Great Expectations Coursework
Chapters one and thirty-nine are where Pip and Magwitch meet, and are important chapters in the plot of great expectations. In chapter one Pip is afraid of the criminal that he encounters in the graveyard, Magwitch is wary of Pip but knows that he needs food and drink if he is to survive as a fugitive from the hulks. Pip helps Magwitch and his life then continues on with no thought of the criminal that he helped until chapter thirty-nine. When Magwitch comes to see Pip it entangles Pips life up with crime again, and the class he has tried to separate himself from after becoming a gentleman.
In both chapters one and thirty-nine Dickens sets the mood by describing the weather, which foreshadows the events that follow. Pathetic fallacy builds up the tension in the chapters and provides a good backdrop to the ensuing events, 'the rains were heavy'. In chapter one Pip feels at home in the graveyard where most of his family is buried, he is small and insignificant in his surrounding and is lonely. This is the same in chapter thirty-nine where in London he is unimportant to the rest of the city. The way he meets Magwitch in both chapters has a similar build up of tension. Magwitch's presence is announced by various noises. In chapter one 'a terrible voice' introduces him as he is heard before his face is seen, whereas, in chapter thirty-nine Pip hears him on the steps coming up to see him again.
In the first chapter Pip meets Magwitch who is excessively aggressive towards the small boy 'I'll cut your throat!' This is an interesting choice by Dickens as it makes the twist later on even more surprising. Magwitch admits to stealing the pie to save Pip in the further chapters which is the only foreshadowing event of his future kindness to Pip when they meet again in chapter thirty-nine. Magwitch's appearance between the two chapters changes, in chapter one he is dressed as a poor convict, 'no hat, and with broken shoes...an old rag tied round his head'. But in chapter thirty-nine he is respectably dressed although weather-beaten with 'iron grey hair'. His appearance in chapter thirty-nine makes the reader sympathetic to Magwitch as it is the hard work that makes him look this way and this work has given Pip his lifestyle as a gentleman. When Magwitch comes back under penalty of death to see Pip he claims him as family, even calling himself Pip's 'second father'. This makes him seem more human and emotional in contrast to chapter one where he does not mention a family and gives the impression of being alone and forgotten in the world. Magwitch in both chapters also refers to himself and is referred to as a dog 'dunghill dog', this has a double meaning, one that he has been treated like an animal and also suggests that he is loyal to his 'master' Pip like a dog. In the two chapters there is a role reversal between Magwitch and Pip, Magwitch needs Pips help and is dependent on Pip in chapter thirty-nine when he is on the marshes, whereas later on in the book it is Pip who is dependent on Magwitch's generosity for him to remain a gentleman. By the time they meet for the second time Magwitch is still regarded as a criminal a class boundary he will never be able to break; this may be why he invests so much money and effort into Pip breaking out of his social class.
Chapters one and thirty-nine are where Pip and Magwitch meet, and are important chapters in the plot of great expectations. In chapter one Pip is afraid of the criminal that he encounters in the graveyard, Magwitch is wary of Pip but knows that he needs food and drink if he is to survive as a fugitive from the hulks. Pip helps Magwitch and his life then continues on with no thought of the criminal that he helped until chapter thirty-nine. When Magwitch comes to see Pip it entangles Pips life up with crime again, and the class he has tried to separate himself from after becoming a gentleman.
In both chapters one and thirty-nine Dickens sets the mood by describing the weather, which foreshadows the events that follow. Pathetic fallacy builds up the tension in the chapters and provides a good backdrop to the ensuing events, 'the rains were heavy'. In chapter one Pip feels at home in the graveyard where most of his family is buried, he is small and insignificant in his surrounding and is lonely. This is the same in chapter thirty-nine where in London he is unimportant to the rest of the city. The way he meets Magwitch in both chapters has a similar build up of tension. Magwitch's presence is announced by various noises. In chapter one 'a terrible voice' introduces him as he is heard before his face is seen, whereas, in chapter thirty-nine Pip hears him on the steps coming up to see him again.
In the first chapter Pip meets Magwitch who is excessively aggressive towards the small boy 'I'll cut your throat!' This is an interesting choice by Dickens as it makes the twist later on even more surprising. Magwitch admits to stealing the pie to save Pip in the further chapters which is the only foreshadowing event of his future kindness to Pip when they meet again in chapter thirty-nine. Magwitch's appearance between the two chapters changes, in chapter one he is dressed as a poor convict, 'no hat, and with broken shoes...an old rag tied round his head'. But in chapter thirty-nine he is respectably dressed although weather-beaten with 'iron grey hair'. His appearance in chapter thirty-nine makes the reader sympathetic to Magwitch as it is the hard work that makes him look this way and this work has given Pip his lifestyle as a gentleman. When Magwitch comes back under penalty of death to see Pip he claims him as family, even calling himself Pip's 'second father'. This makes him seem more human and emotional in contrast to chapter one where he does not mention a family and gives the impression of being alone and forgotten in the world. Magwitch in both chapters also refers to himself and is referred to as a dog 'dunghill dog', this has a double meaning, one that he has been treated like an animal and also suggests that he is loyal to his 'master' Pip like a dog. In the two chapters there is a role reversal between Magwitch and Pip, Magwitch needs Pips help and is dependent on Pip in chapter thirty-nine when he is on the marshes, whereas later on in the book it is Pip who is dependent on Magwitch's generosity for him to remain a gentleman. By the time they meet for the second time Magwitch is still regarded as a criminal a class boundary he will never be able to break; this may be why he invests so much money and effort into Pip breaking out of his social class.
