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Pip is the novel's narrator, but Magwitch is the narrator of his own story. Is Magwitch a reliable narrator? If so, what evidence can you give to support that? If not, why not?
Magwitch is Compeyson's lackey, and Compeyson is a dirty backstabber. Why is it significant that the Arthur mentioned is Miss Havisham's brother, and Compeyson is the man who left her at the altar?
7 comments:
What a small world to find out how Magwitch's situation connects with Miss Havisham and Estella. Magwitch's story of the well-educated Compeyson's betrayal was the cause of Pip's rise in society. In a way Pip and Magwitch's desires are connected for they were caused by some conflict. Estella's cruelty stirred Pip's longing for social status while Compeyson's betrayal caused Magwitch to raise his own gentlemen, which we find out is Pip. At this point I'm unsure whether to trust Magwitch or not. His past makes me want to believe he's untrustworthy, and the only reason he's making Pip wealthy is because he wants to show up Compeyson. Then again his story explains all the connections made in the beginning of the book.
I for one am inclined to trust Abel’s story. While we have no proof that Abel is a reliable narrator what does he gain from lying to Pip. After all Abel has been the one funding Pip’s extravagant spending and I believe that this generosity lends some credibility to his story. It is significant that the Arthur is Miss Havisham's brother, and Compeyson is the man who left her at the altar because their betrayal is the reason for Miss Havisham raising Estella the way she did. It is also significant because as a result of Abel’s connection to Compeyson that he meet Jaggers. It also explains why earlier in the story Abel was so intent on bringing Compeyson back to jail.( Or killing him depending on whose story you believe is true.)
Everything seems to fall into place as Magwitch tells his story. However, I don’t know for sure if I would say that he is a reliable narrator. Although we don’t know exactly what has happened in his past, there seems to be something missing from the story he tells Pip and Herbert. It would make sense that part of the reason he has been in and out of jail is because he had to steal in order to survive. However, I feel that there could be a deeper and more serious reason as to why he has been sent to jail. For example, I believe that Magwitch has had something worse than simply stealing some food on his criminal record. The main reason I believe this is because he has had Mr. Jaggers, one of the best lawyers in London, assist him in court. I believe that the ties between Miss Havisham, Arthur, and Compeyson are going to prove to be very significant throughout the novel. The fact that Magwitch mentions these characters seems to tie up the loose ends to Miss Havisham’s mystery that Dickens has created throughout the plot.
Magwitch is definitely not a pretty narrator, but I think that what he says is truthful. Criminals like Magwitch do lie that much; you lie when you are ashamed so you hide it, Magwitch is not proud of what he did, but he isn’t ashamed either; he had to eat something. In addition, Magwitch does not sugar coat things; his story is not a storybook, Magwitch just tells it how it is. As said above, Arthur is significant because now with Magwitch’s information, many question marks are answered, and it ties two stories together; Pip’s old life, and his new one. You also get a sense of why Miss. Havisham brought up Estella the way she did, if you cannot trust family, then no boy can be trusted. It is ironic that Pip, who had always thought Miss. Havisham was his benefactor, now learns that his benefactor is basically the man who forever changed Miss. Havisham.
I also feel that Magwitch is a reliable narrator. It seemed as if the story is very important to him and he felt it important that he do it justice and be a good narrator. He puts so much stress on not being "low". I find this to be one of the factors that makes me trust him. When he does this, it is as if he wants the story to be told honestly, without any bad feelings of his warping it to favor him. I can completely see why Miss Havisham has heavy trust issues with men now. Having a man so close to her, her own brother, participate in the breaking of her heart was obviously scarring, and would be for anyone else. With all of these issues, though, I still dont think she is dealing with them properly.
I find it interesting that most of the well spoken people we have met so far in the novel tend to have more serious flaws in their personality than the less educated. For this reason, I am inclined to believe that Magwitch is in fact telling the truth. It sticks with the previous trend the novel has set, and to make it even more perfect, he claims to have been betrayed by a well spoken man. It's not so much that I believe Magwitch's character, I just feel as though he has to be honest to continue that theme in the novel, and possibly help Pip realize exactly how wrong neglecting Joe was.
People who live lives that are less than wholesome often do not own up to parts of their history that are distasteful to others, and especially themselves. I believe Magwitch fits this category to a tee. Denial is often times these types of individuals friend, it works well for them to maintain sanity in a world that doesn't build it. He is not a reliable narrator, because as self preserving mechanism, he mostly likely doesn't even know how he is altering how life's events really unfolded. The irony of of this is I think that Magwitch is named Abel to refer to Cain and Abel. Abel being the good brother in the Bible, yet he is not good in the book. Yet there was "great expectations" for him before he was killed by Cain. Is there relevance to Magwitch being named Abel? I
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