However in chapter 39, the convict is much older and has softened a big deal. When he meets Pip for the second time he says, 'I wish to come in, Master,' (chapter 39, page 308, line 34). Maybe he has a grudge against himself about the way he acted when he met Pip in the graveyard. He even tries to approach Pip in a different way by kissing his hand several times, 'raised them to his lips, kissed them, and still held them,' (chapter 39, page 310, and line 6). Pip does not want the convict touching him and keeps backing away from him when the convict goes to touch him, 'At a change in his manner as if he were even going to embrace me, I laid a hand upon his breast and put him away,' (chapter 39, pg 310, line 10). I think it is to express how grateful he is towards pip and to show that he has changed as well. He is a changed man he now lives in New South Wales Australia where he is a very good sheep farmer. He has made a lot of money and has given every last bit of it to Pip so he could become a gentleman it was his way of thanking Pip for his kindness when he was a young boy, 'Yes, Pip, dear boy, I've made a gentleman on you!" The convict sees Pip as a son he never had. "`Look'ee here, Pip. I'm your second father. You're my son -- more to me nor any son.' (Chapter 39, pg 313, line 27). This speech is crucially important to the plot of the novel, as it collapses Pip's idealistic view of wealth and social class by forcing him to realize that his own status as gentlemen is owed to the loyalty of a lower class criminal.
In the first chapter the reader is taken to a graveyard, the setting is bleak and desolate. There is a frightening element with a graveyard background, as it is associated with death. The graveyard depicts how Pip is feeling as an orphan, because the reader can deduce this from a personal reaction. The setting of the graveyard immediately shows us Pip who has lost his entire family, and he seems to spend much of his time thinking about those who are dead. The churchyard itself is described as being a 'bleak place overgrown with nettles' and beyond it lays a 'dark flat wilderness.' The river is described as a 'low leaden line', while the sea is a 'distant savage lair'. This description creates a sense of dread and foreboding, the reader will soon expect something dreadful to occur and it is with little surprise when Magwitch emerges and threatens to cut Pip's throat. When the weather is dark and stormy, trouble is usually brewing, the weather adds a sense of mystery to the place, moreover, for a little boy like Pip, the kind of 'raw afternoon' in the graveyard does not suit him because it gives the impression of a cold atmosphere, the kind that hurts.
The settings in chapter 39 are quite similar to the opening chapter of Great Expectations. In chapter 39, we are taken to Pip's new house near the river in London, it is a very horrible night, as the rain was hitting hard and the storm was picking up furthermore streets were covered in mud: "It was wretched weather; stormy and wet, stormy and wet; and mud, mud, mud, deep in all the streets." Firstly the 'wretched weather' gives the impression of something unpleasant going to happen furthermore the repetition of the word 'stormy' creates an impression of a threat. Trees had been torn up and windmills had their sails stripped off, it was good not to be outside:'Day after day, a vast heavy veil had been driving over London from the East, and it drove still, as if in the East there were an Eternity of cloud and wind. So furious had been the gusts, that high buildings in town had had the lead stripped off their roofs'. The word heavy veil suggests that there is something to be concealed. Pip is in his living room reading and the smoke from the fire being blown back into the room because of the wind: Occasionally, the smoke came rolling down the chimney as though it could not bear to go out into such a night'. The passageway is dark and Pip can not really see the old man downstairs and 'he came slowly within its light' (chapter 39). Finally, when Pip discovers the truth about who his real benefactor is, the stormy, dark and wet weather reflect Pip's feeling as mentioned 'the abhorrence in which I held the man, the dread I had of him, the repugnance with which I shrank from him, could not have exceeded if he had been some terrible beast' (chapter 39, pg 313, line 24).
In these two chapters, the characters are presented differently. In chapter 1, the convict is portrayed as a fearful figure, the convict's appearance on the scene is a shock to the reader, and this bursts on the reflections very unexpectedly. The spoken language of the convict is not in Standard English, as he says to Pip, 'you young dog,' (chapter 1, page 2, line 32), however in chapter thirty-nine, we notice the same man, grown old, instead he speaks in a much softer manner. He takes his time and he behaves like a socialized man and he also does not shake Pip like an animal. In the first chapter, the convict was very unfriendly and uncaring towards Pip, however, continuously in their second meeting, the convict shows clearly how much he is fond of Pip as, 'again he took both my hands and put them to his lips,' (chapter 39, page 314, line 18) also it was evident of his demands and desperation in his speech. Magwitch thinks that he is the gentlemen and that he did the right thing to send him the money. I think that the convict has grown fond of Pip because the latter at that time helped him when he was in desperate need of it. The convict in chapter 39, does not seem to be evil, but thankful and is not described as a gentlemen, but is said to be wearing a hat, at which Victorians considered to be gentlemen like. From the description Dickens has given us, the convict's life ahs been a lot harder then it was previously; he lost his hair and is ageing. We know why he is furrowed, because as a convict, he was sent away to Australia to work as a prisoner. He is also very humble, formal and polite - the complete opposite to his appearance in chapter 1.
