Charles dickens

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Prose Study: How does Charles Dickens create an atmosphere of crime and death in ‘Great Expectations’? - English/English Literature Coursework

In this essay, I will talk about how Charles Dickens creates an atmosphere of crime and death in ‘Great Expectations’. Charles Dickens was an English novelist of the Victorian era and was considered to be one of English language’s greatest writers; he was acclaimed for his rich storytelling and memorable characters and achieved massive worldwide popularity in his lifetime. ‘Great Expectations’ is a novel written and serially published from 1860 to 1861 in a magazine called ‘All Year Round’. Shortly after that, it was published as a complete novel. It was set during the Industrial Revolution in Britain. The Industrial Revolution brought in a major change in the economy and society resulting from the use of machines and the efficient production of goods.

      Charles Dickens begins the story in a graveyard. Immediately, we are introduced to the theme of death. The weather matches with the creepy setting. It links to death by using words like “raw afternoon”; the word “raw” suggests that it is painful. “Dark” suggests evil and death; and “flat” suggests something bleak. These words all enhance the gloomy setting.

     The main character Pip tells us about his parents and brothers who are buried in the graveyard. He lists the names of his brothers in a matter of fact way and this shocks us. “…and that Alexander, Barthlomew, Abraham, Tobias and Roger, infant children of the aforesaid, were also dead and buried….” In the 1830s when the novel is set, half the babies died in infancy due to poor medical care and killer diseases which thrived in the appalling conditions within the society. Pip lists the names of his five dead brothers. This makes us think that the list is never-ending and highlights the presence of death.

    We are introduced to the theme of crime when an escaped convict by the name of Magwitch, jumps out from behind a gravestone at Pip. “Hold your noise!” At this point, he makes the reader feel frightened, as he starts to threaten Pip. Pip also sees a gibbet. “…a gibbet, with some chains hanging to it which once held a pirate.”

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    A gibbet was where executed criminals were placed as a warning to others. It stands out on the horizon and looks particularly eerie in the gloomy night sky. Dickens personifies the sky to make it “angry”; the use of personification here alarms the reader because the sky feels extremely threatening. The sea is described as a “lair”; the use of the word “lair” suggests that the sea is a wild animal in a den. The wind comes rushing from the lair to get Pip. Pip becomes “a bundle of shivers”. The word “shivers” suggests fear and extreme cold, ...

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