Look over chapter 39 once more, with special attention to the atmospheric way Dickens sets the scene for the dramatic re-entry of the convict and the revelation of the source of Pip's expectations. Like a theatrical director he orchestrates sights, sounds and lighting to create the utmost tension and foreboding in the reader as well as his protagonist.
For this blog, consider Dickens the writer as much as you do his story. This is the last chapter of part two, and most certainly comprised an installment of the serialized novel. The stakes were high, therefore, and he rose to the occasion. Don't indulge in an orgy of flattery, but comment on what most strikes you about the opening 30 paragraphs or so of the chapter leading up to Pip's realization: diction, tone, pacing, etc.
35 comments:
The atmosphere woven by Dickens creates an ominous tone which marvelously parallels what is about to be revealed to Pip. The strong diction of the passage describing the “wretched weather” foreshadows the subsequent events. The rhythm to the words “stormy and wet, stormy and wet, mud, mud, mud” acts as the pounding heartbeat preparing itself for the fear ahead. “Violent”, “death”, “rage”, provides powerful diction to further enhance the intensity of the mood. The eloquently pieced figurate language personifies the storm as a mighty spirit “discharging cannons” and releasing “red-hot splashes”. Even the natural phenomenon of sound is “curiously flawed by the wind” of the storm. The tone of this passage provides an extraordinary backdrop to the emergence of footsteps. The tension created from the descriptions of the weather heightens as the strange figure appears. Dickens’ timing for the surfacing of the convict perfectly balances with the mood.
When Pip encounters the strange man on the stairway, the imagery becomes completely different. Instead of the omnipotent description of the storm, the viewpoint becomes narrowed and limited by the “circle of light” from the lamp. By limiting the audience to the view of Pip, Dickens generates a mysterious tone where the whole truth cannot be obtained. However, this limited view focuses all attention to the smallest details of the strangers, giving readers a moment to contemplate the appearance of this man amidst the treacherous storm. Dickens truly masters the effect of lighting to create a thrilling scene.
The suspense from the beginning passages of chapter 39 is crucial for such a pivotal moment in the novel. Dickens took advantage of this change to create a beautiful and dramatic passage of language to transition to the truth.
I feel slightly perturbed...Ariel's observations were nearly identical to my own! Ah, well...
I too found strong parallels between both Magwitch's entries. They both speak of dampness: fog and mist in the first with general rain and mud in the second. This I actually found quite interesting because the lightness of the mist at first could represent the beginning of a situation, how nothing is yet involved and all is simply starting. However, in the second entrance of Magwitch, the rain and heaviness of the water represents the fact that the convict and Pip's relations have developed and gained much severity. More superficially, having both scenes generally occur in a state of wetness creates an association of the reader of Magwitch and foreboding bad weather (ie. omens).
Also, I found that the contrast between tone of this chapter and the previous tone was rather stark. Before this scene, Pip has been going about his (fairly) regular life, providing for himself, meeting with his new friend Wemmick, conducting business with Jaggers, longing for Estella, etc. When the second appearance of Magwitch comes along, the tone shifts. Dickens takes time explaining in detail the conditions of the weather and Pip's situation, moving slowly and methodically to engage the reader in curious suspense, making them wondering what that is approaching that seems so important. If not for deeper development of the work as a whole, the suspense causes reader to want to keep reading. The rhythm allows this as well.
Overall, Dickens's sinister diction (as Ariel mentioned) and flowing syntax strike me in particular, creating a tone shift that further emphasizes the importance of Magwitch and Pip's rather unpleasant (in the eyes of Pip) reunion.
The tone of the novel drastically changes whenever Magwitch makes, or is about to make, an appearance. In the third chapter, the setting is described as, "A rimy morning, and very, very damp...I saw the damp lying on the bare hedges and spare grass, like a coarser sort of spider webs...On every rail and gate, wet lay clammy; and the marsh mist was so thick that the wooden finger on the post directing people to our village...was invisible to me until I was quite close under it." The description in chapter 39 is similarly bleak: "It was wretched weather; stormy and wet, stormy and wet; and mud, mud, mud, deep in all the streets. Day after Day, a vast heavy veil had been driving over London from the East, and it drove still, as if in the East there were an eternity of cloud and wind." Both passages convey the same atmosphere, using the sudden change in tone and setting to symbolize the similarly drastic turn the story is about to take.
