care to cause the grass to grow wildly. The same could be said about Miss Havisham, she wears clear white and elegant clothes and jewellery that have been undisturbed for years, yet her mind has been forgotten about without care, to grow wild and bizarre. The image of wild overgrown garden could add quite a contrasting effect upon the reader. At first when little description of the house had been made apart from the previous quote, we would think of it kind of like a jungle with no animals, yet at the same time like an abandoned village. "All the brewery beyond stood open, away to the high enclosing wall; and all was empty and disused". This would add a feel of mystery and desolation to the atmosphere. However when Pip enters the house excluded of all light, the completely different feeling of confinement and solitude is brought upon the reader. Overall, all of these contrasting atmospheres and feelings would create an effect of perplexing madness upon the house and its role model, Miss Havisham. Dickens probably used this technique of contrasting moods to help bring about this feeling of abnormality to Miss Havisham, without having to use a simple, easy sentence to understand sentence. Additionally, When Pip leaves to go London most of his close friends and relatives are "sobbing with tears". The atmosphere in the village when Pip is just about to leave is dull and there is a lot of sadness throughout the village. Pip is so upset that he can't talk to anyone; he decided to say his last farewell to his very old friend, the finger post, located at the edge of his village. Pip puts his hand on the finger post and cries out "Good-bye, o my dear, dear friend!" this is personification, as you don't tend to talk to objects. Dickens uses this to show that Pip is in a really bad state. He says his farewells to all of his friends and then he starts the long, tiring journey to London. On the journey to London the atmosphere is changing all the time. It is like when he changes from one coach to another his mood is changing. Dickens uses the phrase at the end of the chapter "And the mists had all solemnly risen now, and the world lay spread before me". He uses this to show the reader that there's no going back and it's too far, too late.
Crime and Punishment is a key theme in "Great Expectations" which is linked closely to Justice and Injustice. Pip is introduced to crime and criminals very early on when he is confronted with Magwitch on the marshes. This encounter compels Pip to steal from his own family, the iron file and the pork pie, "I said I would get him the file, and I would get him what broken bits of food I could, and I would come to him at the batter" This reveals that Pip has a passive personality who fears the stronger emotion in him. So the first crime we see committed is by Pip, which is significant because the book is around crime and how Pip gets more and more involved. When Magwitch is caught he is taken to the prison hulk where Pip gets an insight into the justice system and how the prisoners are treated. No one cares or seems bothered when he returns and the ship is all chained up like the prisoners. Pip again meets up with Wemmick who shows him around the court and local jail. Pip notices that, like Jaggers, Wemmick has a huge popularity vote with the convicts. This puts Pip among people associated with crime and the criminal justice system. When Pip returns from the jail he feels contaminated by being around the convicts. As Pip gets older he realises more and more about his life, his background and the people associated with it. While trying to find his way, he discovers shocking facts. The most important one being that Magwitch, the convict, is Pip's benefactor. This confuses Pip because all along he has believed and has been told that Miss Havisham was his benefactor. Also Pip can't believe that the criminal he helped on the marshes all those years ago could be the person funding his 'great expectations'. Pip and Jaggers dress Magwitch up as Pip's uncle in an attempt to smuggle him out of the country, but Pip still believes that their plan isn't foolproof. Under all his clothes the fact that he is a convict still shows through. Also the fact that Magwitch has a daughter, and that daughter is the sweet innocent girl Estella, who Pip loved, makes no sense to Pip. That Magwitch, a common criminal, has produced Estella, a posh lady, confuses Pip because he believes that family should be of the same social background. Dickens's passes this message with character such as Drummle, who is an upper class vandal, while Magwitch the convict has a deep inner worth. Crime and justice does play a very important role in the book. Crime falls into two main categories, moral crime and legal crime. Moral crime would be the treatment of Estella by Miss Havisham and legal crimes are crimes that you can be put on trial for. Justice does prevail in the novel e.g. poetic justice like Drummle who falls off his horse and Miss Havisham who dies after being cruel. This is also ironic.
