The settings in the two chapters are similar at the start as the weather is terrible and gives you a sense of sadness and loneliness.
“Dark flat wilderness” and “Stormy and wet, stormy and wet” are both very unwelcoming and lonely scenes and this appears to be the case at the start of both chapter 1 and chapter 39. Chapter 1 is when Pip is a child so the weather would have had a big effect on him as he may have been more scared as he is a child.
“Bundle of shivers” is what Dickens describes Pip as at the start which ties in well with the weather at the start of the chapter. Whereas in chapter 39 Pip is in his house in London but the weather seems to be slightly worse and the weather can still be heard howling away outside so the loneliness that Pip feels could heighten his fear when the convict visits him and could remind him of the first day they met when he was a scared young boy.
“Dark flat wilderness” suggests a cold scene but not necessarily a stormy one as there is no mention of weather in it at all or any shocking words. It could in fact be quite a calm scene but is then interrupted by the convict and his heavy chains.
At this point the relationship between Pip and the convict is one ruled by fear as the convict is a desperate man who needs help so he uses his strength to control Pip by saying such things as “Keep still, you little devil, or I’ll cut your throat!” which would have scared Pip even more as well as the weather not to mention the fact that they are in a graveyard. Also, the fact that Pips parents and brothers are buried here could have an effect on Pip as he would have come to the graveyard to remember them so that would have made him melancholy and lonely.
At this stage in the novel the similarities between the two characters are greater than you might expect. This also ties in with the title, how big some of the changes might be. The characters are similar in their situation, they are both lonely and in need of help as such.
Pip is feeling sad and down as he is at the grave of his family, though he never met them, it isn’t that he feels no emotion, they are his family after all. But he needs someone to comfort him and Abel Magwitch needs help escaping the law so in this instance they are similar. Also, the convict is escaping injustice as he was found guilty of crimes he didn’t commit because of Compesant having more of an educated background so in a sense he is innocent and has done nothing wrong and is in a dire situation where he has to use his strength to help him.
Pip is also innocent. He is a small boy whose parents and family have all died of nothing to do with him so he could be feeling as if he is wondering why all this is happening to him just as the convict although he knows why this is happening but is still innocent.
The convict is seemingly brought to life by the clothes he is wearing which also have meaning. He is of course wearing criminal’s clothes but he has a great iron on his leg that is weighing him down. This could translate as the injustice that is being brought upon him as it is always pulling him back and stopping him from progressing further in life.
Pip’s actions also reflect his innocence as he is the one being bullied around by Abel Magwitch and once again is on the receiving end of it all just as with the tragic death of his family. Pip always gives the convict the information that he asks for and gets him the food and the file to file off the iron on his leg. This seems to create a sense of trust between Abel and Pip which could have an effect on the situation when they meet later in the play.
When we look at chapter 39 we can see that the weather certainly has not changed as I explained in the starting few paragraphs but what has changed dramatically is the relationship between Pip and the convict.
Firstly though, the weather. Once again it sets the scene as Pip is alone in his house with the wind howling and the rain beating down on the roof. “I sadly missed the cheerful face and ready response of my friend” is what tells us that once again as in chapter 1 Pip is in a sad and lonely state.
Even though Pip is much better off than in the first chapter in is strange to see how he still feels the same in a situation such as this, possibly it is the weather that has reminded him of that time when he first met the convict, and that the “high buildings in town” reflect the “Low leaden line” as seen in the opening chapter. When Pip meets the convict again in chapter 39 he is unsure of whom he is and seems to be quite rude by asking questions and hesitating to let him in, probably because of his common nature. We saw how Pip treated Joe when he visited him in London, he was very cold towards him and seemed to deny his past and shun Joe away as he was too common unlike himself. Perhaps he thought that being seen with someone like Joe made him feel ashamed of his past which is why he treated him like he did.
The convict on the other hand is much more polite than in chapter 1 as he refers to Pip as “Master” which he certainly wouldn’t have used when he was using his strength to get what he wanted from Pip. He could be saying this because he realises Pip is now well off and wants some “green” but it is actually that he is Pip’s mysterious benefactor and he is thanking him for escaping capture and getting him the food he needed.
Abel has changed physically too, he certainly has more money as he has stopped with his criminal ways and he is now wearing better clothes. He wears a hat and a rough outer coat, a sign that he is out of prison and doing what he wants and what he wants is to visit Pip to show his gratitude.
Once Pip finds out that Abel is the mysterious benefactor he is shocked and angry as he thought it was Miss Havisham who was the benefactor and he almost feels like a criminal himself as it is the convict’s money that he was receiving. This once again is quite rude and shows how he sees working class people.
At this point the relationship between the two characters is different from chapter 1 as Abel Magwitch is polite towards Pip and you could think that he was his servant. Pip on the other hand is more like the convict from chapter 1, being rude and mean. This shows that there is a great contrast between the two chapters and that the characters seemed to have “switched roles” and changed personalities.
They are similar however in the fact that they are both better off monetarily and happier.
