Great Expectations Essay

Great Expectations was a serialised novel by Charles Dickens, It is now a well known book. The way that he has opened the book was suitable for the format he presented it in because he describes the setting in so much detail that the reader is gripped and is more likely to read on. Dickens uses many narrative devices to grip the reader such as narrative voice, use of setting and dialogue.

The book starts off with a monologue from the main character “ip” this shows how the story is from the past of this character and the narrator is recounting previous happenings. The language that is used in the monologue is that of a well educated adult, this shows that Pip has had some form of education in his later life. The writer has given Pip a narrative voice throughout the story, this shows he wants the story to been seen though Pips eyes as he grows up. I think he has done this to give you another side of the story that might be exaggerated because children tend to blow things out of proportion. The use of first person narrative creates sympathy for Pip because he is telling you how his family had died when he was very young, he tells us how he never knew his mother or farther as “There days were long before the days of photographs” creating sympathy for Pip exaggerates the terrifying character of Magwitch when he is later introduced.

Dickens also uses setting to create atmosphere and engage the reader by creating a melancholic scene that makes the reader worried about Pip’s safety. The graveyard that the younger Pip is introduced to us in is a “Raw… bleak… overgrown… churchyard” which builds tension by listing many things that are associated with an unwelcoming place. The way that the complex sentences have been constructed shows how much Pip is panicking; it also shows he is looking around and taking in the setting all at once. The neglected, “overgrown” state of the churchyard shows how isolated Pip is because it doesn’t look like many people go down there. There is a “Dark flat wilderness” beyond the churchyard, which shows his vulnerability in the environment. The way that Dickens has used words such as “Wilderness” and “Scattered” shows how barren the land is around the churchyard, which makes the character of Pip seem smaller and at more risk. Dickens uses the term “savage lair” to describe the churchyard, which makes the reader think that it may be inhabited by a dangerous being and Pip has trespassed on something else’s territory.

Magwitch is introduced into the environment as a savage, threatening man. The way that Dickens has introduced him into a “Savage” place accentuates the terrifying appearance of him. Magwitch is a man that has been through a tough time, the reader can tell this because he has been “Soaked… Cut… Stung… and torn” which makes us feel a little sympathetic towards him. Dickens gives Magwitch animalistic quality’s like the way he’s “Lamed” and the way he “Growled” at Pip which shows he is uncivilised and an outcast, the inhabitant of the “savage lair”. Magwitch is an escaped convict, we can tell this by him being dressed “all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg.” Dickens shows Magwitch's aggression through his language, he uses imperatives like “Keep still, you little devil, or I’ll cut your throat!” which shows him threatening Pip to get what he wants. The way Magwitch shouts at Pip in a threatening way scares him. You can tell that Magwitch is shouting by Dickens’s use of exclamation marks which ends most of Magwitch's sentences. Magwitch's language is very aggressive and shows a lot of violence this may be because he has spent time with criminals in the past. When Magwitch speaks, words like “ecoolier” and “wain” are spelt phonetically which shows his poor background and lack of education. This may be the reason he is threatening Pip, because he doesn’t know any better. Pip responds to Magwitch’s intimidating language by agreeing to anything that he says. This shows that Pip feels helpless. Magwitch “Tilted” Pip every time he asked him a question, which shows he is trying to be assertive and make Pip obey him, which adds to his savage demeanour.

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