Great expectations chapter 8

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How, and how successfully, does Dickens maintain his readers’ interest in Chapter8?

          Chapter eight is a very interesting because Dickens moves the story on. Dickens introduces a new setting and also new Characters. He does various things to try and make the reader want to read on, he makes them think what will happen next? I am going to be looking at the plot, new setting, new Characters, Narrative method and also the themes.

          Dickens moves the story on to a different setting and introduces new characters, by doing this Pip is being taken on a new adventure, from meeting a convict to meeting Miss Havisham another person he doesn’t know. Mr Pumblechuck who is a friend of Pip’s sister takes Pip to Miss Havisham house; he takes him there, because he is a friend off Miss Havisham and she has told him she wants a boy who her daughter can look after and play with. However Pip doesn’t want to go to the house and feels scared. When Pip and Miss Havisham first meet she says

                                        “Are you sullen and obstinate”

after Miss Havisham says this Pips stops worrying for a while, because Pip feels safer around her. By introducing the new setting it draws the reader in because they want to know what will happen to Pip at her house.

          In Chapter 8 there is a new development to the story at Miss Havisham’s house. However there are still lots of links back to the first 7 chapters. Pip is still being shoved around by adults, like he was with the convict, but now it is Miss Havisham and he is also still been told to do things he really doesn’t want to do. Dickens is building on what’s gone on before by still making Pip feel inferior. He does this in chapters 1-7 by making him feel unwanted he also does it again in Chapter 8 when Estella comments about his abilities;

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           “Estella denounced me for a stupid, clumsy

                                         Labouring boy”

this makes Pip feel even more unwanted than he already does. By the end of the chapter the reader is wondering what will happen next? What has happened in the house? Why has Miss Havisham’s live stopped still?

           The new setting that is introduced in chapter 8 is Miss Havisham’s house. It is called Satis house, which is Greek or Latin ...

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