The characterisation of Abel Magwitch as a dark convict shows contrast but at the same time a similarity to Pip’s character. Dickens sets up Magwitch to be a criminal who scares Pip. He doesn’t harm Pip, but merely scares him. Magwitch asks Pip to help him, by bringing him some food and a file to get the chains off his legs.
“You bring me, to-morrow morning early, that file and them wittles.”
From this point, Magwitch decides to pay Pip back for his kindness, as soon as he earns some money. This is echoed later in the novel, when his good deed is to pay him back for bringing him the food and the file. Abel Magwitch becomes Pip’s benefactor.
The characterisation of Pip makes the reader empathise and relate to him. Dickens sets Pip up to be a helpless, afraid, ‘puffy cheeks’ little boy who is set upon by a big frightening convict. Pip shows that he cares for the convict by bringing him some food and a file, this is echoed later in the novel, when his good deed is to paid him back. The convict also cares about Pip. Both characters reflect each other. Both are outcasts, unwanted and lost in this “bleak” world.
Dickens shows in the character of Magwitch, how many so-called criminals are good people, and how crimes of a ‘gentleman’ like Compeyson (a swindler) are far more harmful that what Magwitch did. Compeyson swindled Miss Haversham and kept her waiting at the altar. How the legal system enables the rich to the oppress the poor, and if you are poor, Dickens shows us how hard it is to change your destiny. This reflects Charles Dickens own life story. How he was poor and then changed his own destiny.
Magwitch is a criminal, but Compeyson led him into crime. Compeyson blames Magwitch for being led astray, and is believed because of his ‘smooth manners’. Dickens expresses this ‘goodness’, Magwitch does not harm Pip at all and he warns him that Compeyson might harm Pip if he comes across him.
“There’s a young man hid with me, in comparison with which young man I am a Angel.”
We feel pity for Magwitch, Dickens description of him and we generally feel that he has a ‘good side’ to him. This is enforced, when Magwitch is recaptured and saves Pip from any trouble, by admitting that he stole the food from the Gargery’s house.
“I took some wittles, up at the willage over yonder – where the church stands a’most out on he marshes.”
Through frightening to Pip, the convict’s actions can be seen as quite amusing. The reader is often able to see things that Pip does not, for example, the fact that Magwitch is unlikely to harm Pip, even though Pip is scared and helpless. This humour can develop tension.
“You young dog, what fat cheeks you ha’ got. Dam me if I couldn’t eat ‘em, and if I ha’ half a mind to ‘t!”
In this way, Dickens prepares us for the reappearance later in the novel, of Magwitch as Pip’s benefactor. All of this is echoed later in the novel, when Magwitch is revealed as Pip’s benefactor.
Chapter One does not sets us for the initial disgust Pip displays towards Magwitch when he first sees him again later on in the novel. This is one example of Pip’s newfound snobbery and we witness in full force when Joe Gargery comes to London to visit Pip. Its interesting to see that initially Magwitch was forceful and unkind to Pip, whereas the roles switch later when Pip is rejecting at first and unkind to Magwitch.
The structure of the novel was finally printed in three stages, but today it is printed as one piece of work. It was first published in weekly installments. This means that ‘Great Expectations’ does not have the structure of a standard novel but has cliff-hangers throughout in order to keep the readers buying the next edition. The story has many mini – resolutions of the plot.
Originally it was published in three parts. The three parts are; Part One, Chapter One to Chapter Nineteen, Part Two, Chapter Twenty to Thirty-nine and Part Three, Chapter Forty to Fifty-nine. Chapter One begins with Magwitch and sets up by detailing Magwitch’s and Pip’s relationship.
Dickens tells the story through the character of Pip. This not as simple as it may seem at first. Pip is an adult when he tells the story, he thinks back to his childhood and sees it through his adult eyes. Pip is able to convey the viewpoint of his younger self. The simple child of the novel’s opening, changes to the young prig of the middle Chapters and eventually the mature narrator. He is merciless in exposing his faults, allowing them to appear by the honesty of his narration rather than passing judgement.
Chapter One of Great Expectations paves the way for the rest of the novel as it introduces us to the two main characters that holds the whole novel together. Through them we meet a network of characters that are all linked together. For example Compeyson is linked to Magwitch, Estella is linked to Miss Haversham, Miss Haversham is linked to Compeyson, Estella is linked to Pip, Estella and Pip are both linked to Magwitch. It sets the scene and also sets up the storyline for the rest of the novel. Images of landscape are used in chapter One as reflects of what may happen in the rest of the novel.
“like an unhooped cask upon a pole – an ugly thing when you were near it; the other a gibbet, with some chains hanging to it which had once held a pirate.”
This ghostly image at the end of chapter one stays with the reader for the rest of the novel.
