In chapter 3 Pip brings the convict food and as he is eating, Pip overcomes his fears and tells him; “I am glad you enjoy it.” By saying this, Pip showed his caring nature and already started to develop a kind of relationship with the convict.
Two chapters after, Magwitch gets captured. Pip is then anxious that the convict will think that he has betrayed him to the soldiers, so when the convict looked in his direction, Pip slightly moved his hands and shook his head. The text says that the reason for the silent communication was; “to assure him of my innocence.” Pip has also shown the honest side of his personality and gained his own self respect. In return for Pip’s honesty, Magwitch gives him a mysterious look; “for he gave me a look that I did not understand.” After reading this sentence the reader will be just as confused as Pip because they cannot identify whether the look is aggressive or caring and why the convict actually gave Pip that look. This all adds to the mystery of the story.
Pip’s relationship with Magwitch is also interesting because it is presented vividly. Pips first impression of what Magwitch looks like is; “A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg . . .” Later on, Pip notices that the man behaves in a rude, violent and aggressive way and realizes that he could possibly be a killer.
To confirm his thoughts, Magwitch physically mishandles Pip; “looking at me for a moment turned me upside down and emptied my pockets.” And also threatens Pip; “You bring em both to me, Or I’ll have your heart and liver out.” But out of all these things, what really sticks in Pip’s mind is the way Magwitch eats; “The man took strong, sharp sudden bites, just like the dog.” Pip also remembers a characteristic sound Magwitch makes and described it, using a simile; “something clicked in his throat, as if he had works in him like a clock.”
Further on in the chapter when Pip tells Magwitch that he saw the other man, Magwitch’s attitude is completely changed. At first he is surprised, then shocked and finally very angry; “I’ll pull him down, like a bloodhound.” Dickens has set up suspense and curiosity because the reader (and Pip) will probably be wondering why Magwitch hates this other convict so much.
In chapter 5, Dickens adds further interest when Magwitch covers up for Pip over the theft of food because it shows that Magwitch is caring enough to repay Pip’s kindness. This forms a strange and secret bond between Pip and Magwitch.
Further on, a stranger leaves Pip two one-pound notes and Pip suspects that they are from Magwitch because the stranger stirred his drink with a file. This adds both mystery and more awareness to the novel because it has confirmed the bond between Pip and Magwitch. Dickens then uses this relationship to prove that there is a deep secret buried in Pips childhood.
Dickens makes Pip’s dramatic encounter with Magwitch in Chapter 39, when he comes to London interesting, by using various techniques.
Pip is at first very irritated; “I had seen a face that was strange to me, looking up with an incomprehensible air of being touched and pleased by the sight of me.” This is for the reason that a man (Magwitch) has turned up and is acting as if he knows Pip when Pip does not recognise him. This irritation leads onto confusion because Pip does not understand why and how the man is familiar with him.
Significance is then added to the scene when Pip suddenly recognises Magwitch. He continuously repeats the words; “I knew him” and “No need” to make the paragraph dramatic. By using this method Dickens is stressing the fact that Pip has only just recognised Magwitch in those few seconds and is also bringing the past back to life for the reader.
Moments later, Pip makes an effort to get Magwitch to understand that he cannot stay with him; “Our ways are different ways, none the less.” After hearing this Magwitch feels very hurt and Pip then attempts to break the relationship even further by returning the two one-pound notes; “I separated two one-pound notes… and handed them over to him.” He does this so that there is nothing left between him and Magwitch to connect them both together but this is very ironic as Pip does not know that Magwitch is his benefactor.
However when he does realize this, Dickens slowly builds up Pips shock. At first Pip stammers and stutters and begins to lose his confidence; “I faltered.” He repeats his answers while feeling emotionally distressed. As more information is provided the shock begins to have physical effects; “struggle for every breath I drew.” It results in Pip nearly fainting; “the room began to surge and turn.”
