Great Expectations & the Catcher in the Rye: Iron-Willed Outsiders
Comparing & contrasting Magwitch from Great Expectations and Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye
Title: Great Expectations
Author: Charles Dickens
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Pages: 512
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐(and a half)
Who will like it? This is a book with ordinary characters and lots of themes — wealth and poverty, life in the city and the countryside, love or the lack of it, social issues, compassion, and fantasy and reality. It is a dense one, but read it slowly and you’ll realize… it’s pretty great. (No expectations though 😂 because no expectation no disappointment.)
Title: The Catcher in the Rye
Author: J.D. Salinger
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Pages: 277
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Who will like it? I will admit, not everyone’s going to like this book right away. When I first read it a few years ago, I found it so goddamn awful and I had no idea why anyone would seriously sit down, and read through Holden Caulfield’s miserable stuttering. But with marinating, I realized that this book, with its erratic plot and lousy dialogue, was perfectly imperfect. I love Caulfield. He’s just a human bean 🥔, alienated and desperate for some empathy. That empathy is the bridge connecting us, the reader and him. I think this book is an absolute gem, and one of my low-profile favourite reads!
This essay was written a while ago, but Catcher in the Rye and Great Expectations are both outstanding novels that take time to digest and absorb, and ones I still think back to. The “outcast” feeling is pretty prevalent for several characters in both tales. There are tidbits of spoilers in this essay, but I think you never really spoil a classic because it’s worth reading over and over again. My views only! so take that with a grain of salt.
Iron-willed Outsiders
In Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, the previously baleful convict and later generous benefactor, Abel Magwitch, is always the outsider within society. No matter where he goes, he is rarely welcomed and frequently rejected, whether in the marsh village or upon re-entering England. Magwitch is arguably kind, but he is misunderstood, and therefore nobody regards him highly. Similar to Magwitch, Holden Caulfield is a miserable outsider in The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Caulfield is well-intentioned and never threatening towards those he encounters, and again, nobody seems to care much about him. He drifts about the lonely streets of New York, sleeping in hotels and even a bench in the Grand Central Station. However, differences lie in Caulfield and Magwitch’s responses towards these uncontrollable circumstances. Caulfield sits back and wanders without a purpose, while Magwitch struggles to redeem himself.
Magwitch’s tension with society manifests through his interactions. When he first meets Pip in the country, he is already a convict living in constant fear, impoverishment, and neglect. Young Pip describes him as “a fearful man, all in coarse grey” (Dickens, 4) who moves without grace, only somebody who “limped, and shivered, and glared, and growled” (4) like an animal. As a child, Pip is already one of the most innocent and open-minded members of society, but even he feels uneasy in Magwitch’s company. Magwitch is not simply an outcast of the justice system, he is also abandoned by his wife Molly, manipulated by Compeyson, and even initially rejected by Pip . After Molly undergoes trial for murder, she resumes life as Jaggers’ maid, leaving her wild temper and unstable lifestyle behind. Upon leaving Magwitch she explains that their child is killed, although in reality Estella is alive and well. Molly washes her previous lover away out as she is scarred from the severe repercussions associated with her crime. On the other hand, Compeyson further casts out Magwitch in an effort to lighten his own crimes. Before encountering Compeyson, Magwitch only has a history of petty vagrancy. As outwardly charming and inwardly conniving as Compeyson is, he “[makes Magwitch] his black slave” (350), holding Magwitch “under his thumb” (350). Compeyson extends and perpetuates Magwitch’s rejection from society by initially cornering him to a sentence of 14 years, which eventually tumbles into a death sentence. Both Magwitch’s nemesis and lover alike isolate him, leaving him to fend for himself. Even Pip does not welcome Magwitch after receiving great munificence. Pip is biased with “a frenzy of fear and dislike” (337) for Magwitch, as he watches the convict dine in a manner that is “uncouth, noisy, and greedy.” (338) Indeed, Magwitch is a pariah in society. He is furthermore cast aside by people who were once close to him.
