For thousands of years, families put their children to work on their farms or in whatever labour was necessary for survival – only children of the wealthy and powerful escaped this fate. Until the last one hundred years or so, children were considered by most societies to be the property of their parents. They had little protection from governments who viewed children as having no human or civil rights outside of their parents’ wishes, and Great Expectations brings some of these conditions to light. In the 19th Century children were horrendously mistreated as they were sent to work in dirty, odious factories from the age of 10. At the time orphanages did not exist so people for odd jobs, who paid them just enough to survive, hired orphans. Convicted criminals were also much neglected at this time. Dickens picked up on this and decided that society needed to change, so Dickens wrote this novel, not only to earn a living and entertain but also to inform and notify the audience about the mistreating of orphans and convicts. He also tried to change society by writing other novels based on the same principal such as Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickelby.
Dickens has succeeded in gaining the readers sympathy for Pip in this first chapter by showing the imagination and misery of this young child. At the beginning of the chapter, when Pip is in the graveyard, he feels alone and lonely. Although these words seem similar, they are not. You could be in a room with forty people and still be lonely but not alone.
In chapter 1 we see Pip as a young boy, he is in the graveyard at his parents gravestone crying. He comes across a very innocent boy and very frightened and so we are made to feel sorry for him. “Growing afraid of it all and beginning to cry, was Pip”. We aren’t given a lot of information about Pip but we are given a lot about the convict.
Dickens uses many concepts of language to help make this chapter an effective beginning to the novel. Pip's description of the convict when he first appears sounds a great deal longer than it actually is. Dickens repeats the word ‘and’ when describing the convicts wounds and the convict to express the appearance of this criminal. Pip describes the convict as a man "who limped, and shivered, and glared, and growled". This list of the appearance of the convict is made to sound considerably longer by adding the word ‘and’ before each verb. Not only does Dickens use ‘and’ in his description of the convict but the poetic rhythm makes the list sound of a great length. The words used to describe the convict such as "limped…shivered…glared…growled" are all stressed to sound more convincing as well as making the convict sound like an animal. Pip is afraid of this "fearful man" because of his animal like features and wounds. The description of the convict is not easily forgotten and our imagination of him becomes almost reality.
Magwich is a vague character at the beginning of the story. He meets Pip in the churchyard and appears eager to rush the conversation. He asks Pip many questions to find out more about him. Magwich was of an shambolic appearance, “A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg. A man with no hat, with broken shoes and with an old rag tied round his head. A man who had been soaked in water, smothered in mud, lamed by stones, cut by flints and stung by nettles.” This emphasises the despicable image of Magwich to make the reader feel a sense of sympathy for the character of Magwich, but not much, because the sympathy is decreased because of the way he treats Pip. He speaks commonly and harshly. Furthermore he makes a lot of commands and threats, “Hold your noise!” cried a terrible voice as a man started up from among the graves, “Keep still, you little devil, or I’ll cut your throat!” this signalises that he is not very friendly along with the stage where Magwich tips Pip upside down shaking him, “He gave me the most tremendous dip and roll” there is humour in him doing this because when he is tipped upside down he sees the Church and that makes him feel safe. Dickens uses this association of the Church because church and steeple are implications of safety and Dickens calms the reader in this way and adds humour. All these descriptions indicate that the convict is running away from something or had escaped, but we the readers are still vague about his background. At the beginning, he is an object of terror to Pip.
This is the most we learn in this chapter as it is only a short chapter but it has a lot of drama involved which gets the readers attention and forces them to continue reading. In this chapter Dickens is making his reader laugh, cry and wait for the next chapter.
In chapter 39 later in the book we discover Pip has moved to London. Pip’s circumstances have changed greatly from chapter 1 to chapter 39. While he is still a boy he begins to visit an old lady called Miss Havisham. On these visits he meets two significant people, Estella and Herbert Pocket. After a few years these visits stop and Pip is apprenticed to Joe, until a mystery benefactor gives him a substantial amount of money, which changes his whole life. He has always thought that the person would be Miss Havisham. Pip matures and becomes a gentleman. He has changed significantly up to this point in the book; an obvious difference is that he is older, wealthy, educated and has become a gentleman. Also, he has become more independent and does not seem as weak as he was in the first chapter. However he has become slightly shallow and pompous, as he is ashamed of his family. This chapter is set in Pip’s house, a comfortable and relaxing place in London who he shares with Herbert Pocket. This setting in this chapter seems calm and relaxing, contrasting against the first chapter, which was completely opposite.
When the convict enters Pip does not recognise him. He is dressed splendid with a hat and boots that are not broken or smothered in mud. Magwich appears to be a changed person a little like a gentleman in contrast with chapter 1. The way he speaks, calling Pip master compared to the first chapter when he was threatening Pip along with forcing him to speak properly and “give it mouth”. Chapter 1 foreshadows chapter 39 in many more ways such as the readers sympathising for the convict in chapter 1 and also sympathise for him in chapter 39, as he is so generous. The convict also talks in a more upper class way compared to his speech in chapter 1, showing how is circumstances have changed.
As Pip prepares a drink for the convict, he is still not at ease as his hands shake as he tries to make some hot-rum water. Pip sees that the convict is upset as his eyes are full of tears, seeing this Pip tries to make up the way he spoke to him, “I hope, that you will not think I spoke harshly to you just know”. The convict appears very emotional and upset as he explains to Pip what he has been doing in Australia. This creates a conversation between Pip and the convict. Pip tries to change the conversation by asking Magwich about two one-pound notes that he was given by a messenger when he was a little boy. Pip demeans the convict by paying him the money back. The convict takes the money and burns it. It was probably very insulting for Magwich to be given a small amount of money compared to the hundreds he has given to Pip.
When Magwitch, the convict on the marshes reveals himself as Pip's true benefactor, the only feelings Pip can have towards him are 'repugnance' and disbelief. Pip has always believed Miss Havisham to be his true benefactor, and believed that she wanted him to be with Estella. Pip thinks that Magwitch is the lowest of low, and he doesn't want to be associated with him.
In conclusion, Pip learns that his wealth and social standing came from the labour of an uneducated prison inmate, turning his social perceptions inside out. The fulfilment of his hope of being raised to a higher social class turns out to be the work of a man from a class even lower than his own. The sense of duty that encourages Pip to help the convict is a mark of his inner goodness, just as it was many years ago in the swamp, but he is nevertheless unable to hide his disgust and disappointment.