While Magwitch is made known to be feeling proud and pleased, Dickens shows Pip’s disgust and fear in a very fascinating manner. Pip knows that morally he should be grateful but he cannot prevent his feelings, so Dickens uses similes and metaphors to explain his emotions; “the abhorre in which I held the man.” Pip is also afraid of the convict; “I recoiled from his touch as if he ha been a snake,” and when Magwitch touches him he illustrates his emotions as; “my blood ran cold within me.”
Pip is particularly afraid of what Magwitch might do and this scares him a lot. This is also enthralling because neither the reader nor Pip know of Magwitch’s past and why he was sent to prison which adds more tension and suspense; “I shuddered at the thought that for anything I knew, his hands might be stained with blood.”
Other than these feelings, Pip has many other thoughts about his own life; “O, that he had never come! That he had left me at the forge – far from contented, yet, by comparison, happy!” He wishes that he had never seen the convict so he wouldn’t have to face all this complication. Pip also develops a guilty conscience; “sharpest and deepest pain of all – it was for the convict… that I had deserted Joe” and realizes that Estelle had used him; “Estelle not designed for me; I only suffered in Satins house as a convenience, a sting for the greedy relations.”
It is interesting to see how Pip feels in chapter 40 when he has to try to disguise and hide Magwitch. Pip feels that it is impossible to disguise Magwitch’s criminal identity because he has the appearance of a criminal; “He dragged one of his legs as if there was still a weight of iron on it and that from head to foot there was convict in the very grain of the man.” Pip still attempts to disguise Magwitch but it brings back childhood memories; “The more I dressed him and the better I dressed him, the more he looked like the slouching fugitive on the marshes.” By using strong and effective vocabulary such as repugnance and aversion, Dickens effectively shows Pips fear and prejudice; “So awful was the manner in which everything in him that it was most desirable to repress.” The reader becomes more interested in Pip’s feelings about his relationship with Magwitch and they find that Pip feels trapped and tangled to Magwitch, as if he cannot get away; “What I was chained to, and how heavily, became intelligible to me.” Towards the end of chapter 40, Pip also mentions that he feels like Frankenstein because he believes that the monster created him; 2The imaginary student pursued by the misshapen creature… was not more wretched than I.”
More interest is built up when Pip decides to ask Magwitch about his life. The reader probably feels the same as Pip; keen to know Magwitch’s life story and to solve the mystery.
When Magwitch tells his story in Chapter 42, Dickens uses his dialect to bring the scene alive and increase sympathy. Most of the chapter is told from Magwitch’s view so perhaps this way the reader will feel sorrier for him.
Towards the end of the chapter, the reader will have noticed that Pip has begun to change; “I had felt great pity for him.” After hearing Magwitch’s life story, Pips kind nature takes over his fear and he starts to soften. From this point on Magwitch also starts to change and seem ‘softened.’ The main reason for this is because he has opened up to Pip and told him personal details about himself. Dickens demonstrates this by slowing down the chapter near the end; “I asked after a silence.” This has a very dramatic effect because it gives the impression that the trust they have in each other has increased which in turn makes the relationship between Pip and Magwitch stronger and closer.
It is very interesting to see that Pip goes on changing after this, caring about Magwitch, not just wanting to get rid of him. He even goes to the sluice house on the marshes in response to the mysterious message, despite possible danger to himself, because he is thinking of saving Magwitch.
In chapter 54, Dickens builds up interest in Pips relationship with Magwitch because of the huge change, and the suspense over Magwitch’s future. Their closeness is shown when Magwitch thanks Pip at the beginning of the chapter; “Faithful dear boy, well done. Thankye, Thankye!” He is really appreciative and thanks Pip as his own son. The trust between the two has again augmented.
In this chapter we can also confirm that Pips previous judgments have definitely melted away; “My repugnance to him had all melted away.” This dialogue also reinforces the way it melted away in chapter 42.
