In the second novel ‘Great expectations’ Pip is visiting his parents at a graveyard where an escaped convict named Magwitch attacks him.
In ‘Great expectations’ Magwitch is introduced in a setting, which is appropriate to him. This is because Magwitch is an escaped convict and the setting is boggy “Marsh country”. This is good for Magwitch because the marshland is isolated and there would be nobody around. This is useful because he is hiding and he doesn’t want to get caught. This “March country” is 20 miles from the sea where he escaped off a prison ship. This is a quite a way to travel on foot. Magwitch has travelled along the riverbank, which is useful because it could help him escape if he was being chased. Pip tells us that he meets Magwitch on a “Raw afternoon towards evening”. Raw is a monosyllabic word, which is quite harsh and sharp. The weather also helps to create the mood and character of Magwitch. The day is in twilight, which means there is poor visibility. Also the temperature has dropped and there is an ominous feeling that it will get darker and most Evil is associated with dark and nighttime. This makes Magwitch seem dark, evil and a bit mysterious. So this makes it easier to hide and frighten Pip.
Pip continues to describe the scenery as a “Bleak place overgrown with nettles” this is useful for Magwitch because it gives him a place to hide and where people would not look. This place “overgrown with nettles” is a churchyard so there would be no one around. Beyond the churchyard it is “intersected with dykes and mounds and gates, with scattered cattle”. The way Dickens has mentioned “scattered cattle” is that they are wild and that no one is caring for the land. We are told that the river is a “Low, leaden, line”. The alliteration of using the repeating L sound is a heavy and negative sound. The word “Leaden” is like a heavy, dark sound like the colour of lead witch is a dark grey colour. So this is setting the atmosphere. Dickens now describes the wind escaping fast from a “Savage lair”. The described “Savage lair” is the sea. This is a metaphor as Dickens has said that the “Savage lair…. was the sea”. The “Savage lair” could also be described as the prison ship where Magwitch has escaped from and that the rushing wind is rushing to hunt him down.
Dickens describes the sky as being angry red and black lines. This is associated with evil and fear. It could also be a warning sign for someone.
When Pip is attacked Dickens creates tension by describing Magwitch as just “A fearful man”. This is a good description as he is anonymous and he is not a monster but he is just a man. Then this leaves room for Dickens to build up on this character. Dickens now describes the man as being “All in coarse grey”. This description suites Magwitch as “Coarse” means a rough and indelicate material like Magwitch. Dickens now builds up on this and mentions him having “A great iron on is leg”. We can now figure that he could be a prisoner.
Dickens now describes how Magwitch “Limped, and shivered, and glared and growled”. These are all verbs that are juxtaposed against each other. These all emphasize the two very different sides to Magwitch’s character. The one side is very fierce like an animal. Dickens uses guttural sounds a very harsh and unpleasant sound to describe how he “Glared and growled”. Where as the other side is weak and helpless and Dickens uses soft sounding words “Limped, and shivered”. There is further juxtaposed on the next line where he seizes Pip by the chin yet his teeth are chattering. This is juxtaposed because he is trying to be frightening yet we can tell he is weak and helpless because his teeth are chattering from the cold. This shows us that he is still a person and not a beast.
We now move onto speech. Dickens reveals a lot about his characters through the way they speak. The first two sentences we hear Magwitch speak have explanation marks at the end, which suggests he is shouting. The first line he speaks is “Hold your noise!” Magwitch is shouting an order here this might be because he has just escaped from a prison ship and he is trying to take authority over Pip.
Magwitch uses very violent language to get what he wants. He does this because he is desperate for food. Magwitch threatens Pip that if he doesn’t get him food a man will hunt him down and “Your liver shall be tore out, roasted and ate.” This sentence is ramatically wrong. This is just trying to show a strong dialect that Magwitch uses to show that he is uneducated and it also shows where he is from. Magwitch also shout this sentence, which suggests he is trying to be angry. He also uses short, sharp and fast pace sentence so he doesn’t get drawn into a conversation.
We learn a lot about Magwitch by his movement. We can tell by his movement that there is a violent and pitiful side to him.
The first time we see Magwitch is where he “Started up from among the graves at the side of the church porch”. This looks as if Magwitch is not real and as if he is rising out of s grave. So this tells us that Magwitch’s movement at the time was quite slow. This might be because he has travelled so far that he has not got much strength in him.
Pip is a very different character to Magwitch. They are contrast to each other. Pip makes Magwitch’s character seem coarser. This may be because Magwitch is an uneducated gentlemen, “Darn me if I couldn’t eat em”. Where as Pip is an educated boy, “I believe they were fat, though I was at that time undersized for my years, and not strong”. Pip also sees sympathy and pity for Magwitch. This is because Pip watches to see if Magwitch gets away ok.
Dickens creates a complex character with Magwitch. This is because we see a cold-hearted villain at the beginning of the story. But then at the end we see a honourable gentleman. We see this because Magwitch repays Pips kindness by helping Pip become a gentleman. Dickens allows us to see some good in Magwitch, where as he show derision for Gradgrind.
This essay has shown how Dickens creates his characters in a number of ways. I have shown how Dickens creates his characters in a number of ways by placing the in appropriate setting, describes their physical appearance. Which has told us more about the characters. Also I have described their actions and shown how Dickens allows them to speak, where I have described their tone of voice. I have also shown how Dickens shows how his characters react to their actions and movements.