One sentence in particular stood out to me: "Occasionally, the smoke came rolling down the chimney as though it could not bear to go out into such a night; and when I set the doors open and looked down the staircase, the staircase lamps were blown out; and when I shaded my face with my hands and looked through the black windows...I saw that the lamps in the court were blown out..." (313). Not only do the repetition and imagery stand out, but the metaphor embedded within it as well. Like the smoke, Pip is soon confronted with an unpleasant situation that he is reluctant to confront. He eventually braves the storm, but is certainly fearful of Magwitch and extremely reluctant to help him at first. Also, as the lamps around the city are extinguished, so too are many of Pip's hopes. He realizes Miss Havisham is not his benefactor and he is not meant to marry Estella, Estella announces her plan to marry Drummle, Pip fails to escort Magwitch to safety, Biddy marries Joe, and Pip discovers that he will never become the gentleman he dreamed he would be. While Pip manages to carry on without these beacons of hope in his future, their sudden extinguishing is disappointing and leaves him without a sense of direction in the storm.
Charles Dickens' use of imagery and metaphor in this chapter effectively signifies the shift in the mood of the story and foreshadows the events to come.
The atmosphere is shaped by the setting to me. The intense and fierce storm creates a intense and fierce mood in Pip as well as between Pip and Magwitch. "...Stormy and wet, stormy and wet; mud, mud, mud, deep in all the streets"(303). The setting is described in such a way where it is weighed down, heavy with the rain and mud. This is the same as the atmosphere of the conversation between Pip and Magwitch. It is weighed down with realization and shock.
One element of syntax in this portion of the book was the way Dickens uses repetition. Such as the part of the chapter I quoted above. "Mud, mud, mud"(303). To me this is a great technique that provides a better sense of the scene. The technique is used again, "No need to take a file from his pocket and show it to me; no need to take the handkerchief from his neck and twist it around his head; no need to hug himself with both his arms..." This too gives you a sense of scene as well as what Pip was going through. You really get a feeling that Pip was in shock. You get to know what is happening but in a different way then just writing something like, "He then pulled out his handkerchief to show me who he was." It is an effective way to show the scene as well as create the atmosphere.
In chapter 39, Dickens uses powerful and intense diction and an ominous tone to build the suspense leading up to Pip’s crushing letdown. At the chapter’s opening, Pip is at a point in his life where he feels lonely and unhappy. He has nothing to do but read, and is uncertain of his future. Even Herbert’s life was currently going better than Pip’s. Parallel with Pip’s depressed state is the dreadful weather that has been plaguing London. In just these first few paragraphs, Dickens creates an inauspicious environment that seems to have been building for a while. The ensuing imagery intensifies the tension. Similes like “the wind rushing up the river shook the house at night, like discharges of cannons,” “the coal fires in barges on the river were being carried away before the wind like red-hot splashes in the rain,” and “my heart beating like a heavy hammer of disordered action” enhance the tone and illuminate the intensity and importance of this dark, dismal night. As Ariel wrote, the tone and diction Dickens employs create “an extraordinary backdrop to the emergence of footsteps.”
Pip’s disgust and unhappiness upon the arrival of the convict corresponds to their bleak, miserable surroundings. Even after the moment of truth- when Pip has an Oedipus-esque moment of realization, accompanied with shame, disappointment, and disgust- the weather continues to signal that bad things are ahead for Pip. The knowledge that he owes his fortune and high status to a low class criminal is devastating to Pip. It turns his social perceptions inside out and pains him with the reality that he was never meant for Estella, as well as the guilt that he had abandoned Joe for the convict. Dickens’s techniques early in the chapter set up this crucial and overwhelming turning point in Pip’s life.
In the first paragraph of this chapter Pip states "Not another word had I heard to enlighten me on the subject of my expectations.." Dickens uses this statement to foreshadow exactly what Pip will soon learn about himself.
In any story bad weather is an omen of bad news or an unfortunate event. The sentence in the third paragraph describes lead being stripped off the roofs of buildings, trees being torn up, and stories of shipwreck and death. This is somewhat of a metaphor of what Pip's evening will bring. What he thought about his life will be ripped out from under him when he discovers the truth.
What stood out to me the most about Magwitch was when Pip notices that "He looked about him with the strangest air - an air of wondering pleasure, as if he had some part in the things he admired..." This would definitely seem strange to Pip, but now that I am re-reading this chapter it is somewhat comical when I know that Magwitch had everything to do with how Pip is living.
Dickens uses many examples of foreshadowing to give subtle clues to the reader as to what is about to happen.
Dickens sets the scene for us with a certain emphasis for the similarities between the stormy weather outside and the increasingly tormented feelings harbored within Pip's chest. The circumstances that lead to Magwitch's appearance are very important to the script Dickens seems to have written out already in his head.
First, the weather is foreboding, ominous and threatening to anyone who may want to go out.
Second, Pip is at home alone, and since he is missing Herbert and sitting up alone at eleven o'clock at night reading by the flame of one candle and a small fire, is predisposed to become easily alarmed.
