Magwitch often speaks in imperatives and uses commands, ‘“Give it mouth!”’, which tells us that he is quite a demanding character. He speaks in a rushed manner, in a somewhat aggressive tone. We assume that Magwitch is from the lower class as he does not speak in an educated way, ‘“Pint out the place!”’ Magwitch, because of his past, does not trust Pip and questions him thoroughly. We can tell that Magwitch, as an escaped convict, is determined to stay that way and desperate not to be caught. Through this we know that he is forced to act the way he does with Pip, and realise that he does not intend to harm the boy. Charles Dickens was a skilful mimmick of accents. The author makes Magwitch speak in a dialect, with regional colloquialisms which adds depth to the character of the convict and bring him to life, ‘“You young dog,” said the man, licking his lips, “what fat cheeks you ha’ got.” The manner in which Magwitch speaks is quite humorous, and creates relief in the novel.
The techniques Dickens has used in creating Magwitch the convict generate both sympathy and comedy. We sympathise with the character, because we know of the tough childhood he had and the hard life he has led. Magwitch also brings humour into ‘Great Expectations’, through the way he speaks and expresses himself – he is almost like a loveable rogue. Dickens created the character with the intention of portraying him as a ‘good-natured, foolish man’ and does so through showing us the humour of the character, as well as his unlucky past.
The next character I will analyse is Estella. We first meet the character of Estella in chapter 8 of ‘Great Expectations’. We meet her in Satis House, where Pip has been requested to play. The house is dilapidated and crumbling, ‘Within a quarter of an hour we came to Miss Havisham’s house, which was old of brick and dismal, and had a great many iron bars to it.’ The house is constantly dark and gloomy and the outbuildings are empty and disused. The setting creates a dark atmosphere, and we are aware that something in this house is not right. We meet Estella here. Who had been brought up by Miss Havisham since the age of three. Dickens creates a mysterious mood, as we do not know why the house is dilapidated.
Estella is described as a ‘beautiful and self-possessed’ young girl, who is scornful of young Pip. We learn that Estella is quite bitter and twisted, as she has been brought up by her guardian to wreak Miss Havisham’s revenge on the male race and “break their hearts”. Estella is presented as intelligent, and we know that she comes from the upper class. She is well spoken but she uses her intelligence to put Pip down, ‘“He calls the knaves, Jacks, this boy!” said Estella with disdain, before our first game was out. “And what coarse hands he has! And what thick boots!”’ Through this, we get the impression that Estella is quite snobby and haughty. She seems to think of herself as superior to poor Pip, because he is of a lower class than her and not as well educated.
Though Estella represents the life of upper class children in the novel, she is actually the daughter of the convict, Magwitch. She springs from the lowest levels of society and serves as a bitter criticism against the class system. Estella has been brought up by rich Mrs Havisham as a bitter and cruel child. We feel sorry for Estella, as she does not realise that she is merely being used as an agent for Miss Havisham’s revenge on the males. We feel sorry for the character, as she has not been brought up in a loving, caring environment like Pip. Her childhood was not filled with love and joy as a young child’s should be, but was spent having Estella brainwashed into hating men. By the end of the novel, Estella has learnt through her experiences that she did wrong in rejecting Pips love for her, and she is redeemed in out eyes as she becomes humble and contrite.
Estella was brought up in an upper class environment, and therefore speaks in an educated manner. Through her speech, we learn that she is quite snobbish, she thinks of herself very highly and looks down on others, like Pip. Estella is quite rude to Pip, she addresses him as ‘boy’ and obviously thinks that he is inferior to her because he is poor, ‘“With this boy! Why, he is a common labouring boy!”’ Estella thinks that she is too good to play cards with Pip. She tends to speak at Pip rather than to him, ‘“It would turn out very sour, boy; don’t you think so?”’ Estella’s way of speaking tells us that she is quite impolite and unwilling to mix with people of lower classes. She is proud and very well spoken, but she uses this to treat some people cruelly. Her cold manner could be due to the fact that she did not have a loving childhood, and was not brought up to love.
In creating Estella, Dickens generates our sympathy. At first we do not like the character, because she is haughty and snobby, but when we learn more about her loveless childhood and real family background we realise that Estella is the way she is because of her upbringing. Estella is redeemed at the end of the book, when she realises the mistakes she made in her life. She becomes humble, and we truly begin to like the character. We feel sympathy for her, because her cruelness is not intentional – it was all she ever knew when she was growing up, and so it is the only way she knows how to treat people.
The last character I will analyse is Joe Gargery. Joe is the village blacksmith and, through his marriage to Pip’s sister Mrs Joe, uncle to the young boy. We meet Joe in the house that he owns in chapter 2 of the novel. It is a ‘wooden house’ and Joe’s forge adjoined it. The atmosphere created in this scene is quite negative, as we learn that Mrs Joe has brought Pip, and even her husband, up ‘by hand’. The house is not presented as a typical happy family home, and Dickens suggests that Joe and Pip were, in some ways, oppressed by Mrs Joe.
Joe is presented as a simple, honest blacksmith. He is Pip’s companion during his childhood and is a good man, with decent moral values. ‘Pip describes him as ‘a mild, good-natured, sweet-tempered, easy-going, foolish, dear fellow.’ He helped raise Pip, and we get the impression that he only stays with his overbearing, abusive wife because of his love for Pip. ‘“Get behind the door, old chap, and have the jack-towel betwixt you”’, Joe does everything that he can to help defend Pip from his violent wife. We get the impression that Joe is a good man, with a heart of gold. Though he is uneducated, he is morally good and provides a stark contrast to some of the more devious characters in the novel.
We learn that Joe’s marriage is not a particularly happy one, as his wife is abusive and violent. Joe is presented to us as very likeable, as he is a good, sympathetic character with moral values. Joe is not well educated and comes from the lower class, but this does not bother him. He is simply happy doing what he knows best – being a blacksmith. Dickens shows that Joe is a simple man, but he gets his pleasures out of life through doing the things he enjoys. We are convinced that he is a good, sweet character; he loves Pip and never tries to stand in his way, even when Pip treats him cruelly.
Joe speaks in a very simple and humorous manner, which is quite amusing. Joe isn’t very well educated, and tends to have difficulty pronouncing words with more than one syllable, ‘“She Ram-paged out.”’ He speaks in an uneducated and unrefined manner, and he cannot read. ‘“The rest, eh, Pip?” said Joe, looking as it with a slowly searching eye, “one, two, three. Why, here’s three Js, and three Os, and three J-O, Joes in it, Pip!”’ Joe is not ashamed because of his lack of education and low status, and this makes him a very humorous and loveable character.
Dickens uses dialect and speech to generate comedy in the character of Joe. Joe is uneducated, and has a funny manner of speaking. His simple ways and delight of small things make him endearing, and we genuinely like the character of Joe. We sympathise for him, because of his unhappy marriage to Mrs Joe, but are later thrilled to hear of his new found happiness with Biddy. Joe is a truly likeable character, who brings humour to ‘Great Expectations’. He is a simple man, but good and sweet natured, and we are convinced that him and Biddy will live happily together because of this. Joe is good to Pip even when the latter cruelly rejects him, which is typical of his kindness and loyalty to the boy he brought up. He is charitable and caring, and a truly good character.
In conclusion, Dickens creates characters that are memorable and striking using varying techniques. He uses dialect well, and by reproducing regional speech gives his characters life. Dickens builds his characters well, they are complex yet easy to relate to. Through description of their mannerisms, Dickens makes his characters real. Charles Dickens creates memorable and striking characters by using dialects, brilliant description and making the characters have interesting backgrounds and personalities.
