great expectations Chapter 8
Charles Dickens a great author who lived in the Victorian times wrote a lot of fantastic novels at his time some the novels include classics like Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby and Hard Time but as people know Dickens most famous novel or his greatest was 'Great expectations' a story about a character called Pip and his journey to become a gentleman.
Based on the novel Great Expectations I would be looking at a chapter eight a very important chapter in the whole novel because of the events that takes place, which gradually sets up the rest of the whole story. In this chapter Pip the main narrator and chapter of the story visits Satis house for the first time.
Charles Dickens makes chapter eight verhistory elements involving around the novel Dickens talks about the difference classes and the differy interesting because of the number of themes, which is presented. The historical context ences between the rich and the poor, and the links with Dickens's life. The structure of the chapter, which Dickens's uses to create interest to keep the reader wondering, it also builds atmosphere in the chapter. The style of language Dickens uses to create images in the chapter by using words and long sentences to build tension. The last theme is explaining how Dickens characters are portrayed and shown throughout the chapter to interests the reader. I will be investigating all of these things. ".
Starting with the historical context Dickens makes attitudes to difference classes. If you were from a low class that meaning you are poor and a higher class meaning you are rich. Dickens points out these facts because it was like this in Victorian times during his times as well. Dickens also includes lots of his own autobiographical references from his early life and transfers them in to his novels and in Great Expectations he transfers them through Pip the main character. Parts of his childhood his father went to prison because of serious debt the prison plays a big part in the novel. Also in chapter eight Estella another very important character says 'What thick boots!' towards Pip. Estella calls Pip a 'common labouring boy!' plus says he has 'coarse hands' and makes fun of that 'he calls the knaves jacks' this is what Dickens is trying you put threw to the refer about the difference in classes in time. From this my opinion of Estella is that I think that the upper class people think the lower class people are not proper humans they should not be treated fairly as they are. Dickens is showing the differences attitudes between the two classes. Other way Dickens show the different class through Estella, when Estella gets food for Pip she leaves him with a plate of bread and leaves him in a courtyard without looking at him.
'She came back, with some bread and meat and a little mug of beer.
She puts the mug down on the stones of the yard, and gave me the bread and meat without looking at me as insolently as if I were a dog in disgrace'
This shows the different class and probably how the lower class was treated.
The women in the novel is presented differently to a typical kind of women in the Victorian times, the women in Great Expectations (Miss Havisham, Estella, Mrs Joe) they have a powerful impact over men, ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
'She came back, with some bread and meat and a little mug of beer.
She puts the mug down on the stones of the yard, and gave me the bread and meat without looking at me as insolently as if I were a dog in disgrace'
This shows the different class and probably how the lower class was treated.
The women in the novel is presented differently to a typical kind of women in the Victorian times, the women in Great Expectations (Miss Havisham, Estella, Mrs Joe) they have a powerful impact over men, they don't treat the men with respect an average women would respect their men, and was suppose keep quiet when they are talking. This shows that Dickens was a head of his time.
Next I would be investigating about the structure of the chapter the way Dickens's creates the amount of tension to keep the reader interested. When Pip enters Satis house Dickens makes this attention grabbing by building the atmosphere, with the use of language.
'There was no glimpse of day light to be seen' inside Satis house when Pip first goes in, 'only the candles lighted us' and ' the passage were all dark'.
'I saw that the bride within the bridal dress has withered like the dress'
'No brightness' left'. We are curious and feel disturbed by the dark house I also feel the house is cursed. These are an example of the way Dickens creates the tension through the chapter. More tension is when Pip begins to describe the surroundings before the climax of seeing Mrs Havisham. After notices her Pip describes what Miss Havisham looks like,
'She was dressed in rich material- satins, and lace, and silks-all of white her shoe were white but her hair was white'
This keeps the reader imagining what sort of class Miss Havisham is in. Pip reminds us of what Miss Havisham looks like by describing the strange things about her appearance.
'She had not quite finished dressing, for she had but one shoe on- the other was on table near her hand- her veil was but half arranged.'
The reader would be very curious about this character and might want to understand why Miss Havisham dress like this and how she is going to act like. Satis house is a very important element to the story because of every time Pip comes to Satis house throughout the story some important events usually happens to keep the story moving, so Satis house is one of the main sources of excitement in the story because of the way it is brilliantly described by Dickens.
