Dickens has used alliteration to make something stick in your mind in this case it is “ low leaden line.” This creates images of darkness, a place with no life. This also complements the fact that Pip is in a graveyard.
He also uses metaphors one example of this is “ distant savage lair.” Here Pip is referring to the sea as a savage animal like a dragon. This makes Pip seem quite isolated, surrounded by this beast with no place to go.
Another metaphor that Dickens uses is describing Pip as a “small bundle of shivers.” This, makes Pip seem vulnerable, so you feel sorry for him. Also you usually associate a bundle with babies, and with babies you think of innocence. So this metaphor makes you think of Pip as being a small innocent baby, which totally contrasts with the bleak, harsh landscape that he is totally surrounded by.
Dickens has conjured up images of wild beasts and death. This is setting you up for something dangerous or unpleasant to happen. It is preparing us for the entry of the convict.
Another character that is established in the first chapter is the convict. “ Hold your noise! Cried a terrible voice.” This is how the convict is first introduced. It is quite a violent entry, and it is quite a surprise. He is described as “ a fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg,” this creates a dull, dirty image, which fits in with the landscape. The significance of the iron on his leg shows that he is a convict. But at this stage you do not know how dangerous he is, whether he has stolen a loaf of bread or murdered someone.
He is also described as being “lamed by stones and cut by flints” this makes you think that he has been through a lot with his old tattered clothes and injuries from the marshes. When Dickens says that the convict “limped, and shivered, and glared, and growled,” it is a follow on from the metaphor of a “ savage lair.” As though this convict is the wild beast that has emerged from the sea.
When the convict asks where Pips “ mother is,” and Pip replies “ there sir!” meaning in the graveyard and then he explains that the rest of his family are also there, you start to feel sorry for him again and it reinforces the fact that he is alone with only himself to protect him.
Dickens writes “ his eyes looked most powerfully into mine, and mine looked so helplessly into his,” he is stressing how the convict is scary and how the convict has a higher authority; it makes Pip seem very small. I think that Dickens used the name Pip as it reminds you of something like a small seed and in this quote this point is being stressed.
Further on in the chapter the convict starts threatening Pip into doing what he wants “ I am a keeping that young man from harming you.” This shows that in a way the convict is slightly helpless, as he has to threaten people to get his own way, rather than just asking Pip to do it for him.
Later on Pip watches the convict walk off and he is described as “ hugging his shuddering body, clasping himself. As if to hold himself together.” You go from feeling scared and resentful towards the convict to feeling sorry for him.
Pip watches him “ picking his way among the nettles and among the brambles.” This sounds like a place that is unkept, overgrown, isolated a bad place to be.
Pip says, “ He was eluding the hands of the dead people.” It is like the convict is close to death and it creates an unpleasant image. Dickens then uses a simile “ like a man whose legs were numbed and stiff.” This shows that the convict has probably been sitting and waiting on the marshes for a long time, this increases our feeling of pity.
After the convict has left the story returns to the description of the landscape. It says, “ The marshes were just a long black horizontal line” this gives the feeling of death and a colourless landscape.
Then a metaphor is used “ the sky was just a row of long angry lines and dense black lines intermixed.” This again is pathetic fallacy as it creates an atmosphere of something brewing like a storm as though the next chapter in the story has some action in it.
The only two things that Pip can see are “ two black things.” One of these is a “ gibbet” which is a place where people were hanged. This is a symbol of death and the convict is walking towards it. This could show that the convict is close to death, or that is where he is supposed to be because of his crimes.
I am going to compare the novel with the BBC version of the opening sequence of Great Expectations. The opening sequence of the film is of what appears to be a cornfield but it cannot possibly be this because later on we find out that Pip tells his sister that he has been to see the carols, making it Christmas time. So the corn could not be growing, therefore it could be long grass. The film starts off with the camera angle high this makes Pip look very small and vulnerable. The cornfield is very light this is used to show that Pip is in a safe area. As the camera zooms in you start to hear heavy breathing and the camera starts tracking Pip which lets us see events from his perspective and so we recognise his fear.
The establishing scene is a chase scene so it makes the viewer want to watch on to see what happens to Pip. As Pip gets into the graveyard the lighting becomes dimmer, which creates a depressing and more evil feel as though preparing you for something bad to happen. The mis-en-scene for this shot is of a dark, gloomy and evil place; the low lighting the bleak landscape of the graveyard and the fact that the graveyard is a place of death and sadness creates this. As Pip runs through the graveyard it is in slow motion and you can hear heavy breathing and footsteps through the grass. The camera trucks alongside Pip this is used to make the audience feel as though they are in his situation. The camera also tracks Pips movements in frantic movements, which makes it feel as though Pip is being chased and that he is panicking.
The camera shows close up shots of the convict’s feet that are in irons, this highlights that he is an important character and it is also the first time that we find out that he is a convict. The camera then goes to show Pip’s scared expression showing that this person must be scary and frightening. All these things start to build up the image of the convict, without actually seeing him, making us use our imaginations like in the book. This all adds suspense as we are expecting something to happen.
When the convict threatens Pip the camera shows a close up of them both to show that they are both important. The convict’s appearance is also not very nice; he has dirty hair, rotting teeth and very dirty, tatty clothes. He also has a hoarse and quite a violent voice showing how he is more powerful and makes him seem more threatening. Whereas Pip is clean and looks reasonably well kept. Pip also shouts for his “ mummy” in a small squeaky voice making him seem very vulnerable and small.
Every so often the shot cuts to static images of the landscape like flashbacks, this reminds the audience of the bleak and isolated surroundings that Pip is in, making you realise that Pip has nowhere to go to escape the convict. There are also pan shots to show the audience distance and space, showing the audience how desolate and barren the landscape is.
There is also an eerie screeching music, which is bit creepy, this is setting you up for something bad to happen. Later on there is a booming noise as if cannons have been fired, and this echoes across the marshes then you see a flock of birds flying frantically away, as though they are trying to get away from something, maybe the convict, just how Pip wants to.
After this there is a static camera shot with Pip running towards it with a sunset behind. It is as though the camera is what he is searching for so he can be safe. With the warm lighting highlighting this.
When Pip gets to the cottage, it is dimly lit and again a bit gloomy. There are shadows and this is to show that maybe Pip’s home life is not all that pleasant. There are a few close up shots of Pip’s sister, we do not know that this is his sister though. She shouts at him telling him she “ brought him up by hand.” This all makes you feel sorry for Pip. There is a low shot making the woman seem big and powerful, as she is asserting her authority on the small weedy child.
There are quite a few similarities between the book and the film such as the graveyard setting and the convict. But there are also many differences such as the establishing shot. Also the film jumps to the second chapter when Pip says he went to see the carols, this does not happen in the book until later on. This has been done to interest the viewer, and the story has to be cut down, so the film makers take out the bits they feel are most important so they can move the film on more quickly. Other changes such as concentrating on a certain part of the convict adds dramatic suspense. This is however like Dickens use of alliteration and repetition to in force an important factor. I think that the book is more effective because with Dickens’s brilliant descriptions and use of language, you can really let your imagination go and follow the story in your mind much better than the film.
