Great expectations-scene one and scene 39

How does Dickens create sympathy and tension is his readers in chapter 1 and chapter 39?

Great expectation is a novel, wrote in a semi-autobiographic style by Charles Dickens about the expectations of an orphan called pip, who is the protagonist of the story, writing about his life from his childhood to adulthood. It was first published in a magazine article as a twenty part series through out 1860 to 1861, and was later published as a novel. The story is set in Victorian society, and its main theme is rich and poor along with the theme of gratitude, and how for or the first time in history you could become rich without owning land because of the industrial revelation, so people could ‘make’ money without inheriting it, and it was the birth of the ‘nouveau riche’, people who had standing in society through work rather than title. Dickens grew up with a cruel and brutal father. Which is why many of his novels it contains cruel and brutal adults because of his upbringing, as it does in great expectations. Dickens chose the storyline because at the time it would have been believable and inspirational and this is what made the novel so successful because the story reflects what could have been reality.

In chapter 39 pip is not recognisable to the young morally upstanding boy he was in chapter 1, not only has he grown up and his appearances changed but he’s changed who he is, and it now an upper class citizen. In chapter 1 he is lower class with a lower life expectancy, he would have been looked down on and he was poor, lonely and an orphan as his mother, father and brothers had passed away leaving his sister, Mrs Joe Gargery, and her husband, Joe Gargery to bring him up. Then were as in chapter 39 pip is a 23 year old educated and wealthy man living in London and has completely forgotten his roots. In chapter 1 the reader feels sympathetic towards Pip, he has no mother or father, as he tells us this early in the first chapter “that Phillip Pirrip, late of this parish, and also Georgiana wife of he above, were dead and buried“, also he is poor and his sister, Mrs Joe Gargery, who is an angry short tempered woman is bringing him up, who also feels Pip is a burden to her with shows he doesn’t want him all that much. But the sympathy doesn’t change all that much in chapter 39. When Magwitch comes to see Pip, Pip is back in the place of being a little boy again, and he’s just as scared of him as he was all those years ago, we know this because of what Pip says about Magwitch, “The abhorrence in which I held the man the dread I had of him, the repugnance with which I shrank from him, could not have been exceeded if he had been some terrible beast” , this tells us pip is back where he was in chapter 1. But Pip is now a snob who left Joe and his sister and now has nothing to do with either one of them so as readers we also feel sympathy towards Joe, as he brought him up and wasn’t any relation to Pip, and now Pip wouldn’t want any thing to do with him.

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There is a huge difference between the character Magwitch is in chapter 1 in comparison to the man he is in chapter 39. In chapter 1when Magwitch is first introduced into the story he is a desperate criminal who’s just escaped and is facing prison, and Pip is terrified of him as he’s ruthless and threatening as he threatens Pip with his life saying “Keep still you little devil or ill cut your throat”, later in the chapter he threatens Pip again by saying if he doesn’t get him a file and some whittles he would “ Have your heart and your liver out”, also Pip describes him as wearing no hat which tells us he wasn’t a gentleman, as gentleman is those times also wore a hat in public. Because of how Magwitch is in chapter 1 we feel sympathetic towards Pip as he is terrified of this man who’s using force and threats to get what he needs, and al Pip can do is go along with it, he has no choice in the matter. Then when Magwitch is reintroduced into the story in chapter 39 he has a more gentleman-like appearance and has manners, and also tells Pip of his stable job and good income, as when he was recaptured back in chapter 1, he was transported to a Australian penal colony, or “the new world”, he was sent to Australia as at the time the British prisons were over burdened as there was far to many people to keep in Britain or on the prison ships (one of which Magwitch has escaped from). In chapter 39 when Magwitch meets Pip he is very happy and kisses his hands, and refers to Pip as “noble Pip”, This shows that he is very fond of Pip and grateful for what he did to help him. We feel sympathy towards Magwitch as knowing that the punishment for returning to Britain after being deported was the death sentence, it shows he has acted very virtuously just to see Pip and tell him that he was his benefactor and how proud he was of him, and Pip in very uncomfortable and doesn’t want Magwitch there and shows no gratitude for what he’s done for him, “Stay! Keep off”, “I reluctantly gave him my hands”, “O. that he had never come! That he had left me at the forge!”, these quotes show this, and show how he treats Magwitch with no appreciation. Pips reaction also helps build tension, as Magwitch was clearly not expecting Pip to react in this way, and Magwitch showing up was a big surprise and the fact that if he is caught he’ll face the death penalty also helps build tension.

Dickens presents Pip in two completely different ways is each chapter. In chapter 1 Pip is presented as I vulnerable lonely little boy, he is determined and brave, and also polite and respectful, and as the reader we are made to feel sympathetic towards him. It tells us early in the novel how Pip wanted to become a gentleman because he was in love with Estella and he wanted to be equal and worthy or her so they could be together, this shows us his determination of how he longed to make a man of himself. Pips bravery is shown when meeting Magwitch, he doesn’t try to run away and when Magwitch asks him to get him the things what he needs Pip does so, and doesn’t run away from him yet again. This tells us that Pip was morally upstanding, and makes us like him and feel sympathetic. Then in chapter 39 a completely different side of Pip is portrayed. He is made to seem snobbish, and when He meets Magwitch he is shocked and disgusted by his presence, and doesn’t try to hide his abhorrence towards Magwitch, simply telling him to “stay!” and “keep off!” when Magwitch tries to embrace him, showing Pip still see’s him at the desperate common criminal he was all those years ago. This creates tension, as Pip makes the situation awkward and discomforting, and starts to give the impression he’s not going to help Magwitch, which leaves the reader on edge asking the question will he or wont he? Pip is also shown as slightly arrogant and boastful, as he boasts to Magwitch about his life saying “I’ve done wonderful well. There’s others went out alonger me and has done well too, but no man has done nigh as well as me. I’m famous for it”, this shows the reader that Pip puts himself above other people and thinks very highly of himself, and the fact he is a gentleman.

