'Great Expectations' - Charles Dickens.

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Hannah Hardwick VL VEC                 ‘Great Expectations’ – Assignment One

(Chapter One)

‘Great Expectations’ – Charles Dickens

   ‘Great Expectations’ was written in the early 1860s by the famous writer Charles Dickens. At that time massive changes were taking place in the world. There were hugely rich people but lots of people who were living on the streets with no home, no job and no money. The rich people did not give the poor any support by paying taxes which is why there were vast numbers of people living in poverty.  

   The novel is portrayed as an autobiography, through the eyes of Philip Pirrip, an orphan looking back at his life. The novel is ‘written’ by the adult Pip which is why, in parts Pip seems to be critical of himself. The fact that the novel is written in autobiographical form is linked to the moral purpose and reader appeal the novel has. I think Dickens wrote ‘Great Expectations’ in the first person in an autobiographical style so he could get Pip’s feelings and views of the world across to the reader in the most efficient way possible. This is why everything in the novel seems so big to the reader – because it seen through the eyes of Pip who is so small. It also makes it more realistic so the reader will feel like they are really there, in the story.

   It is set in two very different locations, the country and the city of London and when Pip discovers he has ‘Great Expectations’ his lifestyle changes considerably. By the end of the novel he has learnt the lessons of his ‘Great Expectations’ and at the close of the story is a much more likable and wiser person for it.

   Chapter one of ‘Great Expectations’ had to be interesting to grab the reader’s attention and I think Dickens has done this very well. It had to get the reader involved and give them a feeling for the main characters and the settings, which ‘Great Expectations’ achieves easily.

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   The opening chapter of any book is crucial as it determines whether the reader decides to read on and find out what happens. Chapter one also sets up many of the mysteries and themes of ‘Great Expectations’ which last throughout the novel. When Magwitch is introduced he sets up the mysteries between him, Miss Havisham and Estella and these mysteries aren’t solved until nearly the end of the novel. These mysteries carry the main moral message of the novel. When Pip meets Miss Havisham and Estella his self-esteem and moral values decline from the influence they have over him. ...

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