Dickens continues to put Magwitch across as a frightening character in Chapter one by using threatening language and references of cannibalism. The dialogue ‘your heart and liver shall be tore out, roasted and ate’ implies Magwitch as a powerful and strong character, the language used is an example of cannibalism. The cannibalism references suggest that Magwitch needs help and needs food therefore he will go to desperate measure to get food. Magwitch may also be trying to scare Pip into doing what he wants him to do. The dialogue makes the reader feel sympathy for Pip as he is a young boy and he may feel isolated and scared by Magwitch. The threatening language links to Pips life as he is beaten by his older, bad-tempered sister, this may also link to Dickens life as he was beaten by his mother at a young age. Dickens may have wanted to achieve a contrasting affect between Pip and Magwitch; he achieves this well by the use of the word ‘powerful’ which contrasts with the word ‘helplessly’. Magwitch might be powerful, as we know he is an escaped convict and Pip may be helpless, as he is only a small boy. However in this situation Pip is the one with power, he is the one who is choosing to provide food and a file for Magwitch yet he doesn’t have to. This is an example of irony.
At the end of the chapter Dickens creates an atmosphere that makes the reader feel sympathy for Magwitch. The quote ‘clasping himself, as if to hold himself together’ makes the reader feel sympathy for Magwitch as he is walking away, the words ‘holding himself together’ make Magwitch seem as though he is going to drop down dead any minute, it makes Pip and the reader feel sympathy towards Magwitch. It shows that Magwitch is deceiving as at first he was described as a controlling and powerful character however this description shows that Magwitch is a vulnerable and weak character. The adjectives ‘numbed and stiff’ contrast with the start of chapter one because Magwitch is portrayed as a powerful and strong character in the beginning of the novel through his threatening tone; however at the end of chapter one Magwitch is shown as a vulnerable and helpless character through his physical appearance. Dickens creates this atmosphere to show that Magwitch may be a caring character.
Dickens creates sympathy for Magwitch as well as making him seem frightening. He does this by creating a tense atmosphere in the description of the setting. The word 'savage' which is used at the beginning of the first chapter makes Pips surroundings seem dangerous. Also when Magwitch first appears he put across as a ghostly figure by the description 'from among the graves'. Throughout chapter one Dickens makes Magwitch appear frightening by using references of cannibalism and threatening language. The cannibal references such as 'I'll have your heart and liver out' imply that Magwitch is a strong and powerful character. Whereas the description 'his legs were numbed and stiff' used at the end of chapter one show that Magwitch is a weak character who relies on other people. Dickens achieved the affect of contrasting the ways in which other characters and readers see Magwitch. Dickens makes Magwitch appear frightening because Magwitch is an escaped convict therefore the frightening tone that Dickens puts across may show how strong Magwitch used to be before he went to prison, maybe when he abandoned Miss Havisham at the alter. Dickens may want to create sympathy for Magwitch because later on in the novel we find out that Magwitch is Pips benefactor therefore Dickens may want to put across Magwitch as a caring and thankful character.
The incident with the convict may have appealed to Dickens’ original audience because Dickens explores social class in Victorian England. Pip starts off as a Blacksmiths apprentice (working class), he rises to be a gentleman and a member of the middle class. Pip sees that many of the people of high social class have faults, and that people from other social classes are better human beings. Dickens' message is that the middle class values of hard work, control and the gentleness of a 'gentleman' are the way to happiness. As during chapter one Pip chose to provide the food and file for a suffering man (Magwitch). This message would appeal to his middle class/upper working class readership. Dickens was a great supporter of social reform especially in education and prisons therefore Great Expectations contains issues relating to crime and law. Magwitch has been in jail but still he is a good, noble man who we find out is Pips benefactor. Dickens' opinion was that, in Victorian England, some criminals were good men trapped by an unfair system, (such as Magwitch) and that the wrong people were punished for crime.
Dickens presents Magwitch as a threatening yet vulnerable character in the opening of Great Expectations. At the start of the book Dickens makes Magwitch seem fearful and tough, he creates this impression because Magwitch is a convict and therefore must be a strong character. Dickens was influenced by his father to include Magwitch in Great Expectations; he also uses Magwitch to explore the relationship between morals and money. Dickens used the theme of social class well, as he shows Pip as a working class man who swiftly proceeds to become an upper class gentleman. Also Dickens shows Magwitch as a lower class convict who makes a lot of money. The readers feelings change because we sympathise for Pip at first because he is a helpless young boy whereas towards the end of the novel we see Pip feeling as though he is too good for the Blacksmith when he comes to visit, therefore the reader may feel as though Pip has changed into a man who looks down on people. Dickens also used the criminal theme well, we see Magwitch as a criminal who we think is a harmful character however the readers’ feelings change because towards the end of the novel when we find out Magwitch is Pips benefactor, we see that Magwitch is a kind and thankful character. Dickens achieves the affect of bildungsroman too, as throughout the novel we saw Pip, the protagonist grow and develop socially, intellectually and psychologically.
