Charles Dickens engender sympathy Essay

How does Charles Dickens engender sympathy for his protagonist Pip in this extract from ‘Great Expectations’? In this essay on ‘Great Expectations’, I am going to explore how the experiences of the main character Pip, create sympathy from the reader for him and how Dickens has put this across. Charles Dickens has written a gripping novel, set in his time and he has created sympathy for Pip in many different ways throughout the text. A first example of this is when Pip visits Miss Havisham’s house and meets Estella. ‘She called me â€Å"boy† so often and with a carelessness that was far from complimentary7, this shows that the way Estella spoke to Pip and that, instead of addressing him by his name, she just called him boy as if he was not worthy of his name, and he could sense that she did not really like him because of the way she said this, as indicated in the quote. This makes the reader feel sorry for Pip as Estella was very rude to him and unwelcoming, and nobody would really like to be in his position. So as well as being uncomfortable at the way Estella treats him, Pip also feels uncomfortable with his new surroundings as he has grown up with Joe and his Sister in poor, working class conditions at a Blacksmith’s forge, whereas Satis House is very different. It is rich and grand but also scary for Pip. ‘The first thing I noticed was that the passages were all dark’, this shows that Pip must have been quite frightened because of the darkness, and he was in a strange place but it is even worse that it is the first thing he noticed about the house. Pip was frightened of his surroundings as they were gothic and dark and very different, but the fact that he did know anyone at all must have also been a challenging experience. ‘At last we came to the door of a room and she said, â€Å"Go in/’ I answered more in shyness than politeness, â€Å"After you miss. † To this she returned: â€Å"Don’t be ridiculous boy; I am not going in. † And scornfully walked away, and what was worse took the candle with her. ‘ This was very uncomfortable and I was half afraid/ This long quote, from the extract shows a lot, first of all that he was very shy and uncomfortable in everyway at where he was and that he didn’t know anyone and he was also afraid. When he entered Miss Havisham’s room he was afraid again because of the very strange surroundings he entered into. ‘No glimpse of daylight was to be seen in it! ‘ this shows that it was very unusual and he was quite frightened and also when he saw Miss Havisham, ‘the strangest lady I have ever seen or shall ever see/ As well as being very strange, Pip also noticed that she was extremely rich, ‘some bright jewels sparkled on her neck and her hands, and some other jewels lay sparkling on the table/ Pip was not used to seeing such finery or such unusual surroundings so all of this makes the reader feel very sympathetic towards him. Miss Havisham’s mental state could also be a coarse for concern as, since her fianci left her on their wedding day and broke her heart she went a bit mad and stopped all of the clocks in the house and, by never touching anything in her room she tried literally to stop time at the prosiest second her heart was broken. ‘Her watch had stopped at twenty minutes to nine’ and she says to Pip ‘†What do I touch? † â€Å"Your heart. † â€Å"Broken! â€Å"‘ This experience must have been very frightening and unsettling for a young naive boy who was not used to being in the presence of such an eccentric and slightly mad old lady. Not just the fact that Miss Havisham was strange and so were her surroundings she also spoke to Pip and ordered him in a very strange and suspicious/manner. ‘†I sometimes have sick fancies† â€Å"and I have a sick fancy that I want to see some play. There, there! † â€Å"Play, play, play! â€Å"‘ This order seems rather strange for an old woman to have a fancy to see a young boy play but also the repetitive way in which she commands him to ‘†Play, play, play! â€Å"‘ She says this three times and Pip does not really know what to do so he therefore feels very awkward. After the harsh words from Estella and meeting Miss Havisham, Pip starts to feel the realisation of his low social status. ‘ This boy, why he is a common labouring boy, these words from Estella hurt Pip deeply but he did not show his true emotions until he was alone. ‘As I cried, I kicked the wall and took a hard twist at my hair; so bitter where my feelings! ‘ Dickens has displayed this very well as you can also feel a connection with him, because it is written in first person narration I, so you feel like Pip is actually talking to you, and you could imagine if you were in Pip’s position you, yourself would feel very frightened and uncomfortable so you end up feeling sorry and sympathetic for him.