Another theme which is also found in the novel is 'childhood'. In the opening few chapters of the novel Dickens shows his opinions of childhood through Philip Pirrip otherwise known as Pip. Pip is first seen in a graveyard on his own reading the tombstones of his other family members who he never knew. The fact that the coming to life of Pip is through death shows that Dickens believes that childhood is an awful time of your life. We are told that Pip's first memories are of him on his own finding out that his family are all dead and buried in a church yard over run with nettles. This isn't a very nice memory and shows that Dickens feels there's not much fun to have when you're a child and that it's a very lonely time in your life. Dickens believes childhood is the worst time of your life but still has a large respect for the power of a child's imagination. We see this when he tells us that Pip believes he knows how his parents look just by the style of writing is on their tomb stones 'The shape of the letters on my father's gave me an odd idea that he was a square, stout, dark man' this also shows Pip's longing for his parents make him invent new imaginary parents. This leads us to believe that he's not happy living with his sister. We also see the strength of Pip's imagination when he takes the convict some food. Pip's imagination is often found along with another emotion, guilt. Guilt is shown strongly when Pip steals from his sister Mrs Gargery and his imagination shows this through personification. Pip makes the cows in the fields talk to him and the steps in his house try and stop him 'get up, Mrs Joe' 'stop, thief!' Also two other characteristics that occur a lot in the novel shows Dickens views of childhood are naivety and innocence. The innocence in Pip is shown because he is always polite towards the convict even when he's hurting him 'goo-good-night, sir,' This shows that children are brought up to be well mannered towards their elders and are too innocent to know that the man was a convict. Pip shows his naivety when he believes if he doesn't do as the convict says he will be attacked by another man, the young man, 'I was in mortal terror of the young man who wanted my heart and liver' this shows how naive children are because Pip believed in a made up man and didn't think once about questioning the convict about this man. Dickens shows his views of childhood through another character, Estella. Estella shows the reader that Dickens believed that you could create a child in any way you wanted and in Estella's case she was created to torment men and 'break their hearts'. Estella shows us that because of how bad her childhood was she is no longer able to love. We know this because she tells Pip she has 'no heart'. This tells us that her childhood wasn't a nice time for her and has scarred her for life. Estella also shows us the cruelty of childhood in the way she treats Pip. She shows us by leading Pip on and breaking his heart several times while he's growing up. In this novel childhood comes across as being the worst time in your life and that it was terrible to be a child.
Furthermore another theme I will be discussing is 'class' in which Pip's ultimate aim is to become a gentleman. Pip is a stereotypical example of the so-called 'common' and is a working class boy. Often we see him lesser than that, for example, when we are introduced to him for the first time, our sympathy instantly appears for him. The way we see him is pathetically sad. Whilst looking over his parents graves, in unbearably cold weather and rain, the reader feels pity for him. Dickens' has used a variety of writing techniques, such as the weather and use of description, so that we are sorry for his circumstances. This is an example of pathetic fallacy because the weather is reflected on the mood of the main character, Pip. Pip describes his world as a 'universal struggle,' and we see how Pip looks at life and how his suffering has affected this. Dickens uses the metaphor to describe him as a 'bundle of shivers' and this shows that he is defenceless and vulnerable. The metaphor is assertive and makes the reader understand his conditions. It becomes clear that Pip will have to break the mould of manual labour and has a lengthy journey to go before achieving his aim of becoming a 'gentleman.' Throughout this whole passage, Dickens is underlining the common misconception, made by Victorian people that rich people lived a handsome lifestyle. The audience, as well as many people of the Victorian society, would've expected Miss Havisham to live bountifully and live in an immaculate condition. This is not the case and we see that despite having no money, Mrs Joe Gargery is the one who cares about appearances and how people see her. Dickens is showing that there is a class separation, but its not always what people expect it to be. Here, the example of Miss Havisham being the opposite of what we had deemed her to be shows that people shouldn't be judged just by the amount of money they have. Dickens also explains this through Herbert Pocket, where he says, "No man who was not a true gentlemen at heart, ever was since the world began" this is a very significant quote as it directly enlightens the reader on the message Dickens was trying to present to us from the beginning of the novel.
In conclusion, I believe that Chapter one of Great Expectations a perfect opening. We are introduced to two of the main characters: the narrator Pip and the dangerous but pathetically vulnerable Magwitch. The tense atmosphere, which arises from the bleak landscape and the appearance of a desperate convict, grip the reader's attention completely. In addition, Magwitch's demands upon Pip whet our curiosity and ensure that we will want to read on. The readers raise a lot of questions by the end of the opening chapter, with no answers given. What happened to Pips Parents and Brothers? Who is this strange man? Would Pip return the next morning? If so would the stranger hurt him? Would Pip get found out about stealing the food? The readers will only find the answers by reading on. Therefore I think this chapter is very successful as an opening. Dickens also uses a range of techniques within the first chapter to entice the reader to the rest of the novel, such as; characterisation, use of humour and suspense. The introduction to the main character drives the plot forward. In general I think the novel shows a disillusioned approach to society in which all of "great expectations" become false. I think this is because Dickens thinks that society is disillusioned and that great expectations for him personally have never become true.Through out Great Expectations, the theme of social class is central to the novel's plot and the moral theme of the book. When Pip finally understands that wealth and class are less important than affection, loyalty and inner worth, despite the love for Estella that he holds, he realizes that one's social status is definitely not related to their real character. Dickens's passes this message with character such as Drummle, who is an upper class vandal, while Magwitch the convict has a deep inner worth.
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