Charles Dickens was born on the 7th of February 1812 in Portsmouth. His tale of rag to riches was his father being sent to prison due to bad debt. He worked in a blacking factory as a young boy and the experinence was never forgotten.
In great expectations Charles Dickens portrays Pip as a scrawny, small, undernourished boy. Pip is very shy and timid possibly due to the fact that he is a orphan and is living with his abusive aunt and her weak husband.
Dickens chose the narrative structure to be in first person, using Pip as the speaker. He also uses metaphors when describing the convict. Pip's description gives the effect of sympathy. Great expectations also involves alot of colliqualism and pathetic phallacy.
The opening is bleak with negative words like "nettles,overgrown,dark.". Giving a strong visual imagery effect. There is some personification with the "marshes 'long black horizontal lines' and the sky as 'long angry red lines'".
Repitition of the word black shows the visualisation of the scene and it's surroundings also showing death, depression and possible destruction.
Dickens format of writing is formal and old-fashioned, giving out a drab and hostile effect. The first chapter begins formal with alot of information about Pip's character and the Convicts. It give of strong visual imagery. It contains victorian words such as "Whittles" which means food and drinks. While Pip is well mannered and polite the Convict uses slang words which contrasts with Pips well spoken responses. He also compares the Convict to a dog with his abrupt behaviour, threatening language and description.
The presentation of characters is that Dickens chose Pip to be a small, scrawny, under nourished and fragile boy who is shy and timid due to the fact of his family's death. The Convict on the otherhand has collequism as he talks with a cockney accent, he is portrayed as a nasty, boney, dirty, muddy, skinny ill-looking man.
The chapter shows good historical context as it is clear that in those times people were more formal. It emphasises the change in society as this is pre-1920's. Dickens is exposing poverty and the vulnerable in victorian society, showing in the book that Pip had no help from society.
