Character Analysis Of Abel Magwitch In Great Expectations

He is described as “a fearful man in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg” and “smothered in mud, and lamed by stones.” These descriptions immediately adds to the tension and the manner in which he approaches Pip “glared and growled” and “seized,” shows the violence in his merciless actions and his intimidating behaviour. He threatens Pip by saying “I’ll cut your throat,” to which Pip responds by having “pleaded in terror,” emphasising his helplessness and causing the reader to sympathise with his situation. The tone in which Magwitch speaks with him in, is intimidating and authoritative for example “Tell us your name!” which sounds more like a command than a question. Despite his insolent attitude towards him, Pip replies in a polite and respectful tone of voice - “If you would kindly please...” this creates a sense of urgency and shows that he is powerless and vulnerable. Magwitch continues to use daunting imagery to threaten Pip by saying “Your liver shall be tore out, roasted and ate.” He also forces Pip to swear an oath, which he feels obliged to do as he is powerless to act otherwise. This scene as a whole causes the reader to feel resentment towards Magwitch and pity for Pip’s situation, further adding to the sympathy.

Dickens emphasizes this with Magwitch's brutal behavior, his threats of death if Pip does not do his bidding, but, as is a recurring theme in the novel, we need only the proof of his appearance to pass judgment upon him. Pip in contrast is defenseless, for in the inverted position Magwitch holds him, Pip can be likened to a new-born; Pip is innocent, naked, and ignorant of the world. It is from this point Pip begins the long journey toward the "identity of things" (24; ch.1).

Throughout Dickens’ novel Great Expectations, the character, personality, and social beliefs of Pip undergo complete transformations as he interacts with an ever-changing pool of characters presented in the book. Pip’s moral values remain more or less constant at the beginning and the end; however, it is evident that in the time between, the years of his maturation and coming of adulthood, he is fledgling to find his place in society. Although Pip is influenced by many characters throughout the novel, his two most influential role models are: Estella, the object of Miss Havisham’s revenge against men, and Magwitch, the benevolent convict. Exposing himself to such diverse characters Pip has to learn to discern right from wrong and chose

The second stage that is similar is the Resurrection. In Great Expectations after Orlick takes a swig of liquor, then picks up a stone hammer and advances menacingly toward Pip. Pip cries out, and suddenly Herbert bursts in with a group of men to save him. Herbert had found Orlick’s note asking Pip to meet him at the marshes. This shows Pip is willing to do anything to help Magwitch escape. The anonymous letter stated “If you are not afraid to come to the old marshes tonight or tomorrow night at nine, and to come to the little sluice-house by the limekiln,

Mysterious and misunderstood, always captured and imprisoned but never free. At first glance he was starved and chained, deprived of his freedom. When he gains freedom he runs off to chase Compeyson. His actions caused him to be captured once more. His backstory is quite unfair compared to the 21 century. In fact he was punished more heavily than Compeyson, enraged he seeks revenge. To carry out his plan he turns Pip into a snob with high rank. Lastly when he tries to obtain freedom he is imprisoned once more. Thus Magwitch was destined to be imprisoned even during his last

The proverb, “once a thief,always a thief” comes into my head when reading this quote. Even though Magwitch adds on linen clothing and he refines his name, he is still a criminal. You can’t turn a criminal into a gentleman. I also feel that even Pip won’t ever become a gentleman, because he doesn’t know the criteria to become one.

After his first introduction he disappears for a long time and then after his second introduction he placed firmly into the background as the film focuses on Pip basically coming up with a way and the preparing his eventual devised way to smuggle Magwitch out of England. Currie has one more scene where talks about the pain of his past which he makes fairly poignant by honestly portraying the sentiment within the general roughness of Magwitch's

However, their personalities are polar opposites. Going off of that, Magwitch and Compeyson act nothing alike, but they might look alike. Pip confuses Compeyson for Magwitch, because he “[dresses] in coarse grey, too, and [has] a great iron on his leg, and [is] lame, and hoarse, and cold, and everything the other man [is]; except that he [has] not the same face” (Dickens 16). As this evidence shows, Magwitch and Compeyson are easily mistaken for each other, except for their personalities. As a result, even though people can look alike, they can be totally different on the inside. Similarly, when compared, people’s looks to their personalities, most of the time they are completely different. When Magwitch is seen, he comes off as mean. But, if someone has a nice conversation, he is really kind. To show, the conversation might go like this, “‘I’ve been a sheep-farmer, stock breeder, other trades besides, away in the New World’” (Dickens 318). To enumerate, this evidence explains how Magwitch is nice, but he can seem mean at some times, if someone gets on his bad side. Even though he does not have the same personality as Compeyson, even though they look similar. Another key point, Compeyson is not nice. He does not look nice, and he does not act nice, either. For example, Pip receives a note saying that Compeyson is “the man who [professes] to be Miss Havisham’s

Pip does not tell Joe because he fears he will lose his companionship. In the future, Pip will struggle with telling the truth because of the fear that society will think less of him. Later that same day, the police are engaged in a search party to find the criminal. Joe and Pip accompany them; although, they do not believe that he must be apprehended. Once Magwitch is taken into custody, Joe and Pip both shed a tear. Pip's life at the forge is difficult due to Mrs. Joe's harsh nature, but he is also surrounded by the goodness and love of Joe. He has been taught that humans of all societal levels are important.

