Compare Chapter 1 of Great Expectations, in which Pip First Meets the Convict, with Chapter 39, when the Convict Returns

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Compare Chapter 1 of Great Expectations, in which Pip First Meets the Convict, with Chapter 39, when the Convict Returns

Introduction

        In both of these chapters (Chapter 1 and Chapter 39), the main theme is the arrival of the convict, and in both chapters Dickens goes in to a lot of detail, not only in describing the convict, but in other areas, such as setting the scene. In this essay I will be looking at both chapters in detail, and be comparing them to see whether there are any similarities or differences in the way that Dickens had written them.

Comparison

        Within this section I will be comparing aspects from both the chapters looking for similarities or differences. The aspects that I will be comparing are; circumstances, setting, how the characters are presented, what this tells us about 19th century life and Dickens’s message to his readers.

Circumstances

        The circumstances in which the two characters met were very different within each chapter. For example;

The first time that the two characters met was purely coincidental, Pip just happened to be in the graveyard at the same time that the convict (Magwitch) was there. However, in chapter 39, Magwitch actively sought out Pip, which provided Dickens with the opportunity to give the characters more depth, regarding the time that had passed between them “I’ve been a sheep farmer, stock-breeder, other trades besides, away in the new world”.

In chapter 1, Magwitch was on the run from the law, and subsequently everything he said had a direct meaning to the cause at hand and he had no time for subtleties,             “ ‘Blacksmith eh’ said he. And he looked down at his leg.” He had no time to explain that he needed to get the chains off his leg, so made do with this very short and abrupt sentence. However, in chapter 39, Magwitch had plenty of time to do as he pleased, as he was merely avoiding being seen, not actively on the run. This meant that he had a lot of time to speak with Pip, and his style of conversation differed immensely because of this “Some lawyer, maybe. As to the first letter of that lawyer’s name now. Would it be J?” This quote also shows that Magwitch was intelligent, he was toying with Pip, not telling him directly but letting him have little pieces of information at a time. If this were in the same circumstances as the first chapter this sentence would never have occurred, Magwitch would have just told Pip that he was his benefactor.

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Setting

        The settings in these particular two chapters are worlds apart and make each chapter very different.

When Pip first met Magwitch in chapter 1, he was on a lonely marsh in the middle of a graveyard! Yet, when he met Magwitch for the second time, he was inside a warm room with a warm fire, but the weather outside was dark and dreary “I might have fancied myself in a storm-beaten lighthouse”. This suggests that Dickens was implying that Pip was a recluse; he was hiding away from his past within the small, warm shelter of his good ...

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