Third, there is the way Magwitch climbs up the stairs. He must have been making quite a bit of noise if Pip could here him walking up the steps over the sound of the wind. This also includes the way Magwitch initiates his contact with Pip, with his short, terse sentences that seem to all be one or two words maximum until he begins his narrative.
All of these things begin slowly, and build upon one another until the tension is too much, and Magwitch's story is complete. There is the climax of the whole chapter. Dickens begins slowly with the setting, then by adding the layers of the storm and the churches, and finally, the footsteps, shivers crawl up your spine in anticipation. The audience is at its all time closest with Pip the beloved protagonist, and is released from all curiosity with the end of Magwitch's tale.
In the beginning of the chapter, Pip is already “dispirited and anxious” and “long disappointed” because of Herbert’s absence, which initially creates a negative tone (280). I will not quote any of Dickens’ descriptions of the weather, as most of the people who have posted have already done so, but I will say that the fourth paragraph of Chapter 39 is vital to the way in which Dickens sets the dreary tone that carries the chapter through. He uses the weather to foreshadow the imminent ill-fated revelation of the identity of his benefactor. Dickens’ also describes many lamps being blown out, which gives the reader a darkened image as the story begins to unfold; especially when Dickens writes that Magwitch first speaks to Pip “from the darkness beneath,” further contributing to the sinister tone (291).
Dickens’ diction also intensifies the mysterious tone of the chapter. Words like “stormy,” “torn,” “gloomy,” “shipwreck,” “death,” “violent,” “rages,” “assailed,” and “shuddering” are all potent words that effectively strengthen the dull tone, and consequently the unfortunate shock that is soon to come to Pip. The tension that Dickens’ develops via tone, diction, and imagery make the reader apprehensive as Magwitch finally comes to reveal his identity.
Chapter 39 contains probably one of the most important developments in the whole narrative. This revelations had been guessed at Pip and foreshadowed multiple times. This part of the novel works as a first rate suspense and mystery thriller. Dickens sets the stage like a masterful cinematographer, pokes and hints at the truth, and gives a glimmer of epiphany to Pip to who his benefactor truly is. The author's diction and tone elevate the tension, his sense of timing and pace with plot maximize the anxiety over both the reader and Pip. He doesn't pull the cloak over Magwitch too soon or too late. "It was wretched weather; stormy and wet, stormy and wet; and mud, mud, mud, deep in all the streets."(pg.303) The syntax and repetition is really effective using in its uniqueness.
The terrible weather seems to symbolize the coming of Magwitch, not only in this chapter but also in the first and third. The tone set by the weather brings me back to the feeling of the third with the beginnings of both chapters placing extreme detail on the weather, which was in both cases very gloomy and almost something taken straight out of a horror movie. As Pip waits in his room as the stranger approaches the door, stepping through a circle of light revealing himself for only a second, the mood becomes very intense and the suspense continues to build up.
I also thought it was interesting how Dickens went from describing the overall nature of the storm to only what Pip was experiencing very quickly, which made it so the two settings realistically seemed like one within another.
Dickens overall tone is very bleak, almost forcing one to believe that something terrible in imminent. From his ominous storm that brings upon a dark eerie setting which is only strengthened upon the realization of a stranger approaching, to his dark diction, repeatedly using words such as "death" and "gloomy" which adds to the dreary tone. And this tone evokes great suspense and only leaves the reader wanting more.
In the introduction to chapter 39 the description of the storm builds tension without falling into the “dark and stormy night” cliché. Charles Dickens makes every word pull its weight. The violent and dreary weather provides an ominous background for Magwitch’s return and suggests Pip’s mood. When Pip recognizes Magwitch, he describes the intensity of the revelation. “If the wind and the rain had driven away the intervening years, had scattered all the intervening objects, had swept us… I knew him now” (ch. 38).
The usage of weather vocabulary in Pip’s narrative serves multiple purposes. Phrases such as “wind and rain had driven away” and “scattered all” remind the readers of the foul night, while also describing the Pip’s tumultuous emotions (ch. 38). Paragraph six of that same chapter contains the phrase “discharges of cannons”. Dickens could be hinting that Pip is remembering “the great guns” that sound when a convict escapes (ch. 2, 38). Additionally, the similarity in word choice could be there for the reader’s benefit, to get him thinking back to how it all begin, so he is ready for the big reveal.
Other students have analyzed the stormy imagery that begins the chapter in isolation – however Dickens’s artistic talent includes weaving that tone and vocabulary into the entire chapter. How those words extend to the reunion of Pip and Magwitch and refer to previous encounters heightens the dramatic affect. I wonder if that is what provides the novel an almost cinematic quality, because I am constantly aware of the background: the sounds, lighting, and focus.
