"Explore the way in Which David Lean creates atmosphere and dramatic tension in 'Great Expectations' focusing on the opening churchyard scene and Pips first visit to Satis House."

Great Expectations: Media Course work "Explore the way in Which David Lean creates atmosphere and dramatic tension in 'Great Expectations' focusing on the opening churchyard scene and Pips first visit to Satis House." Tom Funnell Introduction The film "great expectations" is based on the novel by Charles dickens in the late 19th centaury, . Even when this film was made, one of the first with sound, there was a great use of cinematic devices. These where mastered by David Lean to create atmosphere and dramatic tension, especially in the opening scene and the scene where Pip meets Ms Havisham. The film was based on the novel "Great Expectations" written by Charles Dickens at the turn of the century. The genre for such a film would have to be a historic drama. Although the film was made in 1946 it is still a historic genre because the story was set in the late 1890s. This is because of the large doses of dramatic tension included in the film. While being set fifty years prior to the films release. It is a film all about the way a mans life can change just by money. We learn of how people change when the become wealthy after having been less well off. It is educational while being entertaining. It was written in a time of great social difference. You were either very poor or very well off. Dickens, the novels author, had had a clear view of the "rich/poor" divide. He was

  • Word count: 1615
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens is a "Bildungsroman".

Importance of a main character to the novel "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens is a "Bildungsroman", a term that denotes a novel that presents the growth and development - within the context of a defined social order - of a single character, Philip Pirrip, better known as Pip. As the focus of the bildungsroman, Pip is by far the most important character in "Great Expectations": he is both the protagonist, whose actions make up the main plot of the novel, and the narrator, whose thoughts and attitudes shape the reader's perception of the story. As a character, Pip's two most important traits are his immature, romantic idealism and his naturally good conscience. On the one hand, Pip has a deep desire to improve himself, whether educational, moral, or social, "At last I began, in a purblind groping way, to read, write, and cipher." His longing to marry Estella and join the upper classes stems from the same desire as his longing to learn to read and his fear of being punished for bad behavior: once he understands ideas like poverty, ignorance, and immorality, Pip does not want to be poor, ignorant, or immoral. Pip the narrator judges his own past actions extremely harshly, rarely giving himself credit for good deeds but angrily criticises himself for bad ones. As a character, however, Pip's idealism often leads him to perceive the world rather narrowly, seeing only the

  • Word count: 619
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"Great Expectations" is considered Dickens' finest novel. To what extent does it deserve this reputation?

"Great Expectations" is considered Dickens' finest novel. To what extent does it deserve this reputation? "Great expectations" was written by Charles Dickens in 1860. It is centred on Pip, an orphan living with his austere sister and her mild-mannered husband Joe Gargery the blacksmith. It follows his journey from being a simple boy with few expectations, to his moving to London and becoming a 'gentleman', at the expense of a mysterious benefactor. I am going to write an appreciation of it, analysing its main components: The story, the structure, the characters, the narration, the setting, the language and literary devices, the themes and the social/historical context, and evaluating their success to answer the question. "Great Expectations" combines many different genres, including romance, mystery, history, action and comedy. This means it has universal appeal, and people with a wide range of interests and preferences will find something to like about it. It also means that any individual reading it can respond it on a number of different levels. Great Expectations does not have one single 'bad guy' - many people fill this role. Magwitch, as the convict would have been the antagonist in a traditional story of good and evil, however Dickens does not portray him as such, and even when we see him terrorising young Pip, it is portrayed in a humorous light, and we do not hate

  • Word count: 5467
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"Great Expectations" written by Charles Dickens. I have been analysing the way in which Dickens uses language techniques to create

