The basis of trust between Magwitch and Pip was established in a subtle manner by the craft of Dickens at the start of the novel. ‘You bring ‘em to me’; Magwitch commands Pip who meekly acts as told. There were no restrictions on Pip if he desired to confide about the convict to Joe, but he held back. Magwitch, as animalistic as he seemed, had no restrictions on physically abusing Pip at knifepoint for a file and some food. Instead, he used verbal abuse in the form of overly exaggerated threats. These are used to such an extent that they could almost be seen as childish. A typical example is ‘Say, Lord strike you dead if you don’t!’ Being a fully-grown adult, common sense alone would have indicated to Magwitch that no such action would ever take place. This indicates Magwitch must have developed some kind of genuine feeling for Pip, and Pip in return indicates his feelings by being discreet about Magwitch, despite not even knowing his name. As a reader, it is made evident the established bond between the convict and Pip is sustained through the return of Magwitch. This is a crucial point in the novel as Pip learns the identity of his benefactor. The convict treats Pip with the greatest respect, perhaps because Pip became something he never was, which places him a class above the convict. He may have wanted Pip to become a gentleman to have the advantage Compeyson had. Dickens does not reveal the reason why Magwitch wanted to give Pip an opportunity to increase his position in status but it is made apparent that Magwitch dearly loves Pip. Pip, with mutual feelings speaks his final words to the convict, ‘O Lord be merciful to him, a sinner’. Dickens has concluded chapter fifty-six with this powerful line, indicating that despite being knowledgeable about Magwitch’s history, Pip loves him.
Pip depended wholesomely upon his benefactor to make himself more educated, as it gave him the opportunity to go to London and earn a living. To this extent, the appearance of the convict became central to Pip’s great expectations. Dickens held the identity of the benefactor in suspense for the majority of the book, drawing to the reader to think it was Miss Havisham. By having Magwitch as the benefactor, Dickens has surprised the reader by confirming Magwitch’s love for Pip, but kept open the possibility Magwitch wanted to indicate he could give someone the opportunity Compeyson had. It may be that it was Magwitch’s motive to equal himself with Compeyson, and Magwitch being Pip’s benefactor has unravelled his plot to do this.
Dickens, like other social reforms, believed education to be the key of self – improvement. Education was thought to be found in the city. At the time of Dickens’ novel writing, 1812-1870, there was an industrial movement, which involved a movement of people away from the countryside to work in the city. The countryside is a contrast to a bustling city with opportunities, and Dickens has used Pip to represent what the revolution may have been like. In ‘Great Expectations’, Dickens develops the characters in the city but to a great extent ignores the nobility of those whose fortunes had been earned through business. In this way, by linking the theme of social class to the idea of sheer hard work, Dickens subtly hints the novel’s underlying theme of ambition and self-improvement. In the novel, Dickens has shown Pip to have many disappointments, as his expectations are not fulfilled. All that in Pip’s mind should be glamorous and genteel is corrupted and tainted. From a young age, Pip did not imply but explicited his views upon his own shortcomings. Dickens made this apparent when Estella remarked ‘What course hands he has! And what thick boots!’ Pip took Estella’s comments to heart and kicked his ‘thick’ boots into a wall with dismay. This action of Pip’s indicates his infatuated feelings for Estella; he aspires to be loved by Estella and does not want her to see him at his ‘commonest and grimiest’ in case she will ‘exult over and despise him’. Pip’s love for Estella is thus portraying him into possessing snobbish habits. Dickens has been able to indicate how the actions at Satis House have an exaggerated effect on Pip’s desire to be uncommon. ‘Who let you in?’ In Pip’s mind, this would emphasise how much he stands out, not being able to fit in with the people at Satis House. By doing this, Dickens has supported the reader’s idea of Pip’s intense desire to improve in status. Pip’s lack of confidence is portrayed when Pip feels he must try to excel himself in correcting his ‘labouring’ appearance. The picture painted of Pip is of someone thinking that only the outside appearance counts, and with this in consideration, we can see snobbish attitudes arising in Pip. In chapter thirty-nine, the identity of Pip’s benefactor is revealed. The convict that Pip first met in the churchyard when he was a child, Magwitch reveals himself as Pip’s benefactor. Pip has realised, as Magwitch is a convict, he will not be accepted as a gentleman. Pip thought his benefactor was Miss Havisham, an upper class lady, who got all her money legally in Britain, in which case she would be more of a gentleman. Dickens is portrayed as being very snobbish towards Magwitch. Pip is informed in chapter eighteen of London, a place where there is ‘suitable education and maintenance’. Dickens has portrayed how Pip physically moves from the marshes to live in London, whereas he had only been moving psychologically beforehand. This shows his crave for education. Pip departs for London in chapter nineteen after sharing an emotional handshake with Joe. ‘You may be sure dear Joe, I will never forget you’. In this sense, Dickens has moulded the character of Pip from innocence through to snobbery and an understanding of genuine love, virtue, goodness, and truth.