Although Magwitch is brutally alienated from society, he struggles to redeem himself. He attempts to take control of situations, and exercise his free will to some extent. The first half of his life is miserable and dishonourable; however, he eventually explains he is driven to crime due to a lack of options. He defends himself, saying, “But what the Devil was I to do? I must put something into my stomach, mustn’t I?” (347). His confession suggests that he would have liked to become a useful member of society, if given the choice. Yet given his unalterable situation, he actively seeks to better his life. Thus,when exiled in Australia, Magwitch exhibits an unwavering tenacity to offset his own faults. He endures bitterness as a “hired-out shepherd in a solitary hut”, swearing to “[live] rough” and “[work] hard.” (319). When utterly re-inventing himself is not possible, he commits to transforming Pip into a gentleman. Magwitch dreams day and night of bringing Pip up as a fine gentleman dressed in beautiful linen with a proper education. Magwitch places all hopes in Pip, ultimately to remedy his own pathetic past. Magwitch is adamantly determined in redemption, which is also illustrated through his obstinacy to seek vengeance on Compeyson. Earlier, when young Pip mentions the man with the badly bruised face, Magwitch frantically starts filing away at his leg iron. Ignoring all else, he focuses all his energy on hunting Compeyson down. Magwitch’s zeal never ceases; in fact he mentions he would crack Compeyson’s skull like “the claw of a lobster” (347), if given the opportunity. Eventually, he attains his goal of killing Compeyson, even though it also costs Magwitch his own life. This steadfast determination for redemption motivates almost all of Magwitch’s actions, from granting Pip’s social mobility to upholding his own understanding of justice. Magwitch responds to his plight with a fierce resolve.
Magwitch’s predicament and attitude are both accentuated when compared to Holden Caulfield, from J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. Caulfield is also an outcast, only without Magwitch’s fervent will to initiate change. He is kicked out of Pencey Prep, the fourth school he has attended, before wandering about New York alone. As a student, being expelled parallels Magwitch’s exile for being an inadequate member of society. Moreover, those around Caulfield all contribute to his solitude. Mr. Spencer patronizes him without meaning to, when justifying his flunking of Caulfield. The prostitute Sunny and elevator operator Maurice bully Caulfield together through physical abuse and extortion. Caulfield does not threaten them, but only pays for and declines service from Sunny. Like Magwitch, Caulfield is altruistic, and donates as much as he can to the nuns without any ulterior motive. Unfortunately, both Magwitch and Caulfield’s virtues are not seen by most people, and they are both misunderstood by society. What distinguishes Caulfield and Magwitch, however, is their response to this outright rejection. Caulfield speaks passively and responds passively as if there is a distance between himself and the reality of his pain. He does not act on his dejection but allows himself to be a victim. When he watches Phoebe on the carousel, he is afraid she will fall, but he “[doesn’t]didn’t say anything or do anything,”, because his philosophy with kids is that “[if] they fall off they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them.” (Salinger, 114). This indifference is almost Caulfield’s default reaction. His passivity only compounds to more detachment, as it leaves him vulnerable to manipulation and rejection from others. Mr. Antolini, “about the best teacher [he] ever had” (94), hides his ulterior motives in a potential sexual advance. Following this, Caulfield immediately jumps up and runs away without an explanation, illustrating his tendency to react instinctively, and his general lack of control over his own life. Compared to Caulfield’s restless and pale detachment, Magwitch’s life purpose to make Pip a gentleman contrasts harshly.
Both Magwitch and Caulfield are rejected and abandoned by society. Magwitch flees prison-ships and capital punishment sentences; Caulfield wanders like a duck when its pond is frozen over. Caulfield does not attempt to push past his fate or alleviate his dull pain of isolation. Contrastingly, Magwitch upholds a firmly optimistic outlook. He endures a different kind of pain, surviving harsh weathers in Australia to rebuild his life from scratch. Eventually, Magwitch passes away peacefully after kissing Pip’s hand, and Caulfield almost bursts into joyous tears watching his little sister ride the carousel. Ultimately, they both receive bittersweet closure, as if society is finally beginning to accept them.
Works Cited
Dickens, Charles, and Charlotte Mitchell. Great Expectations. Penguin Books, 2003.
Salinger, J. D. The Catcher In The Rye. Boston : Little, Brown And Company, 1991, c1946. Print.
Written in spring 2020
