First encounter and first impressions

You bring me, to-morrow morning early, that file and them wittles. You bring that lot to me, at that old battery over yonder. You do it, and you never dare to say a word or dare to make a sign concerning your having seen such a person as me, or any person sumever, and you shall be let to live. You fail, or you go from my words in any partickler, no matter how small it is, and your heart and your liver shall be tore out, roasted and ate. Now, I ain’t alone, as you may think I am. There’s a young man hid with me, in comparison which young man I am a angel. That young man hears the words I speak. That young man has a secret way pecuooliar to himself, of getting at a boy, and at his heart, and at his liver. It is in wain for a boy to attempt to hide himself from that young man. A boy may lock the door, may be warm in bed, may tuck himself up, may draw the clothes over his head, may think himself comfortable and safe, but that young man will softly creep and creep his way to him and tear him open. I am a-keeping that young man from harming of you at the present moment, with great difficulty. I find it wery hard to hold that young man off of your inside. Now, what do you say? 

This is the moment when Magwitch meets Pip, who is still a child. In this scene, Magwitch tries to convince Pip  to give him food and a file without telling anyone. 

To make sure Pip does it, he invents a story about a young man, who hunts kids, kills them, and eats their heart. To make it credible he starts adding details explaining how this young man can find Pip no matter what he does to hide. With this, he gets to scare him. But Magwitch also wants to make sure Pip comes back. If Pip is too scared, he might run away and never return. To prevent this, Magwitch pretends to be protecting Pip from the young man. He tells Pip that he is holding the young man back but needs the things he asked for to continue protecting him. This makes Magwitch seem less like a threat and more like someone Pip can trust and help.

In this passage Magwitch appears to be a cruel and manipulative man that uses fear to control Pip. However, later in the story we can see that this was an especial moment for Magwitch and he gets attached to him. In gratitude for Pip’s help he dedicates everything he has to give him a better life, making him a gentleman.

This event shows us that the first impressions can be wrong. Abel Magwitch, who seemed like a dangerous criminal, ended up being a kind and generous man, who becomes Pip’s benefactor.

Can fear be an effective way to control someone? Have you ever seen someone using it in our society?

Does kindness always come from who we expect or sometimes it comes from unexpected people?