Crime In Charles Dickens Great Expectations

The crime rate in the world has increased exponentially over the years. As people know the victims are always sympathized, but it is truly the criminals who get the short end of the stick. In the novel, Great Expectations has many criminals. The criminals in the novel are very similar to the criminals in our everyday lives. Criminality can destroy our lives which are shown by Magwitch, Orlick, and Compeyson.

Accordingly, criminality caused much strife in Magwitch’s life due to false accusations and horrible actions. For example, Dicken’s novel, Great Expectations, shows Magwitch as a criminal when he demands Pip get him “a file [...] and wittles” and if Pip refuses to get the items Magwitch threatened to tear out his heart and he would have it ‘ roasted, and ate” (Dickens 3). At this point, Magwitch had just escaped prison, and he is threatening to eat Pip because he is starving. Now, when Magwitch returns when Pip is older, he realizes that Magwitch “was sent for life. It’s death to

come back” and Magwitch had made Pip a gentleman, so Pip protects Magwitch (Dickens 323). Since Magwitch was sentenced for life and has now returned, Pip feels he must protect the criminal since he was Pip’s benefactor. In the end, Magwitch was sentenced to death when he was caught by the police, and the police believed he had killed Compeyson when both were underwater and only Magwitch returned, but Magwitch claimed to have “disengaged himself, struck out, and swam away” but he never killed Compeyson. Soon after, Magwitch died due to his return and his “murder” of Compeyson. Sadly, the life of a criminal soon caught up to Magwitch and he paid a steep price for it.
In spite of everything, criminality eventually drove Orlick’s life into a mess because of his temper.

In the beginning, Orlick was believed to be a criminal at the start and was thought to have harmed Mrs. Joe, but with no proof, Pip hoped “to see [his] sister denounce him” (Dickens 96). Truthfully, Orlick admitted he had attacked Mrs. Joe later on and this was a start of his criminal career. Later on, the act of Pip stopping Orlick from being with a woman will anger him, but when Biddy tells Pip “Don’t let him come, I don’t like him” Pip quickly gets in the way (Dickens 102). Therefore, this act spikes Orlick’s temper and will eventually make him a “known” criminal. As time passed, Orlick continued his crime spree when he kidnapped Pip in anger and he plans “to have [Pip’s] life” because he believes Pip ruined his life (Dickens 333). Obviously, Pip was rescued and Orlick was arrested for his crimes. Finally, the life of crime Orlick committed himself to really messed up his

life.
Undoubtedly, criminality ended Compeyson’s life through anger. Incidentally, Compeyson has lived a life of crime for a while and got away with it when he lied “[Magwitch] tried to murder me. I should have been a dead man if [police] had not come up” (Dickens 28). Early in Pip’s life, the two men [Magwitch and Compeyson] had been fighting and when the police showed up Compeyson lied and got away with it. Earlier, when the two convicts first met, Compeyson framed Magwitch to get the stronger punishment while Compeyson got the lighter punishment and the judge proclaimed that Compeyson “was recommended to mercy on account for good character and bad company” (Dickens 274). Indeed, Compeyson made everything in Magwitch’s name when Compeyson did all the work, and since Compeyson was a “gentleman” he barely got a punishment. Lastly for Compeyson, he tried to fight Magwitch underwater “Fiercely locked in each other’s arms” but he did resurface (Dickens 349). Consequently, Magwitch survived the fight against Compeyson and Compeyson did not resurface and drowned. Therefore, criminality stole Compeyson’s life from him.
Furthermore, these criminals could never return to a normal life, for two died while the other was arrested, and there was nothing they could do to fix the problem once the mistake was made. Truly, criminality can and will ruin everyone’s lives. As the crime rate increases in our world, all the criminals’ lives will be devastating for them, just like in Great Expectations. The time periods may be different, but Charles Dickens’ book was an insight of what crime was like so many decades before. As people grow older and make choices in their lives, they must look at the impacts that criminality has on their lives.