Great Expectations Coursework
Great Expectations Coursework
Dickens creates a powerful atmosphere in the first chapter of his
famous novel-'Great Expectations' in a variety of ways. but
before I begin to analyse Dickens' techniques let me first define
what I believe atmosphere to be. Atmosphere is the prevailing
mood created by surroundings or surrounding people, for
example an atmosphere of anticipation or celebration is created
at