Charles Dickens create his characters Essay

Charles Dickens is a great writer who has been successful throughout his life. He has written many novels for all age groups which consist of ‘Great Expectations’ (1860-61) and ‘Hard Times’. Dickens techniques of writing were much noticed by readers, especially his ways of creating characters. There are a number of ways to how dickens would create his characters, he places them in revealing or appropriate settings and describes their physical appearance. He also, allows them to speak so that we hear their vocabulary and tone of voice. His characters actions and movements are well described because he shows how other characters react to them. To understand dickens techniques more clearly, I will be investigating two characters, Abel Magwitch of ‘Great Expectations’ and Thomas Gradgrind of ‘Hard Times’. ‘Great Expectations’ is about a young orphan named Philip Pirrip, known as Pip. The novel has been set in the Kent Marshes. Pip lives with his shrewish sister and her husband, the simply, kindly, blacksmith Joe Gargery. Chapter one of this novel opens in the country churchyard where Pip is terrified by the appearance of Magwitch, an escaped prison convict who threatens him with awful vengeance unless some food and file for his fetters are obtained smartly. Pip manages to hide some of his own supper, steals more food from the pantry, and after an encounter with a different younger convict, he finds the original one and leaves him filing off his irons. The setting of ‘Great Expectations’ is in the Kent Marshes. Pips first meeting with Magwitch was in the nearby churchyard. â€Å"At such a time I found out for certain, that this bleak place overgrown with nettles was the churchyard†. Dickens uses the adjective ‘bleak’ which also means ‘bare’ and ‘dreary’ this suggests that the churchyard is a place that doesn’t get many visitors. Also ‘overgrown with nettles’ implies to us that the churchyard isn’t cared for, it contains sharp and unpleasant plants which doesn’t attract visitors. Therefore, we can understand why Magwitch chose to hideout at the churchyard, it is a good place for a convict to hide. Dickens also uses the adjective ‘raw’ which also supports the idea of an unattractive churchyard. The synonyms for the word raw are chilly and damp; these two words strongly describe the churchyard as an isolated area. ‘Raw’ is a harsh and cold word. The reader may also consider the churchyard as a boring and timid place because dickens has used ‘low leaden line of river’. This describes the river as a heavy, dark and foreboding line cutting across the churchyard. Dickens has deliberately described the churchyard as a boring place with these negative adjectives in order to make the reader believe that it has no visitors. Once again this implies that the churchyard is a good hideout for Magwitch. By now, it is noticeable that the setting in ‘Great Expectations’ reflects Magwitch’s character because Dickens also describes the churchyard ‘with scattered cattle’ which suggests an unpleasant place that is not taken care of very much. The term ‘savage lair from which the wind was rushing’ is a metaphor which is an implicit comparison. It is the application of a word or phrase to somebody or something that is not meant literally, but to make a comparison. The same way, this metaphor brings the wind out to life and impersonates it as a wild animal by using the noun ‘lair’. A ‘lair’ is a den or hiding place where predators would hide from preys, this relates back to Magwitch whom is hiding just like a predator and preys out to poor little orphan Pip. Dickens creates a negative impression of Magwitch by the way he describes him because he uses terms such as ‘A man’. Straight away this puts a mysterious thought to the readers mind. At this point the reader is busy building up an image of Magwitch in their minds. Dickens also describes Magwitch in ‘coarse grey’ uniform, this gives the reader a full image in their minds of Magwitch as a prison convict, which builds up the negative impression. The adjective ‘coarse’ is a synonym for ‘rough’ and ‘harsh’ which allows the reader to consider Magwitch as an untidy and messy person. In order to make it sound more obvious that Magwitch is an escaped convict Dickens uses terms such as ‘iron on legs’. This suggests to us that Magwitch has shackles on his legs which bring the reader to certainty that Magwitch is an escaped convict. He is a bad man; Dickens has also mentioned that Magwitch is not wearing a hat. This implies that Magwitch is no gentleman, he is not well bred and he doesn’t have a decent background. Dickens describes Magwitch through a list of injuries he faces. ‘soaked in water’, ‘smothered in mud’, ‘lamed by stones’, ‘cut by flints’, ‘stung by nettles’ and ‘torn by briars’. Dickens has listed all these injuries to show how Magwitch has been through a lot. He has travelled tough which suggests that he was very determined to get out of prison. It also suggests that Magwitch is a strong and fearful man who is able to resist a lot, he is a frightening man. â€Å"Old rag tied around his head†. From this we can understand that Magwitch is trying to hide his injury or as a disguise. We can understand that Dickens has done a clever job with creating a negative impression of Magwitch. Dickens has deliberately used the name Magwitch which also creates a negative impression because it contains the word ‘witch’. This symbolises ‘evil’ and ‘fear’. Dickens has used exclamation marks to illustrate shouting. â€Å"Tell us your name! Said the man†. From this technique we can understand that Magwitch was a very temperamental and violent man. â€Å"Pint out the place†, this suggests that his accent is also different. Dialect has been used which is when a characters speech is often grammatically incorrect. In Magwitch’s case, his use of dialect suggests to us that he has lack of education. We can understand that he may have been on the prison ship for a long time. Magwitch is also very violent as he speaks. He threatens Pip in a way to show readers that he is the villain of this novel. Also, we can realise that Dickens has made Magwitch’s speech short with shuddering sentences. This implies that Magwitch is afraid of being caught; he is shortening his sentence to hurry up the conversation and get back into hiding. Dickens has also used imperatives, â€Å"You get me a file†. Imperatives are performed by a character to give orders; they are used to express a command or request. Magwitch has used his power advantage. Dickens has also used strong language which reflects Magwitch’s character once again, ‘uncouth and coarse’. Magwitch’s actions are very violent and threatening. While threatening little Pip he tends to keep looking over his shoulder. This implies that he is nervous and afraid of getting caught. The violence side of Magwitch is exposed when he turns Pip upside down and shakes him. By now, the reader is afraid of Magwitch, and he is definitely the villain of this novel. However, the reader may also feel pity for Magwitch from the way he limps and shivers. This explains how Dickens was able to create two sides of the character Magwitch, this way the reader is able to feel some sympathy but, they are also afraid of him because he is a criminal and he is relying on the help of a child. Magwitch tries to be evil, but between that he shows his vulnerable side. Dickens uses adjectives such as ‘ravenously’. The purpose of this is to give the reader an image of a wild animal in their minds. Dickens is comparing Magwitch with a wild animal to once again remind the reader that Magwitch is uneducated and deprived. Magwitch used his gaze to overpower Pip. This suggests that Dickens was able to write in a way to show who’s in power. Also, Magwitch tilts Pip over a grave to frighten him and show power. However, we can understand from the novel that Magwitch is also afraid of the graves as he creeps over them.