Scaring Pip almost to death, he devours his food, taking "strong sudden bites" (R) in a way more doglike than human and imputes violence into Pip's life threatening to "cut [Pip's] throat" (R). First encountered in the graveyard , Magwitch is described as “fearful” dressed “in coarse gray, with a great iron on his leg” (r). Combined, Dickens presents a fairy tale-esque description like that of a classic monster. As a boogeyman figure in the novel, Magwitch manifests one of Pip's greatest fears: that Pip may one day turn out to be like Magwitch, someone he sees as so vile and disgusting he should never have been born. Pip already suspects he posses criminal qualities, and contact with Magwitch only exacerbates these fears, adding guilt into the

This passage is one of the very first sentence to describe Pip. By this passage, Dickens made readers feel sympathy or empathy towards Pip by telling them that he is an orphan. This is very interesting and ironic because this contrast the title of the book. Pip expresses his love for Mr. Joe, a father figure, in this passage, but he also makes readers feel compassion by stating that “perhaps for no better reason… than because the dear fellow let [Pip] love him.” This shows how deserted he is. He expresses that he cannot love someone because they do not let him. This foreshadows that throughout the Pip’s journey, he will find what true love and true friendship is. In this passage, Pip decides not to tell Joe that Pip was the one who stole the pie and had given it to Magwitch. This important passage leads Pip, who is innocent and impeccable, to mature into an adult world. Pip learns how to tell lies to protect what is valuable to himself. He mentions himself as an “untaught genius” who “made the discovery of the line of action” for himself. This shows that the brutal world has forced Pip to give up his own morality to survive.

The entire story is told through the eyes of an adult Pip, even though Pip is a small child during parts of it. In his early years, Pip was strongly influenced by his guardians, Joe Gargery and his wife, Mrs. Joe. Joe instills a sense of honesty, industry, and friendliness in Pip, while Mrs. Joe does a great deal to contribute to his desires and ambitions through her constant emphasis on pomp and property. Pip is generally good-natured and thoughtful, and very imaginative. His false values, which are bolstered by his love of Estella, decrease the amount of respect that he has for Joe. His alienation from Joe and Joe's values builds through the second part of the novel, as Pip becomes selfish, greedy, and foolish. During the period when his expectations are intact, his only morally positive act was to secretly help Herbert Pocket into a good position. Upon discovering that Magwitch is his benefactor, a new phase begins in Pip's moral evolution. At first, Pip no longer feels the same human compassion for Magwitch that he did the first time he saw him out on the marshes. Gradually, Pip changes his perception of Magwitch, unlearning what he has learned. Pip becomes concerned with the man, and not the expectations that he could provide. When Jaggers presents the thought that there may be a way for Pip to get his hands on Magwitch's property, the idea sounds hollow and utterly empty to Pip. Pip learns about Estella's parentage through

Pips fear of Magwitch grows when Magwitch says 'I ain't alone, as you may think I am'. Dickens does this to intimidate Pip even more and to make Pips experience with Magwitch as fearful and as memorable as possible. Magwitch then starts to go into great detail about what the other man can supposedly do. The description of the man kind of sounds like a ghost or horror story and Magwitch refers to himself as an 'Angel' compared to the other man. '

4). Even though he aids the convict, the reader's sympathy for Pip soon increases, as his robbery of his own home weighs greatly on his conscience. For example, when Mrs. Joe leaves the Sunday dinner to retrieve the "savoury pork pie," which Magwitch had enjoyed heartily, Pip is tortured by the thought of his actions, while his mind screams, "Must they! Let them not hope to taste it!" (p. 27). He seems to sincerely regret his actions and the fact that he "had been too cowardly to avoid doing what I knew to be wrong" (p. 40). Approximately one year after his encounter with the convict, Pip is still shown to be an innocent, caring boy. One night, when Pip and Joe are alone at the forge, Joe explains his various reasons for enduring Mrs. Joe's constant abuse. After their conversation, Pip realizes that he cares deeply for Joe and appreciates everything that the blacksmith does for him. Also, he develops "a new admiration of Joe from that night" and "a new sensation of feeling conscious that I was looking up to Joe in my heart" (p. 48). Unfortunately, as Pip develops unrealistic hopes and expectations for his life, these positive characteristics are replaced by undesirable ones.

As Magwitch eats, Pip describes him as the following: “the man took strong sharp sudden bites, just like the dog. He swallowed… too fast; and he looked sideways… while he ate, as if he thought there was danger in every direction of somebody’s coming to take the pie away,” (Page 19). With the use of alliteration on the “S”s and the use of harsh assonance when it says that “[he] took strong sharp sudden bites”, Dickens proves that Magwitch has a very aggressive nature as well as being very strong and threatening. Describing him as looking around every time he ate does not only show that it is the behavior expected of a convict while on the run, but also to emphasize the distance Magwitch keeps from society because of his distrust in everyone and everything. However, as a result of the concerns Pip had for Magwitch, Magwitch becomes humanized. In court, where Magwitch is denoted as a desperate criminal, he looks at Pip “with a trustful look, as if he were confident that [Pip] had seen some small redeeming touch in him, even so long ago as when [Pip] was a little child. As to the rest, [Magwitch] was humble and contrite, and [Pip] never knew him to complain” (Page 486). Using diction found in “redeeming touch”, Dickens verifies that Magwitch is redeemed from all of his criminal acts by his inner dignity and love for Pip.