However grand Pip’s life may have turned out, the opening of ‘Great Expectations’ describes an ‘infant’ who is an orphan, unable to say his name. Dickens has drawn up a character that has never seen his mother or father, leaving the reader helpless but to offer immediate sympathies. ‘I had no hope of deliverance through my all – powerful sister, who repulsed me at every turn’ Pip was brought up through the terror of his only living relative, his sister. We rapidly learn that Pip’s family is an abusive one and hence more sympathy is involuntarily given to him. The description given to the way Pip’s sister, Mrs Joe, cuts bread uses words such as ‘jammed’ and ‘hard and fast’. These guttural, monosyllabic words enforce the intimidating, masculine impression of Mrs Joe on the reader. It is ironic how after torturing her little brother, Mrs Joe suffers abuse herself, becomes disabled and consequently dies. Pip is shown to be shy with most people, but is even more so with Estella, and resents her insults of him. Estella makes Pip aware he has no solid identity, however, Dickens uses the effect irony again when we as a reader discover that the wealthy Miss Havisham only adopted Estella, whose next of kin are both living convicts. Pip had thought of Magwitch as a father figure when in reality he was the father of the girl he loved. The death of Miss Havisham and Magwitch have an impact on both Pip and Estella, as they lost the parent like figures of their lives. This is effective as it is one time in the novel where Estella shares a loss with Pip, which shows they are on the same level, a position of status Pip has always wanted.
The themes of ‘Great Expectations’ only run so smoothly because of Dickens’ use of first person narrative. The clever usage of Pip, the central protagonist, gives the author an advantage of portraying the non-spoken, emotive feelings of the character with little restriction. In the opening of the book, Pip narrates, ‘the small, bundle of shivers growing afraid of it all and beginning to cry was Pip.’ The author’s usage of the narrator referring to himself as a second person here makes the reader stop and think, hence adding a further dimension to the scenario. Pip’s self commentary mostly emphasises his negative qualities, his dishonesty and guilt. This is characteristic of Pip as a narrator throughout the novel. Despite his many admirable qualities, the strongest of which are compassion, loyalty, and conscience, Dickens chooses to constantly focus on Pip’s failures and shortcomings. As the novel progresses, the theme of self-improvement, particularly economic and social self-improvement becomes more central.
