A comparison of chapters 1 & 39 of Great Expectations

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Pre-1914 prose: A comparison of chapters 1 & 39 of ‘Great Expectations’

‘Great Expectations’ tells the tale of Pip- a young boy, an orphan who is vulnerable and attacked by his sister, and how his and Magwitch’s lives become entwined -, Magwitch, an escaped convict, is the opposite character to Pip and quite aggressive, who sees Pip as an easy target when he attacks him in a churchyard.

The early chapters clearly highlight how different life in the 1800’s, for example children were expected to give all adults respect, as Pip shows when he calls Magwitch ‘Sir’. Children were also punished very harshly as we see when Pip is caned for being late back home which is very different in comparison to today. As well as this, criminals and convicts were also treated differently as they would be on prison ships- known as ‘Hulks’ –or transportation to countries like Australia. There was a big difference between rich and poor, infact if you did not wear a top hat you were considered to be poor, as Pip notices with Magwitch when he says he was ‘a man with no hat’.

Even in the first few chapters if the book we see that Pip is shown as a sad, weak and lonely, which are also connotations of an orphan, which Pip is. The setting and use of pathetic fallacy ‘marsh country’ further gives the impression that Pip has had an unfortunate start in life and is surrounded by death, as Pip being an orphan he is visiting the graves of his parents and tries to imagine what they would look like, ‘he was a square, stout, dark man, with curly black hair.’ this makes the reader feel sorry for Pip, because the only connection to his parents is through guess work by him.

In Pip’s home life we are made to feel pity for Pip as he is punished by his sister for the slightest thing that she doesn’t feel is appropriate, using Tickler –a cane used to hit Pip- and helpings of tar-water it creates sympathy towards Pip. Her husband, Mr Joe was no exception to these punishments, which shows that the environment in the household is not very welcoming either.

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We can see in chapter 1 that Pip has no power during his meeting with Magwitch, as we see when Pip addresses Magwitch as ‘Sir’ as he talks down to him. The language that Pip uses, ‘Pray don’t  do it, Sir’ suggests that Pip has a lack of power as he pleads in terror of Magwitch. The use of physical contact by Magwitch to assert his dominance also shows that Pip is weak, with a lack of power as he does not even attempt to run away or escape Magwitch’s grasp. Yet still Pip replies in a positive tone, ‘yes, ...

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