Although from a low to high class Dickens may view the lower classes as the fruit as it’s free from the cynicism and all the flaws of the higher. However with this name we feel sympathy for pip as it also reflects his small physical stature and vulnerability, which again creates sympathy for the character. Dickens does all this in order to grab the attention of the reader. He compels them to go out and buy the next issue in order to find out more about the character and the characters situation because they care about the character.
Sympathy is created when Pip is described by Dickens, when describes him as “a small bundle of shivers” which tells us that he’s vulnerable and lonely in and also that he is a small frightened child. Also the conclusion he comes to about his parents appearance fills us with pity for him as he can’t remember what his parents looked like and needs to look at the tombstones of them to draw up some kind of idea, he can’t escape because he’s trapped by the death of his family in the position he is in. we feel a strong sense of empathy towards Pip because of this situation; he’s trying to piece together what he can in order find out the identity of his parents and therefore where he belongs. The readers who would have been Victorian at the time may have lived in similar circumstances and would want to read on because of their empathy and to see if Pips experience is anything like there own.
When he states that all of his brothers gave in to death it gives the impression that life expectancy was low for everyone. This perhaps tells us that death may have been the better option, the easier way out that his family took leaving him behind to live life. We already know so much about Pip because of the opening chapter we feel that we know him and feel sorry for him because of all the negative things that have happened to him, we want to see him do positive things to change his own situation. The reader is hooked because they feel this way and can’t stop reading because of it.
The personal pronoun I is used by Dickens to portray Pips loneliness and isolation. This can be compared to Dickens own childhood as his family were imprisoned and he lived alone when he was about Pips age. Pip for a small boy has quite a mature attitude towards death. “I am indebted for a belief which I religiously entertain that they had all been born on their backs with their hands in their pockets, and never taken them out in this state of existence.” To think back to a dead family member with humour rather than sadness shows Pips mature attitude towards death which was a very common occurrence at the time. This gets the audience to feel sorry for him as they would see this as inhuman in a person of such a young age, they would expect him to be devastated instead he has a mature attitude about it.
The first chapter is set in the bleak marshland where Pip lives, in the churchyard, a “bleak place overgrown with nettles.” Dickens’ description of the marshes make it seem like a very unwelcoming place; it is a “dark flat wilderness…intersected with dykes and mounds and gates, with scattered cattle feeding on it,” with the river a “low leaden line beyond.” The marshes are made clear to be inhospitable, and Dickens makes them seem harsh to a small boy, using phrases like “the distant savage lair from which the wind was rushing” – referring to the sea. After his experience with the convict, Pip is left isolated and afraid in a frightening and flat setting: the marshes are described as being “just a long, black, horizontal line” and the river as “just another horizontal line” with “a row of long, angry, red lines and dense black lines” making up the sky using pathetic fallacy so that the dark blurred surroundings could be compared to Pip’s own confused thoughts about death, and the gothic colours foreshadow events yet to occur in the chapter. The only things that Pip can see standing are a beacon to sailors, and a gibbet; the gibbet is particularly unnerving to him, as in itself it is a scary thing. It also foreshadows the convict’s appearance, which the convict could be “a pirate come to life” who has come down from it. All of this makes the reader feel sympathetic of Pip, a small boy in a stark wasteland, alone and afraid. The setting has objects and points which are very concentrated points of fear such as “a gibbet with some chains hanging to it which had once held a pirate. The man limped towards it as if he were the pirate come to life.” This shows pip merging the convict and the gibbet from two individual points of fear into one much more terrifying illusion. Dickens uses the setting to again emphasize Pips vivid imagination and recollection of the events.
When the convict suddenly appears, the way he looks is startling and terrifying for a young boy. Rising from “among the graves” makes him have the appearance a person coming back from the dead, and the way he is dressed contributes to his look: “a fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg.” This blends the convict into the scene, giving the impression he belongs in this desolate place surrounded by death. Also, Dickens makes us feel sympathy for the convict, too, in his initial description of him. He describes the convict as “a man with no hat, and with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round his head; that limped, and shivered…” However, the sympathy aroused for this pitiful figure is dispelled, as he “glared and growled” and seized Pip by the chin. The convict treats Pip roughly, by threatening to hurt him, commanding him through use of harsh imperatives, turning him upside-down and robbing him of a piece of bread. Which is very significant as it’s foreshadowing that the convict will turn Pips life upside down when he becomes his benefactor giving him back more than the piece of bread that he robbed from him. Pip, still young and innocent, has to beg to try and stop the convict from hurting him. The language of the two characters makes you feel sympathy for Pip; the convict speaks in a rough tongue, while Pip remains polite despite being roughly treated. He seems to be of the opinion that he should still be polite to the convict, and so is clearly still a little inexperienced and very vulnerable, and has probably never seen a convict before. Pip appears gullible, as he believes every word that the convict says about how he will come and get Pip if he doesn’t get the file and food.