P.S. Can we change the font size on the comments page? And allow indents? I just deleted my post, because it was illegible without a line break between paragraphs...
In the first few pages, Dicken's creates a powerfully dark setting. He builds this out of repetition and negatively connotated words. The sentence I noticed this the most in was "It was wretched weather; stormy and wet, stormy and wet; mud, mud, mud"(338). Once can almost feel themselves slugging through the mud, with the rain stinging their face. However, everyone else has already discussed setting, so I won't dwell on it too long. In short, In reading the opening of this chapter, Pip is isolated and in a dark, gloomy setting, which leaves the reader with the feeling that something unfortunate or bad is about to happen. What I found interesting while re-reading the opening of the chapter was the section in which Dickens (through Pip's narration)describes the damage created by the storm. "So furious had been the gusts that high buildings in town had had the lead stripped off thier roofs; and in the country, trees had been torn up, and sails of windmills carried away"(338). I personally found these descriptions to be foreshadowing Pip's later emotions. His ideas of who he was or who he was meant to be were "stripped" away from him when Magwitch reveals the truth. His expectations are torn and dashed, just as the country is during and after the storm. After Magwitch reveals the truth about Pip's expectations, for days afterwards,a dark cloud hangs over Pip as he tries to reconcile within himself the fact that everything he's thought about himself is not true. This is foreshadowed by the sentence "Day after day, a vast heavy veil had been driving over London from the east,and it drove still, as if in the east there were an eternity of cloud and wind."(338). Perhaps Dickens did not intend for his descriptions to be taken as such, but the similarities are interesting nevertheless.
The diction Dickens uses sets the tone within the chapter. He writes, "mud, mud, mud" (p. 333), which works the same way as "creep and creep" (p. 4) which we discussed in class. By repeating the word, the affect is made stronger. The tone in the beginning of the chapter seems eerie with diction such as heavy veil, eternity, could not bear, and out of the question. When the convict enters the chapter, there seems to be a comforting tone with diction such as air, touched, pleased, heartily, and softened. Then there is an anxious tone when Pip is coming to realization that the convict is his benefactor with diction such as faltered, disordered, wildly, rushed, and struggle.
I find it interesting when Pip tells the convict that "I am glad you have repented and recovered yourself...I am glad that, thinking I deserve to be thanked, you have come to thank me...I am glad to hear it" (p. 337-338). When Pip meets the convict the second time in the marshes to bring him food, he says "I am glad you enjoy it" (p. 18). This shows Pip's character. He is sincere and truly wishes "[the convict] well, and happy" (p. 338).
holy corndogs i cant find my book anywhere! D:
and i was actually gonna do this one.
The pacing to this point of the story has been quite slow, but continuously moving. Pip seems be doing the same things, going to see one person after another and learning more about them, but at this moment, when the weather is the worst, he finds out more about himself. This chapter forms a parallel to his past. The harsh weather descriptions, like “violent blasts of rain” and “rages of the wind” (313) are juxtaposed to the diction used when Magwitch appears (“bright” and “heartily”). Although when Pip first learns of his benefactor’s identity he regards the event as an atrocity and feels deprived of his worth, it “impelled me to take a candle (light metaphor again, seems to be a interwoven symbol in this chapter) and go in and look at my dreadful burden,”(323) but what I found interesting was the foreshadow of his care for Magwitch. “Remembering then, that the staircase lights were blown out, I took my reading lamp and went out,” (314) states Pip, which is interesting that he already is thinking about another’s (Magwitch’s) safety and expressing compassion for him. The lamp shed the light onto his situation, unveiling his benefactor who sat before fire, eerily like the young, innocent Pip. Dickson uses the lighting of the scene to contrast with the darkness that surrounds Pip, effectively demonstrating that the beginning spark of Pip’s great expectations really was derived that day in the gloomy marshes
The arrival of Magwitch seemed to be foreshadowed through the line “discharges of cannon,” which in the previous chapters demonstrated the escape of the convicts, and interesting enough Magwitch is on the run once again. But the climatic events seem to be delayed; creating a sort of suspense, as Dickson carefully chooses his words to extend time. “Clocks in the city…stuck the hour” (314) seems to help support the inevitability of the reunion of the convict and little boy, surrounded by a “stormy and wet, stormy and wet”(312) environment.
Everything about the beginning of chapter 39 is ominous. One way Dickens sets the scene is by making Pip all alone. Herbert is on a business trip, and Pip feels lonely all by himself. The storm reflects this feelings, isolating him from the rest of the world. As the lights of the lamps blow out one by one, Dickens seems to be singling out Pip for what's to come. Dickens likens the storm and Pip's isolation to someplace near the sea and "in a storm-beaten lighthouse" (277). These two places, lighthouses and the sea, are both loaded with connotations of being alone. There are many pictures and drawings of such portrayals, of single lighthouses in the midst of a foggy, cold day. Pip is alone, isolated. The setting is ominous and foreboding.
