Because Pip is made seen very weak, we feel sorry for him especially when we are given the horrible description of the convict. Dickens emphasises Pips naivety in many ways. The major way is by showing how trustworthy and respectful Pip is. The evil convict threatens to kill him if he did not bring what he demanded, but instead of Pip to run home and hide, he comes back the next morning with the items. He comes back to the mashes, having stole food which belongs to his sister, delighted and ready to help a man who seems to want to hurt him. The dialogue also brings humour. For example, Magwitch. His level in education is extremely low and is contased against Pips excellent English as a little boy. ‘Show us where you live, pint out the place’, or ‘give it mouth!’
1st person narrative is what Dickens mainly used throughout the book. By doing this, Dickens allows us to visualise the world through Pips eyes. Every event that happens in Pips life is described and perceived through Pips eyes. This allows us to sympathise with Pip. Speaking in 1st person enables the reader to get into the shoes of the narrator (in this case Pip) and we are able to empathise with the character.
Switching from 1st to 3rd person temporarily allows the reader to really have a sense of what the atmosphere really looks like. Things may be slightly exaggerated when talking in the 1st person, (especially since the narrator is a little boy) and may go over the top, whereas in the 3rd person you get the whole truth. By switching to the 3rd person it shows how small Pip really is and how big the world really is.
‘A fearful man, all coarse with great iron on his leg. A man with no hat, with broken shoes and with an old rag round his head. A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints and stung by nettles, and torn y briar, who limped and shivered and glared and growled…’.
The quote above is a summary of Pips analysis of when he first encounters Magwitch. Dickens first portrays Abel Magwitch on the marshes as a violent, terrifying escaped convict threatening 'I'll cut your throat'. This quote proves that the convict is a forceful man the passive verbs also add to that effect. Dickens make his readers modify this hostile view of Magwitch, however, first of all by drawing attention to his pitiable condition and then by showing his gratitude to Pip by the way he helps him, an by trying to absolve him of any blame for the theft in chapter 5. He, later on in the book, sows more gratitude to Pip by ultimately providing him enough money to make him a gentleman.
Social class played a major role in the society depicted in Charles Dickens's Great Expectations. Social class determined the manner in which a person was treated and their access to education. Yet, social class did not define the character of the individual. In Great Expectations, a person's social class determined the amount of education they had. It is important to perceive this relationship between education and social class to clearly understand the importance of social class. A person like Joe who was a common blacksmith had no education at all. Pip, in the early days when he was low class, had a poor education at a small school. The school was not the best of schools, but it's all that the lower class had. The teacher spent more time sleeping than teaching and Pip had learned more from Biddy than from the actual teacher. Even though he had an education when he was low class, his education as a gentleman with Mr. Pocket was much greater. Another example of how social class affects education is the difference of education between the two convicts. Magwitch, born poor and low class had no education at all while Compeyson, born rich was high class and a gentleman with an education. Education is a factor in showing how social class greatly determined people's lives.
Even though social class determined many things, it did not establish a person's true inner character. Realizing this will play a part in proving that social class did matter in most but not all cases. For example, the lowest class people were Joe, Biddy, Magwitch, and Orlick. Joe and Biddy were very poor but had very good hearts. Joe was always there for Pip and Biddy had moved in to help Mrs. Joe. Magwitch was a dirty convict of the lowest class, but he turned out to be a very caring and generous man. Orlick was low class and his character also turned out to be very low because he was a murderer. The fact that there are both good and cold hearted people in the lower class shows that class has no connection with how people really are. Another example is the richer class. This includes Ms. Havisham, Estella, Herbert, Jaggers, and Wemmick. Ms. Havisham and Estella were both very wealthy but they had no heart and their intentions were to bring hell to all men. While Herbert was the opposite, he was a true friend to Pip and always stayed by his side. Jaggers and Wemmick also in the higher class had supported Pip through his gentleman years. Being aware that not all of the high class were necessarily good people states the fact that class does not determine character. Even though class mattered in most things, this is an example it did not take part in.
Will Pip return to the churchyard, and if so what will happen? These are the questions asked after reading the thrilling first chapter. Psychologically, the first chapter tells us about Pips loneliness and his imaginative fancies about his dead relatives. Though Magwitch is mainly presented as a frightening character at this stage, there are plenty of signs that he is to be pitied. (For example his desperate physical condition). Dickens describes the atmosphere as very dark, cold and windy, which emphasis how harsh and violent Pips world is. He does this by carefully analysing and describing the tombstones and extravagant, cannibalistic threats of the run away convict.
The setting of Chapter 39 is in London, a city built and polluted by man. It is unlike the naturalistic marshes in which Pip first met the convict Magwitch. It is a stormy night, which foreshadows the news that Pip is to learn about his benefactor. All along, Pip had believed his benefactor was Miss Havisham, but suddenly he discovers that the person who has been supporting him for years is none other than the dark, swarmy man that scared him half to death years ago on the marshes. By leaving his home and moving to London with the belief that Miss Havisham would someday reveal herself to him, Pip has become proud and haughty. The city has helped pollute his values. Once confronted with the truth, all Pip states, “But, sharpest and deepest pain of all … was that I had deserted Joe." Pip is now affected with a storm inside and outside his heart. His dream of marrying Estella seems further away than ever and he realizes he has hurt the person who loves him the most.
I think Dickens may have got the idea of the character, Mrs Havisham from real life stories, of how women are left broken hearted. She is less realistic compared to other characters such as Pip. For example, she has been wearing the same wedding dress for several years, like that will change anything. She lives in the dark and has become wrinkly in the dark. She left the house how was several years ago and the house is now rat infested. Dickens does this because it is a very effective way to show how she attempts to reject the real world. Also by doing this, it helps the reader build sympathy for Mrs Havisham.
I researched on the internet and found out that the name Estella means star. This could have been done purposely seeing as how her beauty continuously flows. Estella was an orphan who was adopted by Mrs Havisham. The fact that she was brought up by Mrs Havisham show why she hates boys. This makes us feel sorry for both Estella and Mrs Havisham. Mrs was never able to have a daughter, and Estella is just being use by Mrs Havisham.
Joe Gargery is Pips brother in law, the blacksmith. He is a very kind soft hearted man and as Pip describes him ‘ a sort of Hercules in strength and weakness. Because of his lack in education Joe finds it hard to associate with most people. He is practically illiterate at the beginning of the novel and finds it hard to talk to people such as Mrs Havisham. We also find out that Joe is loving and tolerant. Proof is that he shows love to Pip always, endures his wife’s nagging, tolerate bad behaviour from Orlick and many more. This makes us feel sorry for him because we would hope for him to get the better of life, because of his nice personalities.
Having analysed most of the characters, at the end of the day, I feel sympathy most for Pip. I say this because Pip was a boy who worked hard to become someone and to impress someone, but failed and lost loved ones in the process. Dickens did an excellent job creating sympathy. The plot was very twisty but everything became clear in the end. For example, when we found out that Magwitch was Estella’s father.