James Nevitt draft 3
The story, Great Expectations takes place in Victorian England with a little boy known as Pip. Pip lives with his sister Mrs Joe Gargery and her husband Joe the blacksmith. Pips mother, father and 5 brothers lay rest in the church burial grounds. Pip is a lower class common labouring boy but when he meets an escaped convict in the mellow dunes of the church yard, his life turns upside down.
Dickens himself suffered hardship as a child when his father was sent to jail due to lack of tax payments and the character Pip relates to this for also not having a father. Great Expectations shows the hard times of Victorian London and shows the harshness of how the lower class people were treated.
Charles Dickens was born the 7th of February 1812 and until 9 years old he lived in the costal regions of Kent. A country to the south east of England Dickens moved to London when he was 9 and his father arrested when he was 12. At the age of 25 Dickens released his first novel “The Pickwick Papers” This was a huge successful novel and Dickens was considered a literary celebrity, until his death in 1870.
12 months have passed since the episode with the convicts and pip is to be apprenticed to Joe when he is old enough. Today is the day Pip is to go and play at Mrs Havashams. Dickens puts a lot of pressure onto Pip as he does not have a say in weather to go to Mrs Havashams or not. Dickens introduces Mr. Pumblechook as a rich stiff corn-chandler with a business up market on high-street. Today, Pip is to breakfast with Mr. Pumblechook in his shop. Pip does not receive much to eat, Pip also considered Pumplechook as Wretched company. Pip receives a small amount of bread with just as little butter, Pips Milk has also been watered down, and this shows the selfishness of Pumblechook Pip however does not complain at all, showing a shy uneasy character within Pip, Pumblechook also thinks very lowly of Pip as he challenged his intellect often with arithmetic. Pumblechook lastes out at Pip many time with math questions and such. Seven times Nine boy?. Mr. Pumblechook also refers to Pip as boy and not his name, this can do nothing more then belittle Pip. Breakfast ended shortly later and Pip and Mr. Pumblechook set off for Mrs. Havashams. On the journey to Mrs Havasham’s Pip feels very uneasy, wondering how to acquaint himself. Pip is told not to refer to Mrs Havasham by her name, he refers to her as, “mam or miss”. After a quarter of an hour, Pip and Mr Pumblechook arrived at Mrs Havasham’s. A very dull house of old brick. Described as being dismal with a many iron bars to it, maybe to suggest it has a prison feel to it. On top of that, many of the windows had been all walled up. And the remaining lower windows were rusted and barred. The huge house began at the wretched courtyard, the courtyard was a well looked after stone path with few plants around it, and outside the courtyard was a large iron gate. While waiting to go inside, Mr Pumblechook still cracked away at the math, “and fourteen?” Pip at this point just wasn’t paying attention. Which assumes he has gotten fed up. Pip noticed the large brewery to the side of the house, deserted, with no brewing going on. It is described as being a very dismal with a certain gloom to it, all to add to the effect of the picture. I think Pumblechook is very upset and a little peeved that he is rejected and not allowed. Here Pip meets Estelle for the first time. She tells Pip that the name of the house is satis house, Meaning enough in another language. The name of the house, enough suggests that terrible fait has occurred in the house. Estelle Leads pip Through the courtyard, past a small alley connecting the courtyard to the Brewery. the brewery was open, and all was disused. “The cold wind seemed to blow colder there then outside the gate” this suggests the house has a very unwelcoming factor to it, as if it’s haunted. Pip was lead round the side of the house to a side door, since the front had two large chains across it. As you enter satis house, all the passages are dark and dismal. With a candle left burning on the side for you to take up with you. Pip entered through more passages and up a stair case. It was all dark and only a candle was to guide you. Finally Pip came to the door of a room. where he Pip was instructed to go inside. It became even worse when the candle was taken back down by the young lady who brought Pip up. Pip became very afraid, all he could do, was knock at the door. A voice came from within, to enter. Pip emerged in a very large room. All lit up by many wax candles. There were no glimpses of daylight at all. The huge room seemed to be a dressing room, but when pip looked around at the dressing table and other objects in the room, Pip had no idea whatever there uses were. Within the room was a large draped table, with a gilded looking glass also in the room was an old arm chair, and in it was sat Mrs Havasham Her figure brought horror to Pips eyes, Dickens introduces her as a very frail and unwelcoming old hag as pale as a sheet. Pip only described Mrs Havasham at first, as the strangest lady he had ever seen. She still had her bridal flowers in her hair, Mrs Havasham had a tragedy that Pip was soon to learn, she has been jilted on her wedding day. She wore her pale wedding dress, all withered and worn, she wore only 1 white shoe with the other on her dressing table. Pip notices that the rooms clocks are all stopped at the same time, but was this a coincidence? No, this was the exact time that Mrs. Havashams groom failed to attend the wedding.
