Effectiveness of the Opening Chapter to Great Expectations Essay

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

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.

One of the things Charles Dickens tended to do in his career of writing was that he used interesting names characters in the story. As explained earlier the main character in the play is Pip, the reason he chose this name was because it symbolises a lot of different thoughts. If you think of a pip, the first impression that comes to mind is a seed, and a seed is a very small and fragile object and needs a lot of care to come into life and grow into a healthy plant. This describes exactly what a young child needs to grow and have a healthy life, just like Pip in the story. Furthermore in the story Pip is described as a ‘’small bundle of shivers’’, this shows that he has built up emotions of his memories in that past, suggesting that he didn’t have a very good childhood. The word small creates an impression that he was left behind and didn’t get much love or care in his childhood.

This quote from Chapter 5 is describing Pip’s limited reunion with Magwitch after he had been rounded up by the police. The general statement made by Charles Dickens in this quote, is that Pip is still an innocent young boy. More specifically, Dickens describes Pip to be still in touch with his innocence and guilt, just as any other child is. In this passage, Dickens is suggesting that Pip is always concerned with what other people think of his behavior. In this passage, the author is suggesting that PIp is very anxious to prove to Magwitch that he is innocent.Like the innocent young boy Pip is, Pip is always concerned with what other people think of his behavior. Which is the author's way of proving Pip's innocence. But as Magwitch looks

Charles Dickens uses his own opinions to develop the larger-than-life characters in Great Expectations. The novel is written from the point of view of the protagonist, Pip. Pip guides the reader through his life, describing the different stages from childhood to manhood. Many judgments are made regarding the other characters, and Pip's views of them are constantly changing according to his place in the social hierarchy. For instance, Pip feels total admiration that, later, turns to total shame for the man who raised him, Joe Gargery. The primary theme in this novel questions whether being in a higher social and economic class helps a person to achieve true happiness. This idea is shown through Pip's innocence at the forge, visits

Beginning in the second stage, Pip goes off to London with his newfound fortune to become a gentleman, though all that he would truly become is a rich, wealthy snob. Upon arriving at Barnard’s Inn, Pip rudely talks about the shabby conditions of the place, even saying, “So imperfect was this realization of the first of my great expectations that I looked in dismay at Wemmick,” showing that now that he is rich, he feels he should be treated like a king (181). Wemmick even mistakes his look of contempt, demonstrating that already he is becoming a snob, but at this point others don’t take him to be one. Although this passage only talks about the ‘first’ of Pip’s expectations, one can see that they are already set too high. Pip accompanies Wemmick to Newgate prison, but afterwards says, “I wished Wemmick had not met me, or I had not yielded to him and gone with him,” because he feels he is too far above the prisoners there (279). This is very ironic, because the person who has made him ‘rise’ above all these people is a convict. Pip didn’t want Newgate to be ‘on’ him because he felt it would detour Estella, when in fact her father was a convict as well. When Pip finds out that Magwitch is his benefactor and not Miss Havisham he says, “The abhorrence in which I held the

Yet, Pip also realizes that due to his “mortal terror of the young man who wanted [his] heart and liver” (p. 11), he must obey the request of Magwitch. Pip’s predicament between his “awful promise” (p. 11) to Magwitch and the potential wrath of his “all powerful sister” (p. 11) leads to his pessimism.

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

     Even though Magwitch is hostile towards Pip, Pip is still as respectful as he would be towards other adults. He continues to call him “Sir” all the time that Magwitch is bullying him. This shows that even though Pip shows maturity he may still be scared. This shows that he is still childlike.

It also adds to Pip's fear and emotion. Magwitch was a 'fearful man, all in coarse grey with a great iron on his leg'. At this time Pip was 'undersized for his years and not very strong'. Pip is very afraid of Magwitch and he is only a young child who is already going through the emotion of his parents and brothers deaths. You know Pip was very traumatised as he sat 'trembling' while Magwitch ate the bread 'ravenously' and tried to keep himself from 'crying'.

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.

rightfully afraid of any man bearing the appearance of Magwitch and one who threatens to eat you. Pip’s character, for the most part at the beginning of the novel, is replete with fear and cowardice. At the same time, one might say that these characteristics are the result of his exposure to certain overbearing and threatening persons. Of course this is seen with Magwitch but more so in the presence of Pip’s sister, Mrs. Joe Gargery. She boasts that she has “brought me [Pip] up ‘by hand’ ” (Dickens 6). Her character is so sour during the first few chapters of the book and her display of brutality toward Pip and Joe is such that gives us reason not to pity Mrs. Joe but to pity Joe and Pip. She is described as “not a good looking woman” and having a habit of going “on the Ram-page” (Dickens 6-7). Furthermore, Pip describes her doing things in a very violent way; e.g. “a trenchant way of cutting our bread and butter”, “her housekeeping of the strictest kind”, among many other violent and abusive examples (Dickens 8). Therefore one might say that Pip’s character is justified. However, there is a ray of hope of some kind of bravery in Pip. Pip promised Magwitch he would get him food and a file; Pip does fulfill his promise, despite the threats of Mrs. Joe, and therefore shows some good “heroic” qualities of honesty and bravery in the midst of threats. Although coercion and the threat of death spur such actions, these characteristics are there in Pip. Pip is more or less a puny,