Who is the second convict according to Pip in Great Expectations?
At first, Pip thinks that the second convict is the same one that he has encountered in the graveyard; then he thinks it is "the young man" who the larger man has threatened him with the night before.
In the first chapter of Great Expectations, when the coarse convict of gray appears and orders Pip to get him a file and food, he warns Pip that there is a young man who is hidden with him.
"This young man hears the words I speak. That young man has a secret way of getting at a boy, and at his heart, and at his liver. It is wain for a boy to attempt to hide himself from that young man."
In Chapter III, Pip heads to the Battery with the file and the food he has stolen from the pantry; however, just before he reaches the Battery, Pip notices what...
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he thinks is the man sitting before him:
His back was towards me, and he had his arms folded, and was nodding forward, heavy with sleep.
He, too, is dressed in coarse gray clothing, and he, too, has a leg iron. But, when Pip touches him, thinking he is the convict of the other night, but then sees his face, he realizes that he has been mistaken. This convict swears at Pip, and he runs off.
"It's the young man!" I thought, feeling my heart shoot as I identified him. I dare say I should have felt a pain in my liver, too, if I had known where it was.
After the second convict runs off, Pip continues and finds the first one who has asked him to bring food. The man eats like one who is starving; while he does so, Pip tells him there will not be any food for the young man. The larger convict says, "He don't want no wittles." Pip tells him that he thought the convict looked hungry. The first convict becomes very agitated and asks Pip where this man is. Pip points, saying that the convict went "yonder...over there where I found him nodding asleep, and thought it was you."
The first convict asks Pip if the young man has a badly bruised cheek, and Pip replies "yes." Now the first convict demands to know where this convict is.
"Show me where he is. I'll pull him down like a bloodhound. Curse this iron on my sore leg! Give us hold of the file, boy." And so, Pip leaves, hearing the man filing and filing on that foot so that he can free himself.
References
What is the convict's name in Great Expectations?
The Convict in Charles Dickens’ novel Great Expectations is one of the more colorful characters in the story. His relationship with Pip forms one of the core plot-lines of the Great Expectations.
The first line uttered in the churchyard by the Convict in Chapter I is a memorable piece of characterization. When the Convict confronts a crying Pip, he snarls,
“Hold your noise . . . Keep still, you little devil, or I'll cut your throat!''
Despite this rough appearance and callous demeanor, the Convict is not entirely evil; his backstory is revealed through the remainder of the novel. The Convict is Abel Magwitch, a lifelong criminal. Magwitch's earliest memory is stealing turnips from a garden, and he is convicted for counterfeiting and attempted murder. He is sent to Australia for a life sentence but works hard and becomes wealthy. Upon returning to England years later, Magwitch determines to make up for his criminal past by taking Pip under his wing and becoming a father figure to the young man.