We are also introduced to Pip in the opening chapter; the main character in Great Expectations, and the novel’s narrator. The story opens with him remembering himself as a boy, standing alone and crying in a churchyard near the marshes; “the small bundle of shivers growing afraid of it all and beginning to cry, was Pip”. Dickens depicts him as a harmless, caring boy, so as to draw sympathy from the reader, even though at that point in the story, Pip is content with his common life. When Magwitch is introduced, the narrator Pip presents an interesting relationship between himself and the bullying man. At first, the relationship appears to be based solely on power and fear. The man yells at Pip to get what he wants, a file and some food, and Pip responds, only because he fears for his life. And yet, after they part, the young Pip keeps looking back at the man as he walks away. The image of Magwitch holding his arms around him is remarkably familiar to the initial image of young Pip, holding himself in the cold, alone in the churchyard with the stones of his dead parents. For a moment, the relationship seems to warm. They share a common loneliness, the orphan and the escaped convict. Even while he is afraid, Pip instinctively displays a sympathetic reaction. This initial meeting, between a small boy and a convict, will develop into the central relationship in the book, which will cause Pip's great expectations of himself to rise and fall. The author’s decision to assume the character of Pip, and therefore write using first person narrative, proves to be very significant in the development of the story. Throughout the opening chapter the author writes in this style; “I pointed to where our village lay”, except for a single occasion where he adopts the third person narrative; “afraid of it all and beginning to cry was Pip”. Dickens does this to show that Pip, as a gentleman, and a man with very different views and values, is often ashamed of his childhood and resents any weakness that his former self may have once shown. It is here that we see, although it is not yet apparent to the reader in chapter one, how much coming into wealth changes the character Pip. As a boy, he has an innocence and goodness, and, although he dreams of one day becoming a gentleman, is otherwise satisfied with his average life. He judges others, not on first appearance, but on personality and manner, as we see when he first meets Magwitch. As a gentleman, however, Pip becomes arrogant and in many ways a snob, his snap first impressions based on clothes, general appearance and wealth. Indeed, even the name Pip could be interpreted as a metaphor for growth (highlighting the fact that it is a bildungsroman novel), and aptly so, as through the novel we see the young boy’s transformation from innocent child to arrogant gentleman and then redemption to decent, good man. It is vitally important that Pip is introduced in the first chapter as he is, utmost and foremost, the novels narrator, but also because he brings into the story a really identifiable character who Victorian readers will feel a great deal of compassion for. When in close proximity to Magwitch, readers will fear for Pip and will want reassurance as to his safety, again creating a hook and encouraging them to read the next chapter.
Throughout the novel, Dickens cleverly uses setting to reflect character mood, sustain the reader’s interest and bring suspense and tension to the story. The tale is based in Victorian London, a city of social and economic struggle, and a place where money and status were of great importance. In essence, this highlights Pips hardship and emphasizes to the reader the apartheid between the different classes in the 19th century. In the first chapter, in which we are introduced to Pip and Magwitch, the sky is a stormy, rain-cloud grey; “raw afternoon…from which the wind was rushing”, which helps to create a dismal, bleak atmosphere. This is pathetic fallacy of Pip’s sadness at his situation and, in general, the depressing feel of the churchyard. Also, the cold weather accentuates the bitterness of Magwitch and Pip’s initial relationship, which contributes into introducing the theme of unease and apprehension into the chapter. Most importantly, Dickens likes to use rotten weather as a signal to the less educated of his readers that something dramatic is about to take place. Similarly to chapter 1, chapter 39 is also started with a description of “wretched weather”; “stormy and wet…an eternity of cloud and wind”. Once again, Dickens creates this gloomy atmosphere before continuing with the story so as to establish tension and highlight Pip’s feelings of discomfort and indignation surrounding his re-acquaintance with Magwitch. Dickens also, however, uses landscape to express character emotion. In chapter one, Pip describes a “dense black” horizon; “a row of angry red lines and dense black lines intermixed”. It is possible that Dickens was using these mixtures of bold colours to represent Pip’s confusion and fear at meeting the criminal, and that the “great stones dropped into the marshes” are to further accentuate his feeling of intimidation and insignificance. Overall, setting and atmospheric description are of crucial value to the story, as, not only do they heighten the mood and help the readers to sympathize with different situations but they also display character’s thoughts, feelings and emotions in a way that all can understand.
Dickens choices of language and sentence structure have a great effect on the reader, and even help us to determine the characters’ individual statuses and positions in society. At the beginning of most chapters, Dickens gives a general description of setting by using a series of very long sentences, used mainly to establish the scene, broken occasionally by sharp short sentences; “He tilted me again”, to add excitement, drama or fear. This immense change in sentence length adds great tension to the scene and maintains the reader’s interest. Dickens uses different vocabulary to describe different characters. The author’s clever use of emotive language helps the audience to create an opinion of the character, whether it be sympathetic, in the case of Pip; “the small bundle of shivers…undersized for my years”, or very negative, in the case of Magwitch; “a fearful man, all in coarse grey…who glared and growled”. The author uses such extremes when describing people so as to exaggerate almost the two protagonists diametrically opposed characteristics. Magwitch’s use of phonetic language; “pecooliar”, tells the reader that he is uneducated, again, signifying the severe culture difference between the different classes in the Victorian era. Furthermore, Dickens structures Magwitch’s speech in such a way so as to highlight the stereotypical views of the local community.
The social and historical background of Great expectations is of vital significance. Dickens portrays many typical 19th Century working class men, living in the Industrial Revolution, through the character Joe, a young blacksmith, struggling against the oppression from the upper classes. Joe is very respectful of those in higher social positions than himself, as we see when he re-acquaints himself with Pip many years later. This kind of behaviour is very characteristic of young men of that time, in that they were more than often very polite and helpful to those in higher and more powerful positions than themselves, even though the pleasantries were rarely returned. Dickens probably does this so that the audience reading the book would have been able to relate themselves to it, and put themselves in the characters position. Another interesting representation that Dickens makes is through Magwitch and Compeyson, the escaped convicts. Throughout the chapter, both are portrayed as aggressive and hostile men, underlining the stereotypical views that convicted criminals were all degenerates and inveterate liars. Furthermore, this also shows Dickens’s distaste for the Victorian legal system, as he is suggesting, through emotive language, that criminals are not nearly half as bad as people view them, and that convicts are what society has made, or rather forced them, to be. After all, it was far more comforting to the Victorians to think that all criminals were the same, rather than trying to imagine them with thoughts and feelings, and other disconcerting notions that may have made them feel guilty for imposing such harsh sentences. It is also interesting to look at Pip’s family unit, as portrayed in chapter one. Pip as an orphan, lives with his older sister, who becomes his adoptive mother, and her husband the blacksmith. Although this appears at the outset to be an act of sisterly love and a kindly gesture, we discover upon looking more closely that she is looking after him because it is her duty, rather than because she really cares. She stresses that Pip should be “seen and not heard” and that children should “not be allowed to ask questions”. She even goes as far as to hit Pip, when he arrives home late for dinner. This shows the reader that family relationships were based more on fear and respect for authority, than love and that Victorian society tended to be formal and reserved.
Chapter one of Great Expectations is extremely effective, very atmospheric and, overall of great importance to the story. It is within this chapter that we are introduced to the main characters, the scene is set and the story’s main hook is established. Through Dickens’s clever use of description, language, emotive imagery and tantalizing cliffhangers, he manages to draw the reader in, enticing them to read on and experience with Pip his ups and downs, trials and tribulations, and adventurous journey through life.