Words emphasizing the depressing ominous mood are "dispirited", "restless", "gloomy", and "breaking of a sea".
I should have posted sooner so that all my ideas wouldn't be taken.
And I agree with Lindsay. It would be wonderful if the font size was smaller.
Wow. I have never been more frustrated in my life. Last time my computer restarts on me. This time, I have a long post and just when I'm about through with it, my computer freezes on me. Whoopdedoo.
TRYING to recreate my comment, now.
Rene, if you still need it, the link to the book in its entirety can be found here:
http://www.online-literature.com/dickens/greatexpectations/
the specific chapter:
http://www.online-literature.com/dickens/greatexpectations/39/
Simply Google "Great Expectations Full Text"
Going back on topic - I, too, found that the diction in the chapter stood out to me the most, as it does throughout the whole book. I feel that it Dickens, without a doubt, put great thought and consideration into his word choice, as the reader cannot help but be drawn into the scene and emotions portrayed in the book.
From the very beginning, the reader gets a sense of how the narrator (Pip) feels. He was already "dispirited and anxious", and had a "dull sense of being alone" (303).
And the weather? Not much better. "Wretched", "stormy and wet, stormy and wet". Phrases such as "vast, heavy veil", "torn up", "violent blasts", and "red-hot splashes" (303-304) hints that this particular chapter will not be a bright one, and gave me personally a sense of weariness and despair.
Once the convict enters into the scene and begins to engage in a conversation with Pip, I found myself empathizing more with him rather than Pip, especially when the convict says, in "a coarse, broken voice", "'It's disappointing to a man arter having looked for'ard so distant'" (305), and then paired with Pip's obvious distasteful and lack of gratitude for the man, it made me, at that point, dislike Pip a bit more as a character, though I was able to pity him when I knew his thoughts and feelings. That may not be the intention of the author, but it's my personal account of the chapter.
Add: I really wish there were an "edit" option on here. Someone please tell me if there is!
Dicken's writing in Chapter 39 lends itself to suspense, and gives Dickens an outlet to reveal Magwitch as Pip's benefactor. I think that Dicken's diction and pacing help to make this chapter complete.
At the start of the chapter Dicken's spends many paragraphs describing the weather. "It was wretched weather; stormy and wet, stormy and wet; mud, mud, mud, deep in all the streets. Day after day, a vast heavy veil had been driving over London..." (Pg.303). The repetition Dickens uses as he continues to describe the weather shows the reader how important weather really is. As Kristen and many others put it, bad weather often fortells bad events. This is seen when Pip's life and expectations unravel completely. The words dickens decided to use emphasize the importance of this foretelling, and help set the scene for Magwitch's grand entrance.
I think this elaborate explanation also allows Dickens to pace himself. When I was reading this the first time I knew something was going to happen, but I didn't know what. As Dickens describes Pip hearing footsteps, getting the light, looking over the staircase and any other seemingly minuscule activity, my suspicion, wonder and want for information grow. Dicken's pacing leads me, the reader, to stay interested in the novel. I liked that Dickens did this. I felt like I was experiencing what was going on, instead of just watching it happen. I think this reader connection is enhanced through Dicken's diction and pacing.
Like Ariel I keyed in on the imagery used to describe the storm. Dickens repetitive diction, where he repeats himself and says what he has already said in a slightly different way however took me in an entirely different direction, a new course, a fresh cornicopia. For example, (brace yourself, I'm going to once again quote this phrase like the rest of womankind), "stormy and wet, stormy and wet, mud, mud, mud," did not paint fear but rather, I heard, "stormy and wet, stuck inside, boring, boring, boring." Dickens easily passes the frustration and inescapability of being stuck during a storm. Accented by Pip's fancy about being in a lighteous, this helps build a feeling of isolation. Isolation propogates both a feeling of vulnerability but also excitement for some kind of action, even if it will bring disaster. This feeling provides a setting for the appearance of a stranger shrouded in shadow that makes the reader embrace the situation and read on like a drowning man chugging a glass of "Pumpkin juice."(Refence credit to one of the greatest literary works of all time, ahem.)
Dickens set up the arrival of Magwitch specifically by framing the setting. The atmosphere is practically electric, as he states, "the wind rushing up the river shook the house that night, like discharges of cannon, or breakings of sea", as "violent blasts of wind had accompanied these rages of wind". Also, in typical Dickens fashion, he gives the voiceless a voice, much as he had done earlier with the cows. Dickens must have heard a voice from everything around him, for in the contrived world of great expectations his descriptions often contain personifications. Specifically in Chapter 38 he gives feeling to the smoke saying, "the smoke came rolling down in the chimney as though it could not bear to go out into such a night", and then again with, "the lamps on the bridges and the shore were shuddering".
