Great Expectations Study Guide
Great Expectations - Charles Dickens: Part 1
Early Chapters
Throughout these early scenes it is clear that there is a feeling of evil pervading. The evil comes not so much from Magwitch or even the ‘Terrible young man’ that Pip so fears as a young lad, but rather the presence of the gibbet and the nearby reference to the ‘hulks that appear “like a wicked Noah’s Ark.” It is a symbol of evil that is presently at hand as well as foreshadowing future ills.
In this chapter we can see that the presence of the soldiers makes Pip ill at ease because of the guilt that he feels at aiding and abetting the escapees. He fears that they will tell of his collusion if they are captured.
We know that it is their own quarrel that brings their escape to grief. We are told that they came from different class groups. The fierce young man is supposedly a ‘gentleman.’ This brings into doubt the definition of this term. This is important as Dickens is most concerned in his work with defining the class groups and in fact the true definition of a gentleman.
The evil of the convicts is contrasted with the sympathy that both Pip and Joe feel for them. Joe is particularly selfless in his forgiveness towards Magwitch upon his admission of stealing from their household. Pip on the other hand allows this deception to pass as it favours his position. “I was too cowardly to do what I knew to be right, as I had been too cowardly to avoid doing what I knew to be wrong.” His guilt is intense and this isn’t lessened by the forces around him that would condemn him and subdue him prejudicially for being young, fatherless and vulnerable. These forces ironically seem to come from his own parish and family. Joe, who is ironically not blood related is the one that he wants to impress the most and theone who he fears alienating by telling the truth. The irony is that Joe has already displayed tangible signs of being able to forgive anybody for anything on humanitarian grounds e.g. Magwitch. Magwitch
Early Chapters
Throughout these early scenes it is clear that there is a feeling of evil pervading. The evil comes not so much from Magwitch or even the ‘Terrible young man’ that Pip so fears as a young lad, but rather the presence of the gibbet and the nearby reference to the ‘hulks that appear “like a wicked Noah’s Ark.” It is a symbol of evil that is presently at hand as well as foreshadowing future ills.
In this chapter we can see that the presence of the soldiers makes Pip ill at ease because of the guilt that he feels at aiding and abetting the escapees. He fears that they will tell of his collusion if they are captured.
We know that it is their own quarrel that brings their escape to grief. We are told that they came from different class groups. The fierce young man is supposedly a ‘gentleman.’ This brings into doubt the definition of this term. This is important as Dickens is most concerned in his work with defining the class groups and in fact the true definition of a gentleman.
The evil of the convicts is contrasted with the sympathy that both Pip and Joe feel for them. Joe is particularly selfless in his forgiveness towards Magwitch upon his admission of stealing from their household. Pip on the other hand allows this deception to pass as it favours his position. “I was too cowardly to do what I knew to be right, as I had been too cowardly to avoid doing what I knew to be wrong.” His guilt is intense and this isn’t lessened by the forces around him that would condemn him and subdue him prejudicially for being young, fatherless and vulnerable. These forces ironically seem to come from his own parish and family. Joe, who is ironically not blood related is the one that he wants to impress the most and theone who he fears alienating by telling the truth. The irony is that Joe has already displayed tangible signs of being able to forgive anybody for anything on humanitarian grounds e.g. Magwitch. Magwitch