Chapter 39 begins with the same bleak atmosphere, and the storm could be perceived as a warning of something to come.
‘I was alone and had a dull sense of being alone’.
Although throughout the story the readers opinion of Pip has changed significantly, during the being of this chapter there is a returned feeling of sympathy to Pip as he returns to his childish state of loneliness.
Also, like chapter 1, Pip is disturbed by the arrival of a stranger, but unlike chapter 1 he reacts with contempt and creates a rude, uncomfortable atmosphere.
‘I had asked him the question inhospitably enough, for I resented the sort of bright and gratified recognition’
This cancels out any sympathy you feel towards him and makes you hate him.
Magwitch enters and is oblivious with the tension Pip is attempting to create and so brings a more cheerful, jolly atmosphere with him, which, unbeknown to Magwitch, Pip tries to stifle.
‘He looked about him with the strangest air – an air of wondering pleasure’
Although Magwitches personality and appearance has hardly changed since Chapter 1, t is no longer a source of fearful tension, but he does use more respectful language such as ‘please’ and ‘Master’ towards Pip. The atmosphere of this chapter makes the reader more sympathetic of Magwitch, softening the dangerous edge that was brought in with him in the first chapter.
In chapter one Pip’s character is small and afraid, and even his name suggested this (Dickens used many hidden meanings and a ‘pip’ is a very small seed). He is a lonely child and believes the convict really would slit his throat:
‘”Don’t cut my throat sir” I pleaded in terror’.
This gives the reader the idea that he has a violent childhood, and that he was somewhat neglected. Also, he was never told anything about his parents
‘As I never saw my father or mother and never saw any likeness of either of them’
This gives more of a idea that he had a lonely, neglected childhood, and makes the reader what kind of upbringing he must have had to not be told about his parents.
Pip is semi-illiterate, and the reader can tell this as his speaking sounds poorly educated but he can just about read the writing on his parents and brothers graves,
‘My first fancies regarding what they were like, were unreasonably derived from their tombstones’.
It is hard to interpret Magwitches character in chapter one as you are only given his appearance to go by,
‘A fearful man, all in coarse grey with a great iron on his leg. A man with no hat, and with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied around his head. A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints, and stung by nettles, and torn by briars; who limped and shivered, and glared and growled; and whose teeth chattered in his head.’ and the reader is made to believe he is a bad person, although he may just be appearing and reacting according to his circumstances.
He is also a very mysterious character, and the reader is filled with questions such as ‘Why is he on a marsh?’, ‘How did he get there and what has he been through?’ and ‘What is he running for and how long has he been running?’. The reader fears he is a dangerous, ruthless person, a lone figure, who may stop at nothing to keep himself alone, even killing Pip, and this makes the reader recoil from him.
In chapter 39 pips character has changed dramatically. He still feels lost and alone, but now he is an arrogant, pompous snob, and believes he is above everyone, even down to his home.
‘We lived at the top of the last house’
This shows he thinks that in every way that he should be above everybody else.
He has burnt his bridges with Joe and Biddy, believing he is too good to go back to them. He has become a Rude, ungrateful, self-loving, completely dislikeable person who is resentful of everyone below him,
‘I resented it, because it seemed to imply that he expected me to respond to it.’
Magwitch has also had a dramatic change, completely opposite to Pips change, and this cancels out any negative feeling towards him from the first chapter. He is no longer the fearful convict, he is now a proud, joyful man who had worked hard and selflessly for Pip, as he believes Pip is the son he never had,
‘Look’ee here, Pip. I’m your second father. You’re my son – more to me nor any son’.
Because of this proud joy, he seems to either ignore or be oblivious to Pips ingratitude, and the reader feels strong empathy towards him as he has risked his life to see Pip and is pushed away so coldly.
In chapter one the narration gives the reader the idea that pip has improved himself as the grammar used by narrating Pip is much better than the speech from young pip. Also, it gives the reader hope, as it gives the idea that Pip survives the encounter with the convict, as well as showing the convict through young Pips eyes, making him more scary.
In chapter 39 the narration is a vital part of the readers view of Pip because it shows that, as it was written much later in his life, he realised how cruel he as towards Magwitch and regrets it. Without this insight Pip would have been seen as a cruel, heartless person, unworthy of the work Magwitch had done for him.
Both chapters lead to great changes in Pips life.
Chapter one leads to a change that occurs long after the encounter was just a distant memory to Pip, but made a huge impact on his life, as it lead to him getting his ‘Great expectations’.
Chapter 39 leads to a instant change in his life. The world he had built around him, in which he believe he was intended to marry Estella and go onto great things, and where he didn’t need the people from his past such as Joe and Biddy, came crashing down, and he realises his ‘Great Expectations’ is the product of the hard work of someone much lower than him.
