Dickens’ use of Pip as the narrator is very significant to the telling of the story. We are able to see the progression of Pip as he grows up and his views on the characters in the book. It creates a biased view of his environment and others around him. We form an idea about someone from their outward appearance, so having Pip as a narrator it creates a one-sided view about a character because we only see the world from Pip’s eyes and we feel most strongly what Pip is feeling and we feel, about other character what Pip feels about them.
Pip’s immediate reaction to Magwitch is one of fright and shock “O! Don’t cut my throat, sir,” I pleaded in terror. “Pray don’t do it sir”. Dickens stories were serialised, so to keep the readers interested he needed to create tension and he did this using Pip’s frightening experience. It also helped to describe the setting the characters are placed in. Pip met Magwitch in the graveyard on the marshes and he says that it was an intimidating place for a young boy to be. “the distant savage lair from which the wind was rushing, was the sea; and the small bundle of shivers growing afraid of it all and beginning to cry was Pip. This description of the marshes by Pip re-emphasises his feelings about Magwitch. It is also a prominent event in Pips life because he refers to it throughout the story.” And on the ground beside her, which Joe picked up, was a convicts leg iron which had been filed asunder” The leg-iron appears in Mrs Joe’s assault. I consumed the whole time in thinking how strange it was that I should be encompassed by all this taint of prison and crime; that, in my childhood out on our lonely marshes on a winter evening I should have first encountered it; that, it should have reappeared on two occasions, starting out like a stain that was faded."- Pip moves into London and visits Newgate with Wemmick. These reasons and first person narrative makes Magwitch memorable.
In Miss Havisham’s case, using the first person narrative helps the reader to understand the feelings he has about himself and the effect Miss Havisham has on him. Pip describes his feelings of inadequacy concerning himself and his family after spending the day with Miss Havisham and Estella for the first time: "I thought how Joe and my sister were then sitting in the kitchen, and how I had come up to bed from the kitchen, and how Miss Havisham and Estella never sat in the kitchen, but were far above the level of such common doings.” It shows clearly that Miss Havisham is a strong character that is going to have a great effect on Pip and for this reason we know that she is important and has a part to play in his ‘expectations’ The narrative technique used by Dickens also enables him to add reflections concerning past events. “that was a memorable day for me, for it made great changes in me” This is the mature Pip talking about his past that he would not have been able to do as a child. Dickens needed to have this ability to do this so Pip could reflect on the changes Miss Havisham caused to take place in him and the way she made him feel. This helps us to compare the two different Pips and how he has changed.
The description is a very important factor when forming an idea about a character because we tend to base our views about a person on their appearance and their actions, how they interact with other characters. Magwitch is described by Pip as being “A fearful man, all in coarse grey” and “A man who had been soaked in water and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones” Dickens has used vocabulary that suggests that Magwitch has been living on the marshes. Words like ‘lamed’ and ‘smothered’ are very negative and suggest that Magwitch’s time on the marshes is taking it’s toll. He uses repetition to create a sense of urgency and to emphasise the point and mentions that he is not wearing a hat, to makes us realise that he is not a gentlemen. There is also the use of pathetic fallacy as Pip describes the marshes as ‘misty’ and there is the same ‘mist’ covering Magwitch’s past and why he is in the graveyard. Later on, Pip takes food to Magwitch and Dickens describes the way he eats it. “ The man took strong sharp sudden bites, just like a dog. He swallowed, or rather snapped up, every mouthful, too soon and too fast; and he looked sideways here and there while he ate” This is a description of Magwitch’s actions. Dickens portrays him like a dog, eating his food to fast. He uses techniques like alliteration and similes to create the idea of a dog. “strong, sharp, sudden bites’ and ‘just like a dog’. This is a complex sentence and is constructed to have a rhythm and flow like a piece of poetry.
The description of Mrs Havisham is also a very powerful piece of literature. The vocabulary used creates an effect of death. “Without this arrest of everything, this standing still of all the pale decayed objects, not even the withered bridal dress on the collapsed from could have looked so like grave clothes, or the long veil a shroud” It conveys the idea that time has stopped and everything is fallen into ruin. This is a reflection of Miss Havisham and her state of mind, that she has stopped time in her mind and has let her body decay away. Dickens uses words like ‘withered’ and ‘decayed’ and these help add the idea of death and similes to compare the objects and Miss Havisham to a dead body and a grave. Miss Havisham’s actions tell us a great deal about her relationships with people, past and present. She asks Pip to escort her around her wedding table. This request shows that Miss Havisham has not let go of the past, it uncovers why she acts so strangely to Pip and the reader. It is almost as if she is trying to make the man who ruined her life, feel guilty. She also asks Pip to play with Estella. “I want diversion, and I have done with men and women. Play” This comment suggests that she wants Pip to distract her from her hurt. It is these odd requests and strong description of her, likening her to death that makes her a striking person. It also tells the reader that she either has trouble forming relationships with adults or that because of her past she no longer seeks the company of an adult, perhaps she fears that they may point out her bitterness and twisted ways and that she is ruining Estella’s life as she ruined her own.
The dialogue of the characters gives the reader an idea of what their personality is like and how the character changes. It also offers some relief from the heavy description Dickens uses. Magwitch’s dialogue, to begin with is very harsh and cruel towards all the characters he interacts with. (Compeyson, Pip, the officers) “Or I’ll have your heart and liver out!” He speaks with an accent and dialect similar to Joe’s but it is portrayed as raspy, cutting compared with Joe’s warm, simplistic speech. This suggests that they are both from the same social background but Magwitch has a darker past and as the reader, we find this sense of mystery appealing and striking. We also find him interesting because of his treatment of Pip and the way he address Pip. On the marshes, Magwitch treats him the same as the other characters, but as we move through the story, we are able to see a change in his dialogue. He treats Pip with more respect and treats him like his own son, calling him “dear boy” although his accent and dialect remain the same and in one respect, he becomes a second father to Pip, like Joe. Dickens makes the reader want to investigate the change in Magwitch and this keeps us interested in the story.
Mrs Havisham appears more than Magwitch in the story, but the dialogue remains the same She does not have an accent or dialect but because of her social status we can imagine her having an affected voice. It is what she says to Pip that is the most important. They explain some of her odd behaviour and give us an insight into her past. We can see an example of this when she addresses Pip. “What do I touch?” “Your heart” “Broken!” As the story develops some of the comments made by Miss Havisham become relevant to the plot. We can see this in a conversation between Herbert Pocket and Pip about her failed wedding and Pip recollects her mentioning her ‘broken’ heart’
In conclusion, Dickens makes the characters striking because in many of his novels he was protesting against social injustice. Using stereotypical characters, like Magwitch with exaggerated features helps the reader to remember them and remember the message that Dickens was trying to convey. Dickens also uses very descriptive language to great effect. It makes the reader feel as if they were actually in Victorian times with the characters. This is demonstrated in Pip’s first meeting with Magwitch, where the language used creates a picture for the reader so that we can believe that we are there.
Magwitch’s appearance mirrors the cold, grey lonely marsh so we can also remember characters because we associate them with places. This is shown with Miss Havisham, as her surroundings mirror the way looks, acts, and are quite unusual so are memorable. I think that the most important factor for making a character striking is the first description of them. Dickens makes the reader remember the character by using a very powerful description when we very first meet them in the book. It immediately grabs the readers attention and makes them want to investigate and find out more about the character.
