an open book
...he convict may have been out of fear, but his compassion is unmistakable, whereas society’s rejection is evident. Hiding in the marshes of Kent, Magwitch terrorizes Pip into helping him escape. Dickens description of the convict, a man dressed in rags, with chains around his legs, petrifying a young boy leaves the reader with a distinct impression of revulsion. It is the image that the reader is left with that makes the story of Magwitch similar to that of the Monster, an escaped convict startling a child as a means to escape. The rejection of prisoners within society has always been apparent. They are the social outcasts, the trouble makers that should pay for their actions, yet Magwitch has escaped. The reader is still oblivious as to why Magwitch was imprisoned, but the hatred for him is intense. Shelley’s dehumanization of the Monster becomes clearer as the novel progresses. Shelley brings the Monster to life, making him verbal and sensitive, yet he is still the same monstrous being. The most apparent action of this is seen when the Monster reaches out to a family of meager peasants, his exclusion from society is what initiates this desire to be acquainted with Felix and his family. The Monster’s absorption of the villagers lies in his anxious yearning for his creator to accept him. He too wants to feel and communicate just as Felix and his family do. Victor’s creation reveals himself to the old man living amongst the peasants, but the rejection of the Monster’s introduction, by Felix, causes him to swear retribution against everyone unlike himself, mainly Victor for creating him this way. The rejection that the Monster experiences is important in understanding the dehumanization that Shelley incorporates in her writings. The reader begins to feel sympathy for the Monster after he helps the villagers without any recognition. But the Monster is yet again cast off because of his exterior. Countless years pass without Victor coming into with his creation, until at the most unexpected time Shelley reunites the two at the summit of Montanvert. Victor is approached by the Monster and the aforementioned story is related to him. The Monster, although upset, speaks to a disgusted Victor about the events of his life. He explains to Victor the exclusion and rejection he felt everywhere he went. The Monster spent his entire life alone, longing for companionship. He refers to Victor as an “unfeeling, heartless creator” (Shelley 155) asking him where he came up with such a creation as he becomes ensued with rage. The Monster was at one point “good” and not wanting to cause anyone harm, but it was the rejection of society and of his creator that caused him to do so. The Monster was completely dehumanized throughout the entire novel. Even when he reaches out and vows to leave Victor alone with the creation of a companion he is neglected. The Monster was forced to live an entire lifetime without any type of human contact, without any affection. Shelley concentrates on alienating the Monster the entire novel in order to show the reader how much he suffered because of the unjust preconceptions of society. Dickens uses a more subtle way of continuing the hatred of the convict throughout the novel. After several chapters without any mention of Magwitch and as Pip’s guilt begins to ease, the convict is brought back to life. Mrs. Joe, Pip’s mother-like-sister, is nearly murdered and left brain damaged. It is revealed that Police believe that convicts were the source of the attack. A file that Pip provided the convict with many years ago is traced back to Joe. The reader becomes stunned that after the help Pip provided, such an action would take place. Magwitch’s dehumanization becomes highly evident because the reader is made to hate him. He begins to depict the archetypal prisoner, a man looking to cause trouble. Pip’s guilt takes a hold of him, believing that he provided the device with which a murder almost took place. The reader is lead to believe that it was Magwitch who committed the crime, and everything seems to make sense. Who else would murder Mrs. Joe? It is typical to point fingers at a man who has already committed a crime. As the story continues to unfold is becomes evident that is was not in fact Magwitch who carried out the heinous crime, but another man. It is Dickens’s cleverness that urges him to make the reader believe that it was not Magwitch in order to create the shock that it would be this same man that has shaped...