The first chapter of ‘Great Expectations’ and ‘The Hitchhiker’ are based around the same idea. Firstly, there is a character who you are supposed to get acquainted with. Pip is the main character in ‘Great Expectations’, and the Narrator is the main character in ‘The Hitchhiker’. But the differences are clear when you get further into the stories.
In ‘Great Expectations’ the criminal is made to look evil, and says things to intimidate Pip. One example is when the criminal says, “Keep still you little devil, or I’ll cut your throat!” This proves that this man is evil, because he would cut Pip’s throat, whereas in ‘The Hitchhiker’ the criminal, who at first seems threatening by his appearance, later turns out to be extremely helpful. But, at first, the man is described as: “A small, ratty-faced man.” This metaphor is the Narrator’s first impression, and he makes the man sound like a tramp. The criminal in ‘Great Expectations’ is also described in the same way, as a tramp who doesn’t have many possessions, plus both of the men are criminals.
The beginnings of both stories are probably the exact opposite of each other. In ‘Great Expectations’ the scene is set in a cold, harsh environment, and is described in the book as: “The dark, flat wilderness.”
This helps me to prove my point, because Dickens creates a hostile atmosphere that is wild, dark, and with no hills or mountains. But in ‘The Hitch Hiker’ the mood the Narrator is in, is shown by the happy and almost excited way he talks: “The motor began to purr with pleasure.”
In this quote, the Narrator uses a metaphor to get his point across – that his car is bigger, better and faster than anyone elses.
But further along in ‘The Hitch Hiker’ the mood changes to suspense, when the criminal dares the driver to try to reach the top speed of the car.
While trying to achieve this target, he gets caught and is pulled over by a stereotyped policeman. This man is described as: “Mean as the devil.”
This simile is how the Hitch Hiker describes him, but the Hitch Hiker eventually tells the driver about his true profession, after the driver gets convicted. Then the fingersmith tells the driver that he pick-pocketed the policeman for his Report book, so that the driver could not be convicted and given a speeding ticket.
‘The Hitch Hiker’ ends with a happy twist, which Dahl put in to make the reader believe the saying: “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”
This is also true for ‘Great Expectations’ as the criminal goes on to help Pip. As both of these stories have similarities, it must prove another saying, “Great minds thinks alike.” As both writers use the same skill to trick and confuse the reader.
So both Dickens and Dahl earn their place as two of histories greatest writers.
