"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

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  • 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

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  • 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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"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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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.

  • Word count: 1047
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"During the course of 'Great Expectations' Pip discovers what really matters in life. How far do you think this is so? In the course of your answer - Look closely at how Dickens presents the main characters especially Pip;

"During the course of 'Great Expectations' Pip discovers what really matters in life. How far do you think this is so? In the course of your answer: * Look closely at how Dickens presents the main characters especially Pip; * Write about the ways in which Dickens may be criticising aspects of Victorian society; * Support your views with detailed reference to the text. (2,000 - 2,500 words) During the novel we see Pip change from a 'small bundle of shivers' who is 'afraid of it all' into a proper 'gentleman'. He becomes a snob after he is corrupted by the very 'proud', 'pretty' and 'insulting' Estella and the 'corpse-like' Miss Havisham, but eventually he realises what really does matter in life. As an orphan Pip has had a very hard start in life. His sister, Mrs Joe Gargery and her husband, Joe, the blacksmith, bring him up. It is not a happy childhood. He is abused by his sister, who beats him with 'tickler', a cane. Mrs Joe's influence on Pip has not been a good one, but this doesn't matter as Joe is kind, 'good' and 'noble', and he treats Pip like an equal. This makes Pip feel loved, as Joe is a friend to him. Biddy is 'hard-working', and makes the 'most of every opportunity'. She is 'patient' with Pip, and she teaches him to read and write, she is a good friend to Pip, and he likes her. This causes him to be kind to Joe and try to teach him to read.

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"Even though Pip has become snobbish by the end of Book One, Dickens still manages to make the reader like him". Show how and why Pip has become something of a snob and what makes us retain our sympathy for him - Great Expectations.

"Even though Pip has become snobbish by the end of Book One, Dickens still manages to make the reader like him". Show how and why Pip has become something of a snob and what makes us retain our sympathy for him - Tom Beach In Great Expectations Dickens depicts Pip as having an increasingly snobbish character throughout Book One. He shows Pip to have an exaggerated respect for his social position and his growing hatred for the common life that he lives. The reader sees that Pip's snobbishness is due to his desire to become a gentleman and his aspiration to be liked by Estella, from whom he adopts some of his snobbish attitudes. Even though it is clear to the reader that Pip has become somewhat of a snob, Dickens encourages the reader to still like Pip. He puts across that Pip is an orphan and that these snobbish feelings we see are just outward feelings. We learn that he was not proud of the snobbish character that he had become from the way he looks back on his life as an adult. These events make the reader feel sympathy for Pip, leading the reader to retain their criticism of him. In Book One of Great Expectations we see Dickens show Pip's progressively snobbish character in many ways. After Pip's first visit to Satis house and after falling for Estella we see Pips ambition to become a gentleman. We see that Pip blames Joe for being common, and for Joe not

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Comparing the way the children think in Great Expectations And Cider With Rosie

Comparing the way the children think in Great Expectations And Cider With Rosie Children are portrayed in many different ways in Great Expectations and Cider with Rosie. At the start of Great Expectations, the main character Pip is relatively childish he largely uses colour and shape to describe thing. For instance early on in chapter 1: " The shape of the letters on my fathers grave gave me an odd idea that he was a square, stout, dark man, with curly black hair." Pip uses the shape of letter and the colour of the gravestone to decide what his parents look like which is childish. Another quote that shows Pips childishness with his extremely lively imagination is later on in chapter 3: ". I had seen the damp lying on the outside of my little window as if some goblin had been crying there all night." Both of these quotes show how Pip is a child as he sees things as if they are goblins which children are scared of . This can be compared to the opening chapter of Cider with Rosie in which Laurie Lee's imagination runs away with him in a similarly childish fashion: "Each blade tattooed with tiger skins of sunlight. It was knife edged, dark, and a wicked green, thick as a forest and alive with grasshoppers that chirped and chattered and leapt through the air like monkeys." These descriptive metaphors and similes are quite dark images such as some of Pips were in great

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Great Expectation by Charles Dickens. Opening, characters and chapter 5.

Prose Study Coursework Great Expectation by Charles Dickens Great Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens first serialised in All the Year Round from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. It is regarded as one of his greatest and most sophisticated novels, and is one of his most enduringly popular novels; having been adapted for stage and screen over 250 times. Great Expectations is written in the genre of the style of book that follows the story of a man or woman in their quest for maturity, usually starting from childhood ending in the main characters eventual adulthood. Great Expectations is the story of the orphan Pip, writing his life from his early days of childhood until adulthood and trying to be a gentleman along the way. The story can also be considered semi-autobiographical of Dickens, like much of his work, drawing on his experiences of life and people. The action of the story takes place from Christmas Eve, 1812, when the protagonist is about seven years old, to the winter of 1840. Each installment in All the Year Round contained two chapters and was written in a way that kept readers interested from week to week, while still satisfying their curiosity at the end of each one. Charles Dickens sets the scenes with his words in our mind he did not even had to use a single picture to explain how the seen looks like or makes you feel like. You can imagine by reading

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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