Along with Austin and Kelly I noticed the juxtaposition between light and darkness. Specifically the repetition of the image of lamps being blown out with the storm, and then reversely shining in order for Pip to see. I could see these images representative of the revealing of Magwitch (light), but then the apparent blindness of Pip in regards to Ms. Havisham, and his supposed expectations (darkness).
In the style of the serial, Dickens uses all he can muster to heighten the intensity and apparent sense of foreboding which this scene holds. Surely, the revelation of Magwitch took hold of readers attention, as all Pip thinks he knows comes crumbling down.
The first thing that stood out to me in chapter 39 was the repetitive nature of Dicken's fourth paragraph. The scene felt important some how, like the weather was foreboding as to what was to come. "It was wretched weather; stormy and wet, stormy and wet; mud, mud, mud, deep in all the streets." His vivid descriptions of the electricity and power of the setting reminded me of my most easily recalled memories. They stand out so much in your mind you can remember almost everything as it was at that given moment. The importance of his descriptions of the scene are because they encapsulate the importance of that moment. Further, the "wretched weather," parallels the paragraph that Pip originally met the convict.
The “wretched weather” meets Pip on the night of his confrontation with the convict. Dickens uses effective repetition in describing this terrible storm: “stormy and wet, stormy and wet; and mud, mud, mud, deep in all the streets” (331). Readers can feel the intensity of this particular night, and assume that it’s bad omen. Whenever Magwitch appears in the scene, the weather seems to be full of mystery and dread. The atmosphere becomes serious and sudden, almost uncomfortable for the protagonist and readers. Similar to chapter one, Pip is alone and lost. Pip feels confusion and disappointment from seeing his expectations being let down. The storm reflects how Pip feels and brings upon the critical moment of discovery in the novel.
Diction choice, such as “furious,” “stripped off their roofs,” “death,” and other words strengthen the suspense of the event. Dickens also uses similes to describe the intense weather and the important discoveries that will follow. For example, “the coal fires in barges on the river were being carried away before the wind like red-hot splashes in the rain” (331). Also, on the same page, “We lived at the top of the last house, and the wind rushing up the river shook the house that night, like discharges of cannon, or breakings of sea.” The imagery gives a vivid description of the harsh storm, and helps readers to get sucked into the restless night. Most of the times, a criminal appears on a very wet night, with all trees, windmills, and houses displaced and disordered, because it creates more tension and adds a mysterious mood to the scene.
The chapter starts out with a dull, dreary tone, describing the setting and weather as “wretched weather…mud, mud…violent blasts or rain”(303). The weather portrays stormy events that are about to take place, casting a dark and ominous atmosphere. Dickens also puts in “vast heavy veil” to symbolize the state of uncertainty and dissatisfaction that Pip is in, as well as a possible foreshadow to his later thoughts when he realizes Magwitch, not Miss Havisham, is his benefactor.
The description of Pip’s house during the storm also foreshadows his later tumultuous thoughts. During the storm, Dickens repeatedly describes light being diminished by the darkness, a possible implication of how Pip may have everything he believes in “blown out”.
When the “voice from the darkness beneath”(304) speaks, the tone is mysterious and dark and the tension builds as Dickens raises readers’ curiosity with the descriptions of the stranger. When the stranger is revealed to be Pip’s convict, the events rapidly build to the climax of the chapter.
Dickens sets the stage for the convict’s reappearance by first showing Pip’s current lifestyle. Years had passed between this and the last chapter, and Pip has settled down. The events to conspire are foreshadowed in the second sentence: “Not another word had I heard to enlighten me on the subject of my expectations.” There is a routine to Pip’s life. He reads regularly, implying he has much time on his hands and “had a dull sense of being alone.” This tranquility is subsequently shattered by Magwitch’s appearance, moving the action forward.
The tone is foreboding at parts. Dickens uses the damp, “stormy and wet” weather to allude to the marshes where Pip first meets the convict, and the marshes themselves symbolize Pip’s past throughout the novel. The tension the storm produces is further stretched by the appearance of a mysterious man. The fact that Pip uses a lamp in the darkness creates dazzling imagery. The fact that the convicts face remains unrecognized and that Pip constantly fails to recognize him makes the reader wonder who this character is. I picture this scene as I would a suspenseful film: the camera shies away from the man’s face, viewing only his soaked figure. Shadows hide him as he sits down, and his appearance is not revealed until he confesses that he is Pip’s benefactor. Dickens creates tension through his foreboding mood and stretches it to keep the reader on edge until the truth comes free.
