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Parody
Definition of Personification
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the sentence, "The rain poured down on the wedding guests, indifferent... read full definition
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the sentence, "The rain poured down... read full definition
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the... read full definition
Book 3, Chapter 43
Explanation and Analysis—Halting and Whimpering:
In Chapter 43, Pip returns to Satis House for what he believes will be the final time before going abroad with Provis. In this painful interlude, Dickens uses personification to align the state of the natural world to Pip's own hurt feelings. As Pip travels in the coach, his narrative voice observes that:
the day came creeping on, halting and whimpering and shivering, and wrapped in patches of cloud and rags of mist, like a beggar.
Like Pip, who does not want to confront the reality of Estella's marriage to Drummle, the day only dawns "halting and whimpering" as if it, too, is afraid to go forward. Rather than rising smoothly, the passage of the sun over the earth is balky and hesitant, as if it cannot bear to continue. The weather often seems to mimic Pip's moods in Great Expectations: the marshes are misty and forbidding when he is frightened, and the sun often bright and dazzling when he is pleased.
The image of the day as a figure wrapped in rags outside and alone is reminiscent of the first time Pip meets Provis at the beginning of the novel. The word "beggar" is very evocative here: Miss Havisham told Estella to "beggar" Pip, and although he is financially secure at this point, he is romantically bankrupt.
