Dickens can also relate to the characters themselves. Pip, for example is an orphan who grew up in a marshy area and fulfilled his dream of becoming a wealthy gentleman. Dickens, although he was not orphaned, faced the same sort of experiences as Pip when his father drew the family into great debt. He also spent a few years of his life in Rochester, Kent, so he experienced the same sort of marshy conditions and he too, achieved fame and fortune through his writing, so had life, both as a gentleman and as an unwealthy, working class child. Although Dickens could not relate to Magwitch’s character as such, because Dickens’ father was imprisoned, Dickens would have been familiar with prisoners such as Magwitch, who are under tremendous punishment from the law.
Great Expectations is a story of self-discovery through the eyes of Pip. Chapters one and fifty-six are important to the novel because the illuminate the similarities between the beginning and the end of Pip’s relationship with Magwitch.
Chapter one and chapter fifty-six share the same backbone information, but the characters find themselves, in chapter fifty-six, to be in a different situation than in chapter one.
Chapter one is where Pip meets Magwitch, and where Magwitch leans over Pip, being the more dominant character, striking fear in Pips heart, chapter fifty-six is the death of Magwitch. Now Pip is leaning over Magwitch, talking to him, being the stronger of the two characters. In this chapter Dickens shows us the bond between Magwitch and Pip and the relationship change from one of fear, to love.
Chapter one is set near Rochester. Dickens describes the moors in a bleak and depressing manner. ‘Bleak place overgrown with nettles’. It is a ‘raw’ afternoon towards evening on Christmas Eve and the way Dickens describes the setting, from Pip’s eyes, makes him seem even more vulnerable and innocent. He uses words such as ‘bleak, raw, dead and buried and dark flat wilderness’, which introduce the book in a very negative way, also making a very negative introduction into Pip’s life.
The setting in chapter fifty-six is in a prison’s infirmary, with Pip visiting Magwitch. It is around April and Dickens makes sure he describes both settings in complete contrast with each other.
‘Vivid colours of the moment, down to the drops of April rain on the windows of the court, glittering in the rays of April sun.’
The adjectives used in this short description are all very positive, which shows that Dickens did not want to put such a horrible look on the chapter, but the character are not enjoying this weather at all. Dickens, in this chapter tries to show the relationship between Pip and Magwitch and the mood of the scene in another description. In chapter fifty-six Magwitch is very ill, which causes him to be tiresome and weary. Not only does Dickens describe this but also he tries to portray his feelings and thoughts through the description of London at the time.
‘weary western streets of London on a cold dusty spring night with the ranges of stern shut-up mansions and their long rows of lamps.’ The adjectives used in this piece of text are very mellow and dull.
Because Magwitch is so very ill and old we see many character changes. For instance, in chapter one his voice is described as ‘terrible’ and ‘growling’ giving Pip the impression that he should fear him whereas in chapter fifty-six his voice is ‘scarcely audible’. Moreover, in chapter one, Pip is the one who is listening to Magwitch and obeying him whereas in chapter fifty-six, Magwitch is listening to Pip, because he can hardly speak. ‘He was ever ready to listen to me, and it became the first duty of my life to say to him and to read to him, what I knew he ought to hear.’
There is a distinct contrast in the atmosphere of the two chapters. At the start of chapter one Pip is alone, in isolation and at that moment he is also helpless brings in even more tension when Pip is confronted with Magwitch. Magwitch uses brute force (which is in his nature) when he is with Pip in chapter one.
‘The man, after looking at me for a moment, turned me upside down and emptied my pockets’
At this moment, pip is not sure what Magwitch will do next, and Magwitch throughout the chapter, threatens pip.
‘What fat cheeks you ha got’
‘Darn me if I couldn’t eat em’
‘And if I han’t half a mind to’t!’
The atmosphere in chapter fifty six, however is more compassionate and whereas in chapter one Pip really wanted Magwitch to just leave, now he wants to hold on to him for as long as possible. I also believe that Pip wished that he’d never even met Magwitch, in chapter one, but in chapter fifty-six, after finding out that he was Pip’s benefactor and that his meeting with him on the moors at the start of the book changed his life forever, Pip feel that he owes Magwitch a lot and wishes to thank him, by taking care of him.
I think that the main feelings Dickens was trying to convey in chapter one, to do with the relationship, are isolation, fear and meaning. Chapter one also ends with Magwitch walking towards the ‘gibbet’ towards his death. The main feeling Dickens was trying to convey in chapter fifty-six to do with the relationship are love a trust and care.
We can therefore see how Dickens has used similar settings for both chapters, changing the atmosphere between Magwitch and Pip and we can how much Magwitch has influenced the life of Pip and the trust and care they share for one another.
