Dickens then starts to describe the setting, commenting on the graveyard in particular. He does this because the graveyard is a lonely setting. So the reader empathises with pip. Dickens describes the graveyard as “This bleak place overgrown with nettles was the churchyard.” This makes the resting ground of Pip’s parents sound over run. The reader sympathises with Pip because a graveyard should be tidy and a resting ground for the dead. Then Dickens uses a metaphor to describe the sea “and that distant savage lair from which the wind was rushing.” This is animal imagery because we associate the word “lair” with a lion or a bear. This makes Pip sound vulnerable.
Next, we meet Abel Magwitch for the first time. At first Dickens creates a sense a sense of fear and presents Abel Magwitch as a fearful character. “Keep still you little devil or I’ll cut your throat.” This creates sympathy for Pip as the reader fears for Pip’s life. Dickens then starts to describe Abel Magwitch as “A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg.” This presents an image of a convict. He then goes on to describe him as “A man with no hat, and broken shoes.” This makes him sound poor. Dickens then starts to create sympathy towards Abel Magwitch by writing “a man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints, and torn by briars; who limped, and shivered.” All these adjectives that the writer uses creates sympathy because they describe him as injured and wet which creates pity.
After describing the setting and characters there is then an interaction between Pip and Abel Magwitch. Pip replies to Magwitch’s threat pleading for his life by saying “Oh, don’t cut my throat, sir,” this makes Pip sound extremely vulnerable. Dickens then changes to third person it says “I pleaded in terror.” This contributes to more sympathy towards Pip.
Then Abel Magwitch turns Pip upside down looking for food. “The man after looking at me for a moment, turned me upside down, and emptied my pockets. There was nothing but a piece of bread.” This creates sympathy for Pip as it gives the impression that Abel Magwitch is robbing Pip. It also shows that Pip is poor and has no money only a piece of bread. The next bit shows how frightened Pip is of Abel Magwitch “I was seated on a high tombstone, trembling,” this shows that Pip was shaking with fear.
Dickens then goes on to create sympathy towards Abel Magwitch “while he ate the bread ravenously” this shows how hungry he is and that he has not eaten in a long time. Then we read “though I was undersized for my years, and not strong.” This shows how feeble Pip is this creates sympathy towards Pip because he can not defend himself. Dickens then shows how nervous the convict is. The convict asks where Pips mother is and Pip replies by saying “There, sir” the convict doesn’t realise that Pip is pointing at the tombstone. “He started to make a short run, and stopped and looked over his shoulder.” this shows that the convict is worried about getting seen. Abel Magwitch then discovers a way to escape from the chains that are around his legs. “Blacksmith, eh?” this shows that he is trying to get the chains of his legs.
The writer then shows how powerful Pip thinks Abel Magwitch is. “So that his eyes looked most powerfully down into mine, and mine looked most helplessly up into his.” This creates sympathy for Pip because he is helpless and alone. Dickens then emphasizes how helpless Pip is. “After each question he tilted me over a little more, so as to give me a greater sense of helplessness and danger.” This creates more sympathy for Pip. Abel Magwitch then threatens Pip to scare him and to make sure that he does what he asks. “You bring me, tomorrow morning early, that file and them wittles. You bring the lot to me, at that old Battery over yonder. You do it, and you never dare to say a word or dare to make a sign concerning your having seen such a person as me, or any person sum ever, and you shall be let to live. You fail, or you go from my words in any particular, no matter how small it is, and your heart and your liver shall be tore out, roasted and ate.” Dickens uses imagery here which creates a sense of fear for Pip which contributes to sympathy towards Pip. Abel Magwitch then talks about another character “Now, I aint alone, as you might think I am. There’s a young man hid with me, in comparison with which young man I am an angel.” This frightens Pip even more as he is already terrified of Abel Magwitch never mind another character. Here, the reader recognises how grief-stricken Pip is.
In the second extract of Great Expectations that I am going to comment on Pip visits a wealthy lady called Havisham. There is a young girl that Miss Havisham lives with called Estella. Miss Havisham has taken legal responsibility for Estella even though they are not related. My feelings towards extract two are that Dickens creates sympathy for Pip my emphasising social classes and that appearance matter a great deal in the novel.
Dickens starts the second extract by setting the scene and comments on Miss Havisham. Dickens creates sympathy for Miss Havisham first when Pip and Miss Havisham are talking. Miss Havisham says “You are not afraid of a woman who has never seen the sun since you were born?” this makes the reader sympathise with Miss Havisham because the sun is a wonderful thing which most people enjoy seeing.
Miss Havisham then tells Estella to play a game of cards with Pip. Estella replies “with this boy! Why, he is a common labouring boy!” this creates sympathy for Pip as it is an insult to Pip. Estella then remarks “he calls the knaves, Jacks, this boy!”
“And what coarse hands he has and what thick boots!” We then read that Pip “had never thought of been ashamed of his hands before.” The reader sympathises with Pip hear as he is embarrassed about his hands.
The language and dialogue in extract two is very important, Dickens creates the impression that Pip is like a slave (although he is not). The way that Miss Havisham speaks to Pip is very distinctive, she does not ask him do to things she tells him what to do and when to do it. An example of this is on line 124 “when shall I have you here again. Let me think.” She then thinks for a while and says “come here again in six days. You hear?” this creates sympathy for Pip as he gets ordered what to do and has no choice in the matter.
I have read two extracts of Great Expectation and commented on how Charles Dickens creates sympathy for his characters. Dickens is a talented author and uses many tools to create sympathy for his characters.
