Abel Magwitch – “Pip”

The writer then shows how powerful Pip thinks Abel Magwitch is. “So that his eyes looked most powerfully down into mine, and mine looked most helplessly up into his. ” This creates sympathy for Pip because he is helpless and alone. Dickens then emphasizes how helpless Pip is. “After each question he tilted me over a little more, so as to give me a greater sense of helplessness and danger. ” This creates more sympathy for Pip. Abel Magwitch then threatens Pip to scare him and to make sure that he does what he asks.

“You bring me, tomorrow morning early, that file and them wittles.

You bring the lot to me, at that old Battery over yonder. You do it, and you never dare to say a word or dare to make a sign concerning your having seen such a person as me, or any person sum ever, and you shall be let to live. You fail, or you go from my words in any particular, no matter how small it is, and your heart and your liver shall be tore out, roasted and ate.

” Dickens uses imagery here which creates a sense of fear for Pip which contributes to sympathy towards Pip. Abel Magwitch then talks about another character “Now, I aint alone, as you might think I am.

There’s a young man hid with me, in comparison with which young man I am an angel. ” This frightens Pip even more as he is already terrified of Abel Magwitch never mind another character.

Here, the reader recognises how grief-stricken Pip is. In the second extract of Great Expectations that I am going to comment on Pip visits a wealthy lady called Havisham. There is a young girl that Miss Havisham lives with called Estella. Miss Havisham has taken legal responsibility for Estella even though they are not related.

My feelings towards extract two are that Dickens creates sympathy for Pip my emphasising social classes and that appearance matter a great deal in the novel. Dickens starts the second extract by setting the scene and comments on Miss Havisham. Dickens creates sympathy for Miss Havisham first when Pip and Miss Havisham are talking. Miss Havisham says “You are not afraid of a woman who has never seen the sun since you were born? ” this makes the reader sympathise with Miss Havisham because the sun is a wonderful thing which most people enjoy seeing.

Miss Havisham then tells Estella to play a game of cards with Pip. Estella replies “with this boy! Why, he is a common labouring boy! ” this creates sympathy for Pip as it is an insult to Pip. Estella then remarks “he calls the knaves, Jacks, this boy! ” “And what coarse hands he has and what thick boots! ” We then read that Pip “had never thought of been ashamed of his hands before. ” The reader sympathises with Pip hear as he is embarrassed about his hands. The language and dialogue in extract two is very important, Dickens creates the impression that Pip is like a slave (although he is not).

The way that Miss Havisham speaks to Pip is very distinctive, she does not ask him do to things she tells him what to do and when to do it. An example of this is on line 124 “when shall I have you here again. Let me think. ” She then thinks for a while and says “come here again in six days. You hear? ” this creates sympathy for Pip as he gets ordered what to do and has no choice in the matter. I have read two extracts of Great Expectation and commented on how Charles Dickens creates sympathy for his characters. Dickens is a talented author and uses many tools to create sympathy for his characters.