Dickens builds up suspense in this chapter by choosing to disclose the implications of Magwitch’s arrival in several stages. Pip receives his first shock when he recognizes the stranger as Magwitch, and then, just as his initial astonishment begins to ease away, he becomes aware of Magwitch’s role in his present fortune, and grows ever more apprehensive of his situation. But Pip is in for still another shock: that Magwitch faces the danger of death by coming to London and that he must protect this Convict he so abhors. Finally, at the end of the chapter, Pip reveals to the reader that “sharpest and deepest pain of all—it was for the convict, guilty of I knew not what crimes, and liable to be taken out of those rooms where I sat thinking, and hanged at the Old Bailey door, that I had deserted Joe.” By revealing the aspects of Pip’s burden in succession, Dickens creates a series of emotional climaxes within one scene, keeping up the momentum through to the end of the chapter.
The atmosphere created at the beginning and at the end of this chapter is strikingly similar to that at the beginning and end of chapter 3. I agree with Austin that both chapters begin with a dark and ominous depiction of the setting, and would choose the same quotes to show the similarity. But besides the general atmosphere, I also noticed some interesting details in the first few paragraphs of chapter 39: the wind that sounds like “discharges of cannon” seems to be an allusion to the cannons of the Hulk, and the chimes of the church clocks in London reminds me of the clerical ox that seems to be preaching to Pip as he ran to Magwitch with the stolen food. At the end of chapter 39, Pip hallucinates about pursuers and worries about Magwitch’s approach, showing an intense apprehension akin to that of his childhood, when he is overcome with terror of the young man that he thinks is going to eat his heart and liver. Chapter 39 concludes with a sense of uncertainty reflected by the Pip’s surroundings: “When I awoke without having parted in my sleep with the perception of my wretchedness, the clocks of the Eastward churches were striking five, the candles were wasted out, the fire was dead, and the wind and rain intensified the think black darkness”, similar to the sense of uncertainty and felt at the end of chapter 3, when Pip takes leave of the convict: “The last I saw of him, his head was bend over his knee and he was working hard at his fetter, muttering impatient imprecations at it and his leg. The last I heard of him, I stopped in the mist to listen, and the file was still going.”
The opening paragraph begins by illustrating the mystery behind the source of Pip’s fortunes by stating, “Not another word had I heard to enlighten me on the subject of my expectations.” This foreshadows the possible revealing of Pip’s benefactor. Dickens uses the next few paragraphs to create the setting for the “stage”. Here, he emphasizes two crucial things: firstly that Pip is alone (Herbert is gone on travel) and secondly, no one is likely to visit Pip. The second point of focus comes from the fact that the weather is terrible to an extent that anyone traveling or simply being outside seems unreasonable. This set up is very similar to many horror films; the main character is made conspicuously alone, the weather is usually terrible, and then unexpected footsteps are heard. Then painfully slowly, Pip becomes aware of who the man outside is. At first, Pip does not recognize the man, but he is attentive enough to figure out that the man knows him. Dickens creates this fine line through unexpected responses. For example, Pip “asked him inhospitably…for [he] resented the sort of bright and gratified recognition that still shone in his face.” Pip explains that he resented it, “because it seemed to imply that he expected [Pip] to respond to it.” Using subtle clues and sometimes pointing out subtle clues that he observes, Dickens makes the reader aware of the fact that this man is not a stranger. Then Pip takes us through his thought process where he goes from knowing that he has met the man before to full identification. He at first resists the convict and then feels guilty about his harsh treatment and lets him closer. His treatment of Magwitch here foreshadows the progression of their relationship later to come. After Magwitch tells Pip about how he became successful, Pip explains that he too has fallen into money. Magwitch then uncharacteristically toys with Pip, putting himself in the general third person by referring to himself as “a mere warmint (varmint).” Dickens uses this dialogue to accentuate the irony of the situation. When Pip finally realizes that the “warmint” is the convict, he describes his emotion without conjunctions in the sentence, “The abhorrence in which I held the man, the dread I had of him, the repugnance with which I shrank from him, could not have been exceeded if he had been some terrible beast.” The narrative is continued with belief and fast paced interruptions coming from Pip’s thoughts. Pip misses most of Magwitch’s explanation as his internalized emotional outburst prevents him from listening. At this point, the anticipation for the third part is fully realized.
Chapter 39 started out kinda slow and dreary. The tone of this section is set up by Pip's loneliness and dreariness but Dickens diction makes everything so vivid. "Violent blasts of rain..." For instance when the convict is introduced again we can sense pip's dreariness and the dreariness of the atmosphere and you can sense the convicts dreariness but also his liveliness. "I'm glad you've grow'd up..."(304) Its whenever the convict talks that you get a good break from all the gloom and doom to something more exciting. It adds intrigue that we dont know who the mystery man at Pip's door is and its exciting when we figure it out. This made the chapter much more exciting for me when at first I was rather bored.