Dickens has cleverly used the first person narrative in the opening of ‘Great Expectations’ to establish Pip’s guilty conscience if he did not return to the convict. ‘I felt that I must have something in reserve for my dreadful acquaintance’. This statement is reflecting Pip’s desire in keeping to his word, arousing a sense of guilt as he considered not returning to the convict. Not long after meeting Miss Havisham and Estella, Pip’s desire for advancement largely overshadows his basic goodness. After receiving his mysterious fortune, his idealistic wishes seem to have been justified, and he gives himself over to a gentlemanly life of idleness. Pip, as the narrator, judges his own past actions extremely harshly, rarely giving himself credit for the good deeds but angrily castigating himself for the bad ones. Again, this only works so well because of the first person narration. Through this, Dickens can easily portray Pip’s character to perceive the world rather narrowly, and have a tendency to oversimplify situations based on a superficial standard of value, leading him to behave badly towards those who care about him. Further on in the novel, Pip shows remorse about his snobbish attitude towards Joe and Biddy. He had forgotten his roots and become a snob, deciding to stay at the local pub rather than with Joe. When finally deciding to reside with them, Pip speaks to Joe and reveals his change of heart when he entreats to Joe, ‘For God’s sake, give me your blackened hand!’ Pip is clearly portraying himself as a gentleman who has not abandoned his roots and still values their friendship. Dickens is indicating for the first time, Pip is beginning to see through superficial appearances to the fine man beneath, whereas in his snobbish frame of mind, Pip had lost himself, his background and his upbringing.
Dickens has included a minor theme of prison systems in ‘Great Expectations’ where the treatment of crime and punishment can be questioned. Magwitch would not have had a chance to make his fortune under the 1860’s prison conditions and unfairly served double the sentence of Compeyson, his partner in crime. If he behaved for six months, he would be allowed to wear a badge entitling him to be allowed any visitors. The poorer prison systems in the earlier conditions are in line with Magwitch and his characterisations as a noble savage.
The settings of ‘Great Expectations’ have an important bearing on the storyline, echoing the characters personality and circumstance. From the bleak and stereotypical graveyard that gives the novel an initial tense feeling, and the humble blacksmiths that act as a platform for Pip’s expectations, to much of the grander scenery in London, Dickens has portrayed his ability to make subtle comparisons and relationships between story and setting. The initial scene between Pip and Magwitch is sensational because of the strongly sensed undercurrent of violence and menace below the humorous, initially tranquil surface of the isolated, ‘dark flat wilderness’. ‘The river was just another horizontal line not nearly so broad or so black, and the sky was just a row of angry red lines and dense black lines intermixed.’ Dickens has employed pathetic fallacy here, comparing the dark, blurred surroundings to Pip’s dark and blurred thoughts about the convict. The setting has objects and points, such as a ‘gibbet’ which are concentrated points of fear for Pip. This shows Pip merging the convict and the gibbet from two individual points of fear into one terrifying illusion. The various settings of ‘Great Expectations’ always set the tone of the action and reinforce Pip’s perception of his situation. When the weather is dark and stormy, trouble is usually brewing, and when Pip goes alone into the mist-shrouded marsh, danger and ambiguity usually awaits. The sense of embarking alone into the unknown becomes a recurrent motif throughout the novel. Dickens’ craft has left the settings reflecting Pip’s moods and hopes, which profoundly affects his state of thought. These factors are repeatedly highlighted, thus creating a heavy atmosphere. The reader is shown this through Pip’s experiences of suffering and torture, both physically and mentally at the hands of his sister. These experiences are reflective of the surroundings being rough, uncultured and amplified by his later experiences at Satis House. It is when Pip makes it clear that his hunger to become a noble and well-educated gentleman would not be established in Rochester, the need for a different, wealthier setting becomes apparent. The gleaming metropolis Pip had wished for in London was non-existent, disappointing him, however, it was not Pip’s state of mind that was affected or represented, but the immediate surroundings. Miss Havisham’s state of mind and existence is well projected by the bizarreness of her surroundings, in particular the rotting wedding cake on the table on which she wishes her dead body to be placed and her relatives to feast upon her own flesh. The tainted chambers in which she resides equal these insane ideas. ‘Are you not afraid of a woman who has not seen the light of day since before you where born?’ Through Pip’s narration, the reader has an insight into Miss Havisham’s ‘lair’ which is covered in cobwebs and has boarded windows, preventing any natural light entering the chamber. This setting complements the eerie, withdrawn character of Miss Havisham. The vivid set presented by Dickens seems quite stereotypical of how the dwellings of a mentally infirm person may be, adding to the effectiveness of the description of Satis House.