Charles Dickens Fact Sheet For Great Expectations

From pages 100 to 199 many different things happened to our young protagonist Pip. He became closer to Miss Havisham, and continued his complex relationship with Estella, until he was asked to leave the Satis House and become Joe’s blacksmith apprentice. Pip also begins to disregard his common lifestyle, and those within it, to continue his search for wealth and knowledge. Until he is prompted by the attack on his sister, who becomes brain damaged and incapacitated, to remember where he came from.

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

Magwitch was the convict that Pip had met while in the graveyard one night. After being shown kindness from Pip, Magwitch does everything in his power to help Pip get into a higher social status. The catch is that Pip does not know that the convict is helping him in the beginning. Pip later finds out that he was also his secret benefactor. He had payed for his education and even payed for things to allow Pip to have an amazing lifestyle in London using the help of Lawyer Jaggers.

Pip feels ashamed of himself and thinks he should leave Estella forever. Later on he had an encounter with Drummle at the inn and it didn't go so well. He goes to Miss Havishams home to see Miss Havisham and Estella one last time before he leaves them

Pip had also been asking about “convicts” that night before he was sent to bed. In the middle of the Pip had gotten up and robbed his sister and brother in law of all their food and the tools that the old man wanted. As Pip comes back to the marshes he finds who he thinks is the man that wanted the things. But actually he isn't the man Pip was looking for. He was another man that was in the marshes. As Pip was near him he tried to swing at Pip but it was weak and he almost fell himself and then ran away. Pip came upon the original man and gave him the things. He had told the man about the other man in the marsh which seemed to bother him. As he was filing his leg Pip ran home. Pip starts to become guilty for helping the convict in the marshes. He becomes very worried that there is an officer to take him away as soon as he gets to the house. But only to come home to find Mrs. Joe (Pip’s sister) cooking dinner for Christmas later that night. Pip and Joe eat breakfast together and then go to Church together as Mrs. Joe stays home and cooks. Later that night when eating dinner Mr. Wopsle the church clerk asked for the

Magwitch and his kindness is introduced early in the novel when he meets Pip in the churchyard. He is portrayed as a convict who had just escaped the Hulks. After Magwitch escapes the prison ships, he goes to the churchyard in the marshes to find safety. He sees, then threatens young Pip: “‘You get me a file’... ‘You get me wittles’... ‘Or I’ll have your heart and liver out”’ (Dickens 5). This traumatizes Pip and forces him to return home and steal from his own family. After this experience, Magwitch becomes appreciative of Pip and what he has done to protect him, and his appreciation for Pip causes him to change and begin to repay him for his help. Magwitch expresses his

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.

The following morning, Magwitch tells the men his story. He was an orphaned child and he lived a life of delinquency out of necessity. As a young gentleman he met a criminal named Compeyson and fell under his influence. Compeyson had already drove another partner, Arthur, into drunkenness and psychosis. Arthur, was driven to depression by the recollection of a wealthy woman he and Compeyson had once mistreated. He continues, saying that when they were caught, Compeyson turned on him, using his manners to get a light punishment at the trial. Magwitch wanted payback, and Compeyson was the man Pip saw him fighting with that night on the marsh. At this point, Herbert passes Pip a note that tangles the situation even further. The letter

The main storyline has to do with Pip’s expectations of becoming a gentleman. To do this he received help from a secret benefactor. For the first half of the novel Pip is convinced that Miss Havisham is the one doing this so one day he and Estella can be together. Dickens creates a story around Pip’s assumption to make this a very logical explanation. Coincidentally right after Pip realizes and confirms he was wrong about his benefactor, an unexpected character reappears. “You acted nobly, my boy,” said he. “Noble Pip! And I have never forgot it!” (Dickens 248) These words ring out of his benefactor’s name. Who appears to be the escaped convict from the beginning who threatened him, known by the name of Magwitch. Magwitch reveals that ever since that day in the graveyard when Pip returned to give him what he requested he has found a job to help Pip out for what he did for him. By doing this secretly for all this

‘Great Expectations’ is a highly acclaimed novel written by Charles Dickens first published in 1861, which follows the journey of a young boy commonly known as Pip (his Christian name being Phillip Pirrip) who is born into a middle-class family but goes on to receive riches from a mysterious benefactor in order to pursue his childhood dream in becoming a gentleman. The story is written in first person with Charles Dickens writing back about the experiences of Pip. Although it isn’t his autobiography the events in the book do, in many ways, mirror the events of his childhood. This allows him to reflect on Pip’s actions, which helps in the readers understanding of the Novel.