I'm sorry it's so late! I'll bring tissues.
In chapter 39, Dickens takes a different approach to imagery than in previous chapters. Earlier on, the pace of his writing was much slower and more somber when he describes key location. In the fourth paragraph of chapter 39, the imagery is stronger, not in terms of portraying the setting in a clearer way, but in terms of diction and pace. Repition of key words such as stormy, wet, and mud really leaves a precise impression without going in depth.
Dickens also creates suspense when he introduces the older gentlemen (Magwitch) into the picture with the vague diction and description of the old, greying man. When I first read this chapter, I was a bit surprised at Magwitch's return because Pip by this point had been through so much and Magwitch had faded into the background but I think this element of surprise added to the grandeur and mystery of his re-entrance. After reading the chapter a second time, I also noticed how Dickens foreshadowed Magwitch's return with the second sentence of the chapter, "Not another word had I heard to enlighten me on the subject of my expectations..." referring to Pip's great expectations and how Magwitch provided a means of achieving them.
A lot of key information comes out during the intense and intimate talk between Pip and Magwitch as well. Dickens structured the chapter as the summarizing finale to this second part of Pip's great expectations, even stating so at the end. Though the chapter is very short, the structure takes after the beginning imagery as being fast-paced and hard-hitting. Towards the end, the chapter concludes with three paragraphs in which Pip drifts back into contemplative thought, best portrayed by the slowing of pace and peaceful diction.
Dickens sustains the chapter with the suspense that he builds up to the end of the chapter when Magwitch's identity as Pip's benefactor is revealed. The setting of the beginning of the chapter provides an ominous atmosphere as "it was wretched weather; stormy and west, stormy and wet, stormy and wet; mud, mud, mud deep in all the streets" and "the lamps in the court were blown out, and that the lamps on the bridges and the shore were shudder- ing, and that the coal fires in barges on the river were being carried away before the wind like red-hot splashes in the rain" (348-349). I liked the repetition used to create the weather because it creates a redundancy that it is STORMY and WET and MUD, MUD, MUD rather than a simple stormy and wet and muddy. Really, Dickens sets it as though it is a horror story. Then suddenly, there is a footstep on the stairs (Magwitch). The combination of the ominous setting and the footstep creates a momentum for the novel until it is revealed that Magwitch is the benefactor - the pivotal point of the novel. All of this gives the chapter the momentum that it has.
I also noticed that chapter 39 (when Magwitch reappears in Pip's life) is similar to chapter 1 & 3 (when Magwitch threatens Pip and Pip complies). For example, the atmosphere in chapter 3 (of the weather and the loneliness of Pip) reappears in chapter 39 (particularly, the "stormy and wet, stormy and wet, stormy and wet" (348). I also noticed that the setting of chapter 3 sort of repeats in chapter 39 -- "the discharges of cannons" in chapter 39 and the cannons in the marshes in chapter 3.
Okay, I had no idea this blog even existed on Thursday. My bad. Tissues are forthcoming.
In the beginning of the chapter, I thought that the description of the weather read somewhat like actual thoughts, or a stream of consciousness--I can totally imagine somebody thinking "It's stormy and wet and ugh, mud, mud, mud!" This syntax is very clever, and lends a sense of realism to the chapter. This instance of realism occurs again, when Pip hears a footstep on the stairs and is inexplicably reminded of his sister. In real life, this happens all the time; something happens and our brains instantly connect to something completely random.
When Pip meets Magwitch again, I felt extremely frustrated with him. Magwitch had nearly worked himself to death for Pip to succeed, but Pip was utterly repulsed by him. It's ironic to me that the reason that Pip felt contempt for Magwitch was that he'd come into good fortunes, which was all because of Magwitch. Even though this is a frustrating thing to see in Pip, it is also realistic because Pip is not perfect, and it's natural for him to want to have a respectable patron, even if that patron has completely lost her mind.
I find that the mood of the story always drastically changes when Magwitch enters. The descriptions of setting are eerily similar when Magwitch enters in chapter 3, and when he enters in chapter 39. Both sections describe the weather as wet, gray, muddy, and bleak. Both sections set up the perfect dismal entrance for Magwitch, letting the reader know that there is about to be a drastic change in the plot. Dickens constantly uses dreary weather to wither signal and entrance by Magwitch, or another equally drastic plot-twist and once you realize that, anytime Dickens writes about a raincloud in the sky, your stomach drops in anticipation of the shock that's about to take place.
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