Miss Havisham's story is relapsed in chapter eight we can tell what happens to her from Dickens description of her appearance for example her dressc
'Dresses, less splendid than the dress she wore,'
This is about the dummies that had dresses 'but I saw that in the room every thing within my view which ought to be white, had been white long ago, and had lost it lustre, and was faded and yellow'
Dickens described this point out the dress Miss Havisham was having on. Dickens carefully describes the wedding cake along the table in Miss Havisham's room and the mystery between her clocks in the room that all stops at twenty to nine.
The style of language in this chapter is excellent work by Dickens as he uses specially words like 'wilderness', 'crooked', 'gloom' to create images of darkness death decay etc to amuse the reader not to let them dose of. Dickens style of writing he uses very long sentences since no sentence in the novel is short. He uses these techniques to gather pace and get tension there is an example of this in the chapter when Pip is exploring Satis house courtyard after playing card with Estella.
'To be sure, it was deserted places, down to the pigeon-house in the brewery-yard, which had been crooked on its pole by some high wind, and would have made the pigeons think themselves at sea,'
Another example is
'But, there were no pigeons in the dove-cot, no horses in the stable, no pig in sty, no malt in the store-house, no smells of grains and beer in the copper or the vat.'
These quotes tell that Satis house used to be a lively place before now that every thing changes and the items Pip sees are old. Another example of the style of language Dickens uses to create tension is when he describes Pip mistakenly seeing Miss Havisham on a beam
'In terror of seeing the figure, and in the terror of being certain that it had not been there a moment before, I at first ran from it, and then ran towards it. And my terror was greatest of all when I found no figure there'
Dickens creates a really strong sense of mystery and this keeps us reading to find out what happens next.
The final theme is the characters I will be investigating the three most important and interesting characters in Great Expectations. The characters are portrayed in away that makes the story a lot more exciting and the reader's attention. The most obvious character to do is the main character of the story Pip. Pip is described a normal low class boy who lives with his stepsister. He is in a lower class than Estella and Miss Havisham he very sensitive and feeble. We know he is sensitive because of what Estella and Miss Havisham had said to him about his think boots and his coarse hands.
'My sister's bring-up had made me sensitive'
This quotes Pip's sensitivity and because of this he changes the way he looks at himself forever. Also we know Pip is feeble because he didn't really stick up for himself when he was taunted by Estella. Pip did not mind where he came from or his class at first now he regards himself as nothing. This point the reader would show sympathy for Pip.
The second character is Estella this character is very interesting because of her appearance, her behaviour and her dialogue she says, she a very exciting character in the novel just because she is not one of the nicest people. Estella appearance according to Pip is that she is very pretty and had brown hair.
'This is Pip, is it?' returned the young lady, who was very pretty and seemed very proud' this is Pip's first impressions of Estella's looks he also thinks that she is very proud as well. Estella's behaviour is what really makes the character stands out than every one else she is horrible person especially to Pip whose she does not treat like a human being. She tries to act like a Woman like Miss Havisham thinking she is above everybody, when playing cards with Pip she acts like a little spoilt brat, while playing cards she 'threw the cards down on the table' after winning. Pip says she very 'insulting' but also 'pretty'. She makes fun of Pip 'he calls the knaves, jacks, this boy!' Estella insults Pip by not calling him by is name rudely calls him boy.
Miss Havisham tells Estella that she has the power to hurt Pip 'you can break his heart' Estella is one of the characters that bring the novel to life.
Miss Havisham is the last character this person is seriously not normal she is a weird character. When Pip first sees her he seemed surprised and a little frighten of her, the reader would be interested because they would want to know what her problem was. Dickens describes Miss Havisham as a ghostly, strange and mysterious. I think she gives the scenes the atmosphere they need to keep the story up and running. Miss Havisham says 'I sometimes have sick fancies', I guess she as bad dreams furthermore she says 'I want a diversion and I done with men and women' I figured that she had past problems that might involve both men and women. She asks Pip a bizarre question when they first meet
'You are not afraid of a women who has never seen the sun since you were born?' what Miss Havisham meant she has not seen sun light or being outside for a very long time. What is interesting she is the one who tells Estella to hurt Pips feeling this showing she is not really a average mother to Estalla by teaching her different things that an average women would teach her child.
The conclusion to my coursework on how different ways Charles Dickens can interest in reader in chapter eight. Dickens interests the reader by using Historical context adding facts on is life and putting them in the novel so the reader would know what the Victorian times were like. The structure of the chapter when Dickens tries to create tension to keep the reader on track and fascinated. The style language Dickens uses to describe items thought the chapter. He using interesting words to again build pace and tension. Finally the characters Dickens introduces to give the chapter and the novel depth. These are all of the elements that Dickens uses to make the reader read the chapter.