Dickens uses a simile, to describe the convict’s legs as being ‘numbed and stiff’. This simile implies that the man is old and weak and makes him appear to be fearless. Another technique Dickens has used is alliteration. He used ‘low leaden line’ to describe the river. This emphasizes the flowing sound ‘L’, which in turn encourages the reader to read slower. It also gives the idea that the river is moving slowly and quietly which creates an atmosphere of stillness, this makes the reader consider and understand the atmosphere Dickens creates further. He uses alliteration again on the‘t’ sound in ‘tombstone trembling’. When the‘t’ is spoken it creates the effect of being unstable which is implies Pip to be trembling. Dickens creates an imagery effect, by giving the old man a very detailed description of his appearance which is almost like a poem or song because it has a steady even rhythm. He is described as not wearing a hat, which in the Victorian era was very unusual as most men wore top hats. He is wearing an old rag around his head and covered in mud, suggesting he is poor and possibly homeless, this enables the reader to create a very real idea of the convict’s appearance. Dickens has also used assonance within this description upon the sound ‘I’. It has been used several times with words such as in, with, his, flints, limped, shivered and chin. This emphasizes how the description is related to a poem or song because it repeats similar sounds.
The language choice around the convict suggests that even nature is against the convict, “A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered by mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints.” After the reader is made to see the convict as evil, Dickens starts to make the reader feel sorry for him and see his desperation throughout the chapter. Pip even sees the convict as a sort of father figure. “I was dreadfully frightened, so giddy that I clung to him with both hands.” Even though all of Pips fear is directed towards the convict he still grabs hold of him for safety when he feels that he’s in danger as though he is a pillar of strength for Pip. The convict sees Pip as small and weak so he intimidates him using the threat of violence to get what he wants from the boy. “You get me a file he said tilting me. And you get me whittles he tilted me again.’ Dickens makes the convict speak in short sharp orders to make sure that he understands him in his state of shock. Dickens also repeats one phrase to hammer a sense of danger into Pip and the readers by making him speak in imperative language.
The language that Dickens uses for Pip and the convict can be seen as a reflection of their personality. Pip is well spoken and his manners are polite this is shown by exclamations such as ‘Sir’ and ‘Pray don’t do it’. However the convict is often impolite in his mannerisms, using poor grammar to reflect this in phrases such as ‘that file and them whittles’ and ‘ bring ‘em both to me’ . This encourages us to observe that he does not care what people think, he is a rough person in appearance and also we are told that he is illiterate. Dickens also shows him using the words ‘partickler’ instead of ‘particular’ and ‘pecoolier’ instead of ‘peculiar’, which helps the reader have an idea of how he talks, choosing his words carefully to match the convict’s personality. In the same way he has used words such as ‘pleaded’ instead of ‘ asked’ because it has much more of an effect and shows that Pip is desperate for the convict to let him go, whereas just saying ‘ Pip asked’ gives the impression he is not really concerned about being let go.
All throughout the opening chapter there a various reasons why the reader would want to read on. The Victorian audience would have instantly recognised the man as a convict and would fear for pips safety regardless if he brought him food or not, the audience would also want to know if Pip did in fact return to the convict to help him. The audience feels strong empathy and sympathy for Pip and his situation through various techniques employed by dickens to grab the reader’s attention and keep it throughout the chapter making them disappointed when the chapter ends and looking forward to the next instalment. Pips safety is the main reason the audience would want to read on, however there are various other factors that contribute to this, such as what is going to happen to the convict, how does his families’ death affect Pip and the story itself and where does pip go, what is going to happen in his life. The title itself Great Expectations, the reader want to know what is the meaning of the title, what is Pips great expectation?
