Crime and Punishment Issues in "Great Expectations".

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Crime and Punishment Issues in "Great Expectations"

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Crime and Punishment is a key theme in "Great Expectations" which is linked closely to Justice and Injustice. Pip is introduced to crime and criminals very early on when he is confronted with Magwitch on the marshes. This encounter compels Pip to steal from his own family, the iron file and the pork pie. So the first crime we see committed is by Pip, which is significant because the book is around crime, and how Pip gets more and more involved. When Magwitch is caught he is taken to the prison hulk where Pip gets an insight into the justice system and how the prisoners are treated. No one cares or seems bothered when he returns and the ship is all chained up like the prisoners.

Later in Pip's life he goes to London in search of his 'great expectations'. The first person he meets is the drunken minister of justice who invites him in for half a crown. Pip declines but the minister lets him in. Pip sees the place where people are hanged and the minister says we'll have 'four 'on 'em' meaning if Pip stays