Magwitch escapes from prison in chapter 1 of Great Expectations and terrorizes Pip in the cemetery. At this moment in time he is “A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg. A man with no hat, and with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round his head. A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints, and stung by nettles, and torn by briars; who limped, and shivered, and glared and growled; and whose teeth chattered in his head,” so when he came across Pip his only thought at that moment in time was survival so he would have been very aggressive towards Pip in order to get what he wanted, "Keep still, you little devil, or I'll cut your throat!". As the chapter carries on he becomes less and less aggressive towards Pip and begins to play with him whilst still keeping control,” There's a young man hid with me, in comparison with which young man I am an Angel.” Overall in chapter 1 magwitch’s status is much higher than Pip’s even though he is depending on Pip for his freedom. In chapter 39 Magwitch is reintroduced to the story. Pip immediately thinks he has a higher status than magwitch judging him on his appearance; “I resented
the sort of bright and gratified recognition that still shone in
his face. I resented it, because it seemed to imply that he
expected me to respond to it”. This high status is eventually brought down by the revealing of the truth. By the end of the chapter both magwitch and Pip are on equal status.
These chapters show what life was like in the 19th century showing that people who were upper class belived that they were better than people of lower class, so they treated them like dirt and didn’t usually associate with them unless they had to.
The first encounter between these two characters was on a lonely marsh in a graveyard this makes the reader feel even more sympathetic towards Pip. The gloomy setting could also depict Pip’s and Magwitch’s life, showing what a sad and lonely life they have both had. This could be Dicken’s way of trying to link these two very different characters.In the marsh Magwitch seems more intimidating, as though a horrible creature of some sort.
In the second encounter Pip is in a warm cosy room with a nice fire. This could be set to show how Pip’s life is now and the gloomy weather outside could be used to show his previous life. Magwitch coming in to the warm room from the gloomy weather outside symbolises Pip’s past life catching up to his present life. Magwitch coming back into Pip’s life on a night where there is bad weather reminds Pip of their first encounter and he has a total relapse, thus relinquishing all his power and status which he had to begin with over Magwitch.. This has massive impact on the reader as the reader has sort of watched Pip grow into a fine confident gentleman and to see him return to his terrified state in which he was in chapter 1, thus restoring the readers sympathy towards Pip.
Also in the second encounter the readers begin to like Magwitch more as they find out he is Pip’s provider. This is different from chapter 1 were the readers feel hatred towards Magwitch because he is threatening poor, innocent Pip. This is only in the circumstances he is in and does not show his true self.
After comparing the two chapters in the story you can clearly see the changes in the personalities and attitudes of the two characters. You can also see how their circumstances have changed and its these changes which have caused the change in personality.