Great Expectations Matthew Connor I have recently been reading the famous novel "Great Expectations" written by Charles Dickens. I have been analysing the way in which Dickens uses language techniques to create themes, characters and a setting for his story. The novel itself was written in Victorian times and a lot of the themes that occur in the book were also very prominent in the Victorian era. Firstly I want to mention the similarities between the main character and narrator Pip and the actual writer Charles Dickens. They both had a very comparable childhood with family problems and suffering very early on in their lives. The most striking similarity though is that both Pip and Dickens were at the bottom of the social ladder and the theme of social status is probably the most important one in this novel. This theme pieces together the whole plot of the book with a lower class Pip always eager to better himself and reach the top of that ladder. I also believe that due to Dickens being initially subjected to a life of poverty he had a negative view of money and status; almost all the characters with wealth and status in the novel end up destroyed. Secondly I am going to discuss the effectiveness of the serialised format of the novel. Charles Dickens actually wrote the novel in separate chapters before eventually merging them to make the book. This therefore is why

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"In Hard Times Dickens presents a convincing analysis of the social problems that have arisen in 19th Century industrial society" - To what extent do you agree with this statement?

"In Hard Times Dickens presents a convincing analysis of the social problems that have arisen in 19th Century industrial society." To what extent do you agree with this statement? Dickens was clearly strongly influenced by many contemporary issues when writing Hard Times, as such, the book has strong political themes which are analysed in detail. We can see in Hard Times that Stephen Blackpool is intended to represent the honest hard-working, working class person. He has no aspirations to be what he is not and is not out to cause trouble. All he wants is to lead an ordinary fair life which however, he knows is almost impossible. Dickens presents many of the social problems covered in the novel through Stephen Blackpool. His problems with the divorce laws for example highlight the unfairness of the laws at the time. One could only divorce if you had the money to do so. Therefore it was the preserve of the middle and upper classes. " 'and it would cost you...I suppose from a thousand to fifteen hundred pound,' said Mr Bounderby... 'Why then, sir,' said Stephen... 'tis a muddle.'" This idea of presenting the lower classes as decent people ay have contradicted middle class beliefs of the time. Dickens seems to be attempting to dispel the myth which Bounderby perpetuates that they all crave rewards without work; and are lazy idle and selfish. "You don't expect to be set up

  • Word count: 1484
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"Is Magwitch a Criminal or a Victim of Society

"Is Magwitch a Criminal or a Victim of Society?" In the novel of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, one of the pivotal characters is a man named Abel Magwitch. To answer the question of whether this man is a criminal or a victim of society, we must first establish what a criminal is and what a victim of society is. A criminal is someone who knowingly breaks the law for self-gratification. A victim of society is someone who is subjected to outside influences, and is generally mistreated by society. In the context of this novel, a victim of society is also someone who has never been given a chance in life, and has no control over events that occur involving them. Therefore I am going to try and decide which of these two 'categories' the character of Abel Magwitch falls into. When we first meet Magwitch in Chapter one our first impressions of him are not positive. Pip describes him as a 'fearful man' with a 'terrible voice'. Although we learn that he is in a terrible state, 'smothered in mud and lamed by stones', with a 'great iron' on his leg, indicating he has obviously escaped prison and is on the run, we as readers do not feel any sympathy for him. The reason for this is the fact that he is willing to threaten a young boy, seeming to enjoy the power he has over him is almost repulsive to us as readers, making him appear even more harsh. The fact that Magwitch is likened

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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In what way is 'A Christmas Carol' an allegory? Explain how Dickens uses symbolism in the story.

In what way is 'A Christmas Carol' an allegory? Explain how Dickens uses symbolism in the story. By Michael Taubman ' A Christmas Carol' is a straightforward allegory. An allegory is a type of narrative story in which events or characters represent a certain idea or theme, which relies heavily on symbolism. Dickens's story is about a greedy, selfless man called 'Scrooge' who is the opposite of what Christmas means. The first line of the novel 'Marley was dead', Marley we learn was once Scrooges partner and who comes back as a phantom to warm Scrooge to change his ways otherwise he will become a wondering phantom like Marley once dead. Dickens uses symbolism before the book is even open. The title 'A Christmas Carol'. The novel isn't about a carol but carols show joy, happiness and a time for everyone to come together. The main character Scrooge shows the opposite to the title as he was a greedy, cold man, 'No warmth could warm, nor wintry weather chill ... ...the heaviest rain, snow, hail and sleet could boast of the advantages over him in only one respect'. The way Scrooge is described in the novel, is as the weather, as the fog in the courtyard thickens as he leaves work, as if the fog were Scrooge. Musical imagery is used, like the title, as staves and used not chapters, which shows that the theme of the 'carol' is brought through the whole novel. This creates a

  • Word count: 2098
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How does Charles Dickens use setting in the novel Great Expectations?