As a result of this change of emotion Pip becomes more loyal and promises that he will always try to be on Magwitch’s side; “I will never stir from your side.” Dickens has involved the reader in this scene as well as providing an apprehensive atmosphere. He indirectly shows Magwitch emotions, which we can identify by his trembling hand; “I felt his hand tremble as it held mine.”
In chapter 56 the scenes of Magwitch’s trial and death in prison are made interesting because of the bond and strength of feeling between Pip and Magwitch. We can tell that Pip will do as much as he can for Magwitch; “it became the first duty of my life to say to him; and read to him what I knew he ought to hear.” Further on in the chapter Pip cares for Magwitch even more and at this point Dickens mentions more emotion; “I wrote it as fervently and pathetically as I could.” Pip spends his time inscripting letters to get Magwitch pardoned; “For several days and nights after he was sentenced I took no rest except when I fell asleep in my chair, but was wholly absorbed in these appeals.” Dickens appeal to the reader’s feelings as there is hard evidence rather than the usual emotional language.
At the end of the chapter, Dickens makes Pip tell Magwitch about his daughter just as he is on the brink of death. Pip is very careful that he says only nice things about Estelle; “She lived and found powerful friends… She is a lady and very beautiful. And I love her!” He says this so he can comfort Magwitch providing a strong impact to the reader that Magwitch dies peacefully. It’s almost as if he is cushioning the death.
After Magwitch has died, Pips thoughts about the Bible story mentioned are significant and appealing because Pip associates Magwitch with the man in the bible; “I thought of the two men who went up to the temple to pray, and I knew there were no better words that I could say beside his bed, than O Lord, be merciful to him, a sinner!” These thoughts confirm the complete change in Pip as he finds himself being more religious and praying for a man who, he used to hate and fear.
Through Pips whole relationship with Magwitch, Dickens has interested the reader in the historical setting of the novel in many different ways. He wrote it in 1860, whereas transportation to New South Wales and the use of the Hulks as prison ships stopped in the 1840’s. Pips early life is supposed to be around the time of Dickens own childhood: Dickens was born in 1812.
The novel creates interest by describing the life of criminals as very harsh with lots of suffering included. Magwitch is a criminal who was sent for life and so right the way through the book we learn about the system of transporting them to Australia. In the time that this book was set, the United Kingdom still had a death penalty and one of the punishments that Magwitch feared was again, added to the bleakness; “I was sent for life, its death to come back.”
The book interests us in the social divisions between working class people and ‘ladies’ and ‘gentlemen’ since it shows the reader what it was like for the character by describing various advantages and disadvantages.
Throughout the novel, Pip and Magwitch’s social attitudes change and they learn to put generosity and love before wealth. This is all relevant to the social issues today and proves that in the 1800’s there was a social gap and that there is still a social gap today, although it is not as strong as before.
In my opinion Dickens key techniques in presenting the novel’s central relationship is the dialogue of the characters along with the description of the unique atmospheres. The whole time through the novel there is also lots of suspense used which I think is again, another key technique.
The relationship between Pip and Magwitch has interested me because it is marvellous to read about two people who develop such a unique bond at an early age and how they help each other through bad times. They both learn that wealth and status are not the essential things but what matters in life are the relationships we form with others and people’s true nature.
The moments and scenes involving Pip and Magwitch which stand out most in my mind are all in chapter 3. I assume that this is because I can clearly remember how frightened Pip was when he first heard about the other convict and when he told Magwitch that he had seen the convict, I could picture the disbelief on Magwitch’s face. Dickens created a lot of suspense and interest at this point and I think that is the main reason why that chapter appealed to me more than the others.
Other than this I can also clearly recall the last few paragraphs of chapter 56 when Pip attested his true nature. Despite the fact that Estelle took advantage of Pips companionship, he still briefly informed Magwitch of the pleasant virtues in her. By doing this he helped Magwitch to die ‘peacefully’ without any adverse emotions.