Pip had also dramatically changed. He is the complete opposite as to what he was in chapter 1. He is now very rude, arrogant, and very judgemental and has completely forgotten about his roots and who he really is. As far as Pip is concerned he fells embarrassed by the presence of the convict. Pip is relieved, that his roommate is not in the same place as the convict. He looks through the window to see if someone is walking around. Pip does not even want to sleep in the same room as Magwitch and wants rid of him very soon as he tells Magwitch, 'my friend and companion,' said I, rising from the sofa, 'is absent; you must have his room.' (Chapter 39, page 316, line 1) It seems as if Magwitch is a burden to Pip. Likewise, Pip has grown older and much wiser than in the first chapter. Pip has developed an arrogant attitude towards others who are less successful than him and his loved ones. Pip’s horror and fear of Magwitch in chapter 1 has slowly changed into sympathy and compassion for him. When pip discovers who Magwitch really is, he is more apologetic, but it still shows that Pip is arrogant for treating someone in that manner, considering he was different as a young boy. Pip has changed his social class, and in the current circumstances, it seems that Magwitch has reversed the situation, and is thanking Pip, and is more respectful.
We learn a lot of how life was like in the nineteenth century. We learned that people were judged by their appearance, their wealth but not the type of person they were, also crime and punishment was very deplorable. In Great Expectations, where a member of Pip’s family went to visit him when Pip became a gentleman, Pip looks down upon them and is ashamed of them. He has become more pompous, due to the way he presents himself and the manners he possesses. We also learn that the legal system is very harsh and you could get put to death for the pettiest of crimes or you would get deported to Australia.
From the novel, I learnt that country life was very simple, as people lead ordinary and basic lives. Also children had to do what they were told, and are easily frightened into doing something for someone. In chapter 39 the reader sees life in London. You would get the impression that people in London are much richer than the people in the country, as the people in London have the money to earn themselves a better lifestyle. There are also more buildings than in the country.
I think that Charles Dickens was trying to convey many of his thoughts and opinions to the readers through Great Expectations. Charles Dickens showed what it means to be a true gentlemen, he showed that a true gentlemen was someone like the Pip at the end of the novel. By then, Pip had helped Herbert by giving him a sercet hand in setting up his own business; he had helped the convict in his last days before his death and he had come to appreciate Joe and Biddy as true friends. We are shown a number of so-called 'gentlemen' in the novel that Charles Dickens wants us to reject as models. These gentlemen range from Drummle who eventually leaves Estella and who is a bully; Jaggers, who is totally self-obsessed and Pip in the earlier parts of the novel who is very selfish. However at the end of the novel, Pip has learned from nature's gentlemen in Great Expectations. Charles Dickens showed us that being a gentlemen is rather more difficult than living the life, or talking the talk. To be a real gentlemen, you have to walk the walk and nut just talk the talk.
Charles Dickens also tells us about the social class system in the nineteenth century.Throughout the novel, social class provides an arbitrary, external standard of value by which the characters (particularly Pip) judge one another. Pip was able to become a gentlemen not through intelligence but through study and money and Charles Dickens is, In my opinions, making an ironic statement that intelligence and money will only get you so far, you have to have a conscious desire not just to rise above your origins but also to forget all about them. In Great Expectations, Pip had neglected Joe and his origins when he went to London, but really I do not think he thought about them. Charles Dickens also criticises the Victorian society using the character of Magwitch. Pip asks Magwitch what he was brought up to be, and he answers "A varmint, dear boy." (Chapter 40) Through this we can see the way that young people brought up in a life surrounded by crime, have no chance of becoming anything else. Magwitch’s crime was not particularly severe – not severe enough to warrant the other terrible punishment of being forced to work in a chain gang – chapter 42 tells us that he was transported for "putting stolen notes into circulation." His accomplice, Compeyson, appeared more wealthy and well to do and received a much lesser sentence, through this Dickens highlights the injustice of the social class system. In conclusion, I think the moral theme of Great Expectations is simply: affection, loyalty, and conscience are more important than social advancement, wealth, and class. Also I think Charles Dickens wanted us to remember where are roots are and who are true family and friends are.