Pip then goes on to address the reader directly and explains that “[t]hat was a memorable day to [him], for it made great changes in [him],” (Dickens 70). After meeting with Estella several times and becoming extremely fond of her, despite her bipolar attitudes towards him, Ms. Havisham suddenly decides to recompense Pip for his time and then tells him that he no longer has to come back to the Satis House. Everyday after this, Pip continuously thinks of Estella and of how he must become a gentleman in order to be at the same level as Estella and eventually marry her. Another character Biddy (whose relationship to Pip is somewhat complicated) begins acting as Pip’s teacher and Pip says “[w]hatever [he] acquired, [he] tried to impart to Joe,” because “[he] wanted to make Joe less ignorant and common.” Pip’s plans to become a well-mannered gentleman to be worthy of high-society and to be worthy of Estella’s affection are two goals or “great expectations” that Pip sets for himself that ultimately carry the plot of the novel along.

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.

Pip also meets Abel Magwitch, the convict, who provides Pip with a great fortune for life and teaches him the act of selflessness. Estella first meets Pip at the Satis House, immediately forces Pip to love only her, and ferociously destroys his self-confidence. When Estella instantaneously captures Pip’s heart he acts ignorant to love and care for anybody

There are salient junctures in Pip’s upbringing that make him who the person he was; this is a tale that in which Pip was soliciting for awareness of himself, as well he realized that his life had major elements of obscurity; due to the fact, he was presented clearly, two radical different lifestyle choices; one, involving a life as a blacksmith and the other; involving the path as life as am affluent prosperous gentleman. Dickens carefully wrote in the periods of Pip’s life and how those set of circumstances; affected by choice, as well affected Pip’s later choices he had made. The temptation of class and wealth perverted the actions of Pip and other people around him; Pip is therefore contemplating on how he was saved by reminiscence of the stages of his life. In the first stage; Pip encounters Magwitch; by accident, this affects the outcome of later events of his life; Pip is than introduced to Miss Havishism and Estella, he fell in love with Estella, and was dramatically persuaded by the promises he made to himself, from his encounters with Miss Havhishism and Estella. Dramatically; Pip than learned the truth about his wealth and that Magwitch was Estella 's father; this collapsed Pip’s vision of reality and forced him to alter his exceptions concerning the truth; Pip than had to save himself from his own selfishness, as well as his malice actions, to the ones who were faithful to him; finally, at the end Pip is a full grown adult and had gain

This summary of Pip in chapter one causes the reader to sympathise with Pip causing a compassionate beginning towards the character of Pip. However, evaluating Magwitch, the convicts, character is a completely different story. Magwitch's bullying and threatening behaviour towards Pip makes us despise his character seeing him as a thug and a nasty individual. From chapter thirty nine the tables have turned in the reader's feelings towards Pip. Now Pip acts as a snob, his behaviour is inappropriate, his reactions to Magwitch and the news he brings surprises reader as his behaviour in chapter one was very respectful towards his elders. Slowly he has forgotten what is really important in life and he almost has forgotten his roots. Unlike chapter one the reader does not sympathise with Pip, whereas in chapter one he frequently visited the graves of his parents. Also the feelings of the reader towards Magwitch have changed. We feel sorry for him; he is greatly delighted to see Pip again. However, Pip does not take his greeting kindly. We are also pleased for Magwitch as his criminal past is over and he has turned his life around making a good life for himself and Pip. Overall, in this essay looking at both chapters we can understand and identify the changes that have gone through the two