Pip finds out that Magwitch is his benefactor.
Magwitch stays the night.
In chapter one, Pip is very nervous, timid and scared of Magwitch. And with good reason; on this, their first meeting Magwitch takes Pip by his ankles and turns him and his whole world upside down!
It is very significant that they’re in a graveyard because it symbolises death. Pip’s life is dead along with his parents and various siblings. Also the marshlands and graveyard were overgrown, uncared for, left to grow savage and wild “that this bleak place overgrown with nettles was the churchyard…” – a depiction of Pip’s life is in need of care and repair. The effect of this on the reader is that it makes us like Pip more, he is and yet always polite, calling Magwitch ‘sir’ but it also shows naivety which can make the reader feel sorry for him, the naivety makes Pip seem young, another way of forcing the reader to unconsciously have a certain liking for him.
However this could also be taken as a reflection of Magwitch’s life, considered a weed and yet grows everywhere, shows up when least needed. Magwitch is also rough and uneducated, from a very poor background. And so the reader dislikes Magwitch, he is ungainly rude and seemingly violent. He is, as said, a weed. Pip is, as said, timid, nervous and scared, although Magwitch is neither timid nor nervous, he is definitely scared. “‘Now look’ee here!’ said the man ‘where’s your mother?’
“‘There sir.’ Said I’
“He started made a short run, and stopped and looked over his shoulder.
‘There sir.’ I timidly explained ‘also Georgina, that’s my mother.’
Pip is clearly shown to be scared, even using the word ‘timidly’ when talking about himself, but Magwitch is also scared, he is on the run, after escaping from prison, and so is already very vulnerable. When he asks where Pip’s mother is mother is, Pip points towards her grave, however Magwitch turns to run, before realising that there is actually no one really there, which calms his fears. He is obviously terrified of being caught and having to go back to prison again. By using this and making Magwitch seem scared it has a large impact on the reader in the way they feel about Magwitch, although the reader still doesn’t like him, through the vulnerability the reader warms to him. Also the fact that Magwitch never really hurts Pip, although he makes several threats, does have an effect on the reader. It makes Magwitch seem defensive, as he feels that he must make Pip scared of him, again vulnerability and so the reader sympathises.
Pip’s behaviour is very different by chapter 39. In the beginning (chapter 1) Pip is small and scared but later on in his life (chapter 39) he has developed much more confidence within himself. He now has a good education and has much more pride, in himself, his home his friends and in his social status.
In the beginning of this chapter Pip hears someone outside, below the window and calls out ‘There is someone out there, is there not?’ Clear evidence of his confidence and a noticeable change to how his would have behaved before. Not only does he ask, but he seems to test the person standing outside to challenge his idea, he has confidence in his convictions. The man outside calls ‘Mr Pip?’ the use of ‘Mr’ is important, because it shows respect.
Magwitch (the man outside) wants to come up and so Pip opens the door to him. Although Pip’s confidence in this particular chapter doesn’t have a huge effect on the reader, it is Pip’s gradual and increased confidence in previous chapters that has made the reader feel more comfortable with him, as the reader has followed Pip’s life since childhood.
Pip is still confident with the stranger, until he finds out who it really is:
“Not knowing what to do- for in my astonishment I had lost my self possession- I reluctantly gave him my hands.” Not only is this a less polite approach than he had had before, it also lacks the seemingly boundless confidence shown before. He has lost his ‘self possession’, he has lost all the things he had gained since his childhood, in terms of pride and confidence, he instead returned to his previous nervous disposition and more importantly his guilt! The reader would notice the vulnerability that had returned and so their feeling of pity and sympathy returns.
Pip’s dislike and disgust turns into hatred and repulsion as he learns who his true benefactor is: Magwitch, Pip’s convict.
“All the truth of my position came flashing on me; and its disappointments, dangers, disgraces, consequences of all kinds rushed in such a multitude that I was borne down by them and had to struggle for every breath I drew” and also “The abhorrence in which I held the man, the dread I had of him, the repugnance with which u shrank from him could not have been exceeded if he had been a terrible beast.” Pip’s hatred fro Magwitch is far from subtle within his thoughts, but his behaviour towards to Magwitch had changed very little. Although Pip certainly does hate Magwitch he probably feels very much in debt to him, for it has been Magwitch over all the years that has provided for Pip, education, a place to live, connections (through Jaggers- the lloyer) and obviously money for everyday life. It is Magwitch’s money that had made Pip into the gentleman that he had become. However the fact that the money is the convicts immediately makes Pip inferior, the money that has been spent on him is tainted, and so everything he has is also tainted, including the pride and confidence. He probably also feels foolish, for all the time he had chosen to believe his benefactor was Miss Havisham, an idea which turned out to be completely false. The effect on the reader, just by Pip’s thoughts changes the reader’s feelings about both characters. The reader may now feel more sympathetic, towards Pip because all his hopes were shattered, and also the reader will feel sympathy for Magwitch because Pip is in so much disgust, Magwitch had worked so hard in his life to provide for him and yet Pip feels this repulsion and perhaps regret. Which is also one of the reasons for the reader’s slight disappointment in Pip, that he didn’t respond more nobly and didn’t react have done. Magwitch even describes Pip as noble, the way he saw him behaving in the first chapter, “’You acted noble my boy’ said he ‘Noble Pip! And I have never forgot it.” Magwitch feels that Pip is noble but the reader will definitely feel that he has not behaved in such a noble manner.
Magwitch’s behaviour has changed considerably also. He now treats Pip, not as a helpless child, but as a gentleman, up and away above himself. He refers to Pip as ‘sir’ and ‘master’ and shows real respect by this. A large proportion of this respect is probably fuelled by pride, because he knows that it is he that has provided the means to turn Pip into the gentleman he has become. “Look’ee here Pip, I’m your second father. You’re my son, more to me nor any son…If I gets my Liberty and money I’ll make that boy a gentleman, and I done it!” Proud as a father would be as well because he looks upon Pip as a son. This deepens the sympathy felt for Magwitch by the readers, because he has true feelings of fondness, even love towards Pip, that Pip is wishing he could throw back in his face!
The reference to Pip being a son to Magwitch has a strong link to chapter one. When they are in the graveyard, they are at the grave of Pips dead parents. More sympathy for Pip.
There is a strong them of fatherhood throughout the book and that Pip’s father figure changes a lot. At the beginning of chapter one the reader may feel that Pip’s significant father, although dead, is his biological father, because he is mentioned so very early on, and is there all the way through the first chapter, in his grave although we soon find out that it is actually Joe (Pip’s sister’s husband). It then changes when Pip leaves to London, to Jaggers; we see this because Pip often refers to Pip as his ‘guardian’. And then his ‘Father’ changes again in chapter 39, reluctantly, to Magwitch. This theme is important because it aids to the sympathy the reader feels for Pip. He seems to lose a lot of his father figures, and so seems to be continually changing and searching his identity. He starts as a simpleton (with Joe), then becomes a gentleman (with Jaggers), and finally is left in confusion with Magwitch, perhaps a tainted/unconventional gentleman. The continuous confusion shows Pip to be vulnerable which once again makes the reader feel empathetic.
The second theme in this book is guilt. Pip has a lot of guilt! In the first chapters he feels very guilty for stealing the pie and file from his sister and Joe, and then he feels guilty again when Magwitch is caught, and somehow blames it on himself. Once again the effect is the feeling of sympathy, and empathy- as we all feel guilty sometimes. Dickens is very good at creating sympathy for his characters.
There are a lot of literary devices used in these chapters, the most obvious being the connotation in the weather/setting between chapter one and chapter 39. in both chapters the weather is wet, windy and stormy, and in both chapters Magwitch suddenly appears, this shows that whenever Magwitch is around he shall bring a figurative storm to Pip’s life. The first time terrorising him and threatening to eat his liver and heart, then the second time of meeting, in chapter 39, dashing all Pip’s dreams and hopes of him being intended for Estella. Each time Magwitch appears he causes havoc, as a storm does. Also there is a certain irony because although Magwitch does bring all this bad weather, he also turns out to be the sunshine after the rain, also. The reader obviously doesn’t like Magwitch until they realise that he is the ray of sun, or has caused the sunlight after the storm in Pip’s life. Magwitch messes up his life, but then completely turns it around again, by the offer of opportunity and money that Magwitch gave him.
Another literary device used is that Dickens has written it in first person narrative. It gives it a personal touch and an extra insight into Pip’s thoughts as we ‘see’ through his eyes. Also the use of 1st person relates the story to Dickens own life, in a way, because it could seem that it is him telling the story, and just using Pip as a spokesperson. It is an insight into Dickens mind.
Dickens uses a lot of literary devices, use of language and strong contrasts to convey certain characteristics and personality of characters, and has used it to convey atmosphere and setting. The use of all Dickens’ ability and skill to create sympathy and empathy within the reader,
Dickens sophisticated writing approach has created a believable, well written and well loved story.
