Great Expectations

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How does Dickens direct the readers’ emotions in “Great Expectations”?

   Great Expectations is the story of Pip, on his journey through life as he attempts to become a gentleman. Dickens wrote the novel for a magazine, with a chapter appearing each week. Because of this, almost every chapter contains a cliff hanger. The underlining theme of the novel is that of self betterment. Dickens uses a variety of techniques to direct the readers’ emotions throughout “Great Expectations”, including atmospheric tension, repetition and rhyme, the narration by Pip and literary allusion.

   Dickens creates atmosphere and appeals to the senses. This is evident throughout the novel, but nowhere more so than in the first chapter. Dickens captivates the audience in the first chapter to keep them reading throughout the novel, through his long descriptive sentences: “A man (Magwitch) who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints, and stung by nettles, and torn by briars; who limped, and shivered, and glared and growled; and whose teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the chin.” The repetition of the word “and”; as well as the length of the sentence, emphasises how many different things have happened to Magwitch.

   The atmosphere Dickens creates for the audience builds tension, as they know that something is about to happen, but do not know what. This keeps the audience on the edge of their seat. This method of cliffhanging would not only have kept the novel interesting, but it would have made sure that the readership bought next week’s edition of the newspaper.

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   The use of personification by Dickens is another method used to add to the atmosphere of a scene: “Occasionally, the smoke came rolling down the chimney as though it could not bear to go out into such a night…” This suggests that even the smoke is intimidated by the weather outside. This metaphor easily builds up a picture of what the atmosphere outside is like, without the need to constantly use lengthy descriptive passages. Variation in the novel is important, as it helps to keep the readership interested; Dickens was very much aware that using the same techniques over and ...

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