The readers view of Magwitch changes dramatically between chapter 1 and chapter 39. In chapter 1 the readers opinion of him is that he is ruthless, threatening and desperate because of how he acts with Pip, “Tell us your name!”, “give it mouth“” and darn me if I could eat ‘em”. The way Magwitch speaks commonly also makes us think of his as a low class citizen. Because of with actions we as readers are made to feel more sympathetic towards Pip, and this creates tension, because of Magwitch’s character it is unpredictable what Magwitch is going to do next, because of how he jumps out on Pip and threatening him with his life “keep still you little devil or ill cut your throat”. Because of all this out opinion is moulded into not liking Magwitch very much, and being weary of him. In chapter one when Pip is describing Magwitch, he says he has a “grey iron on his leg”, then in chapter 39 when Magwitch is in the story again, Pip describes the ‘man’ who’s turned up at his home to have “grey iron” hair, which gives us the impression that the characters Magwitch before it tells us because of the language used in both chapters to describe Magwitch, and also that the weather is the same is both chapters also. In chapter 39 the sympathy and tension switches from being sympathetic towards Pip and Magwitch creating tension to being sympathetic towards Magwitch and Pip creating the tension in the scene. In chapter 39 the reader feels sorry for Magwitch, as he shows how grateful he was to Pip, calling him “Noble Pip”, for what he did for him when he was a child, also that he finally tells Pip that he was his benefactor, and every penny he earned he gave to Pip. It seems over the time Magwitch has spent away in Australia he has developed a love for him, having been given the time to think about what he did for him, and he maybe even thinks of him as a son refering to him as “my boy“, Magwitch shows a lot of gratitude and appreciation for what Pip did and has clearly not for a second forgot what he did, “You acted nobly, my boy! Noble Pip and I have never forgot it!” . Magwitch is also polite and treats Pip with a lot o respect, and acts like a decent man and a gentleman, and shows this my kissing his hands “he grasped them heartily, raised them to his lips, kissed them and still held them”. This shows that Magwitch wants Pips respect and almost like he looks up to Pip and thinks of Pip as being this moral person he was all those years ago.. Pips reaction to Magwitch’s arrival, telling him to “keep off!” and “stay!”, makes us feel sorry for Magwitch as Pip is treating him badly before he knows what he’s done for him, that he’s the reason he is were he is now, and even after Magwitch tells him about him being his benefactor he still acts with disgust towards Magwitch , “the abhorrence in which I held the man, the dread I had of him, the repugnance which I shrank from him could not have been exceeded if he had been some terrible beast” this quote both builds tension and creates sympathy towards Magwitch, as Pip had just told of his absolute hate and disgust to and for Magwitch even though he had done this wonderful thing for him.

At the beginning of both chapter 1 and 39 the weather reflects the atmosphere, with the weather being dark and rainy, and the atmosphere being eerie and intense gives us the impression something dramatic and dreadful is going to happen, this is pathetic sympathy. In chapter one Pip is walking through the marshlands and the graveyard and the atmosphere is eerie and the weather is foggy and dark, making the setting spooky and scary, Pip describes it as a “raw afternoon” and that the “rains were heavy” . Also because of the gravestones and gibbets it gives the impression that something is going to happen, and also Pip describes the scene as a “savage lair”, Pip is also scared by the weather and the eerie atmosphere, he says “growing afraid of it all and beginning to cry” which shows that he almost new that something bad was going to happen, so when Magwitch appear it is not that surprising and also Magwitch’s personality and appearance reflects the atmosphere. Then in chapter 39 when Magwitch appears or the second time in the novel the weather is raining heavily, “vast heavy hail”, and Pip is saying how the lamps have blown out, “the staircase lamps had blown out” and “the lamps in the court were blown out”, which tells us it is dark and windy, which yet again like in chapter one gives us the impression that something bad is going to happen, which is pathetic fallacy. The fact that in both chapters the weather is very familiar links in with the fact that these are the two chapters which Magwitch appears in.

Overall Dickens successfully manipulates us as an audience cleverly by using tension and sympathy to constantly change our opinions and views of a character as he wants too, which means he controls the readers feeling towards a certain individual. He uses pathetic fallacy and a range of complex sentences as techniques to change our views on characters, especially Magwitch, even though Magwitch is a convict and committed crimes he are still made to like him, Dickens was poor as a child and would have associated with people like Magwitch, and Magwitch is dickens way of saying even though people are made to do bad things, they can still be kind and caring people. Dickens uses the scene and atmosphere to effect us as readers, using pathetic fallacy to create tension and a build up to the climax of a scene. In chapter 1 and chapter 39 Dickens uses his techniques to create what he wants to create, which is tension and sympathy towards the individuals of his choice. He keeps the reader surprised, as in chapter one Magwitch’s emergence wasn’t expected and his emergence wasn’t expected in chapter 39 either, the way Dickens plays off another story of Miss Havisham being Pips benefactor for him to be worthy to marry Estella keeps the reader off any trail that Magwitch is involved furthermore in the story. The novel was so popular at the time is was written because it was believable and reflects reality of that time, so its like a drama or a telling or someone’s actual life, but in the 21st century its not believable but still very popular and is still considered one of Dickens most sophisticated and greatest novels, because of the language and techniques used through out, keeping the reader interesting all the way through and having surprising twists to the plot. Great expectations is a successful novel, with chapter one and chapter 39 being the two most important and having the most authority of the whole story, with chapter one introducing the reader to the twist and chapter 39 revealing it.

Chloe Jackson