In the opening chapter the first two paragraphs strongly contrast each other to gain effectiveness. The first chapter is about Pip being presented as young and innocent, then the second paragraph describes the harsh environment which surrounds Pip. This is deliberately done to gain support for Pip. Furthermore the countryside where Pip lives is described using words such as “harsh” and “savage”; these words make countryside seem aggressive and cruel.
Another thing that Pip fears is his sister “Mrs. Joe Gargery”, who is very strict and unforgiving of Pip. “Tell me directly” she says to Pip, and Dickens often uses imperative verbs in Mrs. Joe’s dialogue to make her sound more commanding; also Dickens deliberately never writes what Mrs Joe’s first name is; this is because he wanted to keep her distant and unfamiliar, making her appear to be more aggressive.
In the first chapter, Pip is confronted by Magwitch for the first time. This meeting between him and Magwitch truly shows Pip’s fear: “Oh don’t cut my throat, sir!”. Pip refers to Magwitch as “sir” even though Magwitch is an escaped convict and is covered in dirt and mud.
Pip had been brought up by Mrs. Joe under very strict conditions, meaning he wasn’t really able to get up to ‘mischief’. Mrs. Gargery was quite cruel to Pip and if anything that he did annoyed her, one of her cures for this was “the tickler”: “Tickler was a wax ended piece of cane worn smooth by collision with my tickled frame.”
Also because of where Pip lived, in an area away from large towns or cities, this meant that Pip would have lived quite a sheltered life with only a few people as friends. One of his closest friends is Joe, but is this because he is the only adult he knows and likes? This might explain why Pip is so friendly with Magwitch.
Furthermore Pip has sympathy with Magwitch because he is presented to him as a poor desperate man. This reality consequently scares Pip into helping Magwitch, along with Magwitch’s idle threats (“keep still, you little devil or I’ll cut your throat”), and Pip agrees to get his some food (whittles) and a file.
At one point in Great Expectations Pip refers to Magwitch as “my friend”. This shows that Pip likes Magwitch, which is very strange considering he is an apparently dangerous convict who threatened Pip. But this also shows that Pip has been so isolated he wants to make a new friendship, even with Magwitch!
In chapter eight Pip is taken to Satis House (Miss Havisham’s house) by Uncle Pumblechook. The visit is very important to Mrs. Joe because she believes that she could possibly get some of Miss Havisham’s wealth if Pip impresses her. It is also a very significant visit for Pip and it is his first experience of the upper class.
Dickens’ description of Miss Havisham’s house is very carefully thought out and written, and it is full of symbolism:
- On first appearances he writes about the size of the house, this truly representing the divide between the upper and lower divide. Pip had probably never seen a house this big, let alone met the owner.
- Secondly, when Pip is taken into the house by Estella, Pip sees that everything is very dusty, dark and untouched. This is also meant to represent the upper class as being “stuffy”.
- Furthermore the brewery next to the house is very significant. The brewery is the source of Miss Havisham’s wealth, and in the time of Dickens to be in the “upper class”, the main thing was to have a lot of money. But when Pip meets Miss Havisham, he sees that she is quite similar to him, but wealthy.
After going to Miss Havisham’s several time, Pip starts to think he can do better than work with Joe, and becomes discontented.
On returning home from the first visit Pip lies about what actually happened to impress Joe and Mrs. Joe. He knows Mrs. Joe want him to be raised to the upper class by Miss Havisham and wants her to think he made a good impression at the house. Mrs. Joe would have been disappointed by the truth that he cried, that Estella is nasty and his true disappointment of what the upper class is really like. Again his lies reflect his fear of Mrs. Joe as well as his youth.
From the beginning of chapter eight, where Pip is first introduced to the upper class, he starts to reject/forget his youth and upbringing. One reason for this is because of Estella and the things she does that annoy him.
The first time Pip goes to Satis House Miss Havisham tells Pip to “play”. Eventually they end playing cards and Estella says “he calls the knaves, Jacks”. This is the first time Pip had felt embarrassed about his upbringing. Another insult occurs when Estella puts Pip’s dinner on the back doorstep: “I was so humiliated, hurt, spurned, offended, angry, sorry.”.
From these actions by Estella, Pip starts to reject how he has been brought up and who has brought him up. His upbringing, which has taught him to know his place, prevents him from questioning Estella’s upbringing.
At the end of chapter nine Pip is left thinking about the differences between life at home and at Satis House. The end of chapter nine can’t leave you feeling anything but intrigued by what Pip will do next. Will he reject Joe and Mrs. Joe through sheer embarrassment? Dickens again would have deliberately left this as a cliff-hanger so people would buy the next instalment.
When Estella let Pip kiss her (at the end of chapter eleven), Pip is again left thinking about his upbringing and still feels ashamed that Estella looks down on him because he is of a lower class.
Pip develops throughout the opening of Great Expectations, from the beginning where he is presented as a young innocent child, to developing into a child who wants to do well and become a gentleman. Also Pip starts to become more independent.
Pip’s experience with Magwitch is significant as being his first experience of guilt, but also Magwitch is a friend to Pip and this is an important thread throughout the book.
However the most significant part of the opening is the visit to Miss Havisham’s house and the first experience of the upper class, which makes him want to reject his upbringing.
Pip grows up/develops quickly in the opening, but will he actually reject his upbringing? That is the question that you want to know.