How does Charles Dickens use setting in the novel 'Great Expectations'? Dickens uses setting in a variety of ways in Great Expectations. He uses it as a way to mirror the feelings of a character and to expand on the characterisation towards Pip. This allows him to create an environment that the reader can empathise with. In Chapter One, we connect with Pip in a graveyard. The dark, dismal feelings portrayed by the negative adjectives mirror the feelings within Pip - specifically, the feeling of loneliness or abandonment that Pip is suffering from at this stage. The dead nature of the graveyard, and the subsequent introduction of Magwitch, could connate Magwitch's death further in the novel. As Dickens was an outspoken socialist, the graveyard could also be used to represent the high mortality rate as a result of extreme poverty within the 19th century in England. This is specifically represented by the reference to 'five little stone lozenges' - siblings of Pip who have already succumbed to the void. A 'distant savage lair' provides the hint of an introduction to Magwitch. Magwitch could also be represented by the brittle, brutal nature of the landscape. This is particularly reinforced by the uncultured, colloquial way in which he speaks, that shows his roots and the time he has spent in prison. However, as the chapter evolves, we see the perspective of Magwitch change.

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Explore the way in which Westall and Dickens create suspense and mystery in the two ghost stories,

Explore the way in which Westall and Dickens create suspense and mystery in the two ghost stories, "The Call" and "The Signalman". The two ghost stories "The Call" written by Robert Westall and "The Signalman" written by Charles Dickens, both create suspense and mystery to engage the reader's attention. "The Call" is narrated by a person who did not experience the events of the story but heard it from other people, and he also knew the characters. In contrast "The Signalman" is narrated by one of the characters in the story, and is therefore in first person. The ghost story genre has had enduring popularity over the past few centuries. It can even be found as far back as the Elizabethan era, where Shakespeare used ghosts as characters in his plays. For example in Macbeth, the ghost of Banquo comes back to haunt Macbeth. This genre has been so popular because the phenomenon of the supernatural cannot be explained and it ignites a fear in many of us. This was more so when the subject of ghosts were fairly new in literature, around the time when Dickens wrote "The Signalman", and therefore the story would have been quite different for readers. However when Westall wrote "The Call" in 1989-some 120 yrs after The Signalman was written, society was much more sceptical about the integrity of the issue of ghosts and therefore the story would have to be more persuading over its

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Hard Times - Would you agree, from your reading of the novel so far thatthere are some characters who are simply too good to be true?

Would you Agree, From your Reading of the Novel So Far that There are Some Characters Who are Simply Too Good to be True? There are a huge variety of characters in Hard Times, ranging from the good to the unnaturally cruel. The novel is full of extremity in its characterisation; cruel, bitter and selfish characters such as Mrs. Sparsit contrast dramatically with characters such as Stephen Blackpool and Rachael, who are benevolent and altruistic. Among the cruellest and most villainous characters in the novel is James Harthouse, who is completely ammoral, and therefore rendered very dangerous by Dickens. Josiah Bounderby, is another particularly cruel character. He is utterly self-centred and prejudiced against the working-class of the novel (he categorizes them all as being greedy and materialistic: "You [Stephen] don't expect to be set up in a coach and six, and to be fed on turtle soup and venison, with a gold spoon as a good many of 'em do!") Bounderby is almost a caricature and is satirised by Dickens for his constant emphasizing of his climb to success, after supposedly beginning his life in a ditch. Both Bounderby and Harthouse contrast with the honourable characters of the novel, who are venerated by Dickens. Stephen Blackpool is the character who, it could be argued appears 'too good to be true'. We are initially introduced to Stephen as being someone

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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