Light And Dark Imagery In Charles Dickens 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).

As a minor character Molly’s secret plays a big role in Pip’s life. The first confrontation of Molly takes place at Jagger’s house when Pip is invited over for dinner. Upon laying eyes upon her, Pip gives us a brief description of her dark faded appearance. “Her face looked to me as if it were all disturbed by fiery air,” (Dickens 166) the face of someone who has

An imagine Charles Dickens has left in my mind is Miss. Havisham. I see this faceless, all bone, yellow skinned lady wearing one shoe and a wedding dress. Miss. Havisham was originally described on page 47 and she was described as a weary, wore down woman and I was having fun imagining this peculiar lady. I see her like Maleficent, because she was written as very boney, again on page 47. I just imagine her cheekbones being very prominent, like Maleficent. I also see her like looking kind of deranged because on page 47 Dickens wrote; "She uttered the word with a eager look, and with a weird smile". I think the weird smile part is what lead me to believe she looks deranged. I can't see her face, but I can see her features like; sunken eyes, that

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

In the book Great Expectations by Charles Dickens a lot of things happen, some things were good and some things were bad that happened. One of the bad things that happened was the fire at Miss Havisham's house. The main character Pip goes to Miss Havisham's house and sees that she is sitting very close to the fire and she is sitting in her old wedding dress. A flame catches her dress on fire, Pip starts to panic and grabs a coat to put the flames out. I think fire symbolizes her wedding day and also may symbolize that it was a suicide attempt. Dickens put this part in the book because the part goes right with the story line.

Overall, transcending Dickens’ description of him as meek and weak-willed, Mr. Snagsby displays his kindness through his feelings and actions towards Guster. Furthermore, Dickens also reveals Mr. Snagsby’s goodness through the effect he has on the stationary

Miss Havisham also undergo an evolution as one might say. She requests Pip's presence at the Satis House to fulfill a request he made in regards to Herbert. Loneliness has taken over her room. She anonymously gives Pip money for Herbert and her explanation as to why is, "I want to show you that I am not all stone. But perhaps you can never believe me, now that there is anything human in my heart?" She recognizes she hurt Pip in her quest for revenge and hopes to repent by doing something nice for him. She then questions his desires, hence showing that she is no longer the same woman Dickens wrote about in the beginning of the

Magwitch is a convict who has a lot of bravery and courage. He shows this, near the end of the novel, when he finds Pip and tells him that he is the benefactor. Magwitch risked everything to see Pip, and when he was caught, he was sentenced to death. Magwitch mainly implies the theme of crime and law, because of what he did to see Pip. At the start of the novel, Magwitch is fighting with Compeyson, another escaped convict, Magwitch and Compeyson were probably fighting, because of Magwitch's daughter being Estella, which means that Magwitch and Miss Havisham must have had an affair behind Compeyson's back. However, unlike Compeyson, who is seen as aggressive and violent, Magwitch can be seen as caring and heartfelt, this is shown when he is

The more that was revealed about Magwitch’s past, the more Pip developed pity for him. As Pip discovered, Magwitch’s situation concerning his crimes could not be helped and he was sent to prison for a longer amount of time than his partner, Compeyson, because his partner acted more like a gentleman than he did. Upon being released from prison, Magwitch wished to become a gentlemen but his looks and how he presented himself did not fit the role, thus he remembered the boy who aided him in his time of need and decided to adopt him as a son and make a

Impressions Gained of Pip's Character from Great Expectations 'Pip' is very much a child in the the first chapter. However, it is Pip narrating it as an adult ( retrospective narrator). You know he is a child by his 'childish' thoughts and his rather odd imagination. He manages to come up with the 'childish conclusion' that his father is a 'square, stout, dark man, with curly hair' just by looking at his fathers tombstone. Also, that his mother was 'freckled and sickly'.

One of the most important and common tools that authors use to illustrate the themes of their works is a character that undergoes several major changes throughout the story. In Great Expectations, Charles Dickens introduces the reader to many intriguing and memorable characters, including the eccentric recluse, Miss Havisham, the shrewd and careful lawyer, Mr. Jaggers, and the benevolent convict, Abel Magwitch. However, Great Expectations is the story of Pip and his initial dreams and resulting disappointments that eventually lead to him becoming a genuinely good person. The significant changes in Pip's character are very important to one of the novel's many themes. Dickens uses Pip's

Since it was first published over 150 years ago, Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations has come to be known as a timeless and remarkably moving work of literature. It is considered to be one of Dickens’ most recognizable works, and is celebrated for its meaningful, universally-believed themes. In order for this novel to be properly understood, a thoughtful analysis of its major themes must be given.

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.

It is Charles Dickens who says that “there are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in the contrast.” The theme of highlighting and appreciating goodness when comparing it to darkness is prevalent in Dickens’s novel, Great Expectations. The contrast is shown through character binaries. Some may argue that Dickens does not mean for the characters to be complete opposites, and wants to treat them as individuals. However this can not be true as in the novel, Dickens is often comparing characters directly. Character binaries show that tenderness and humanity should be appreciated as shown by Estella and Biddy, Magwitch and Compeyson, and Joe and Pumblechook.