The Relationship between Pip and Magwitch and how Dickens establishes the Relationship in the Novel 'Great Expectations'.

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The Relationship between Pip and Magwitch and how Dickens establishes the Relationship in the Novel

Max Kamath 10T

The novel 'Great Expectations' is possibly one of Charles Dickens' most famous novels. Written as a bildungsroman it follows the life of a young orphaned child raised by his sister and her husband. Charles Dickens also started from a poor beginning for his father was bankrupt. Pip was raised modestly as a child for his family were not very wealthy as his brother in-law was a blacksmith. Although the novel is written very interestingly on an imaginative plot, it is not the plot that makes the novel so popular. It is the series of surprising twists in the plot based upon the relationship that young Pip shares with other characters of the novel, the most emotionally capturing relationship being the relationship between Pip and a man called Able Magwitch.

It is notable that Dickens favours names which hold subtle connotations. The name 'Pip' suggests that he may be small but he will one day be much bigger and stronger. The name 'Able Magwitch' has several connotations. The word 'Able' means that he is able to overcome dire situations and pull through optimistically. 'Magwitch' may be thought to suggest magic, or witchcraft. This means that he can control Pip and have a significant impact on his life.

The first chapter of the novel consists of the first meeting between a young Pip and Able Magwitch, though we know very little of Able Magwitch at this early stage, not even his name, the novel tells us many things about him and his effect on Pip.

The meeting of the two characters is set in a churchyard where young Pip is visiting the place where his parents were buried. It is clear that Pip was affected by the location mentally as pathetic fallacy is used to dictate Pip's anxiety and the emotion of the situation.

'The distant savage lair from which the wind was rushing'
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Such imaginative language is used by Dickens to reflect upon the way Pip was feeling on such a dreary afternoon in a graveyard. The atmosphere set by the use of pathetic fallacy is perfect for Pip's first encounter with Able Magwitch.

Magwitch heard Pip's crying by the grave of his parents and opened dialogue with Pip.

'Hold your noise. Keep still you little devil or I'll cut your throat'

He appears to be very aggressive with no reason to be. This is because he too is very frightened and anxious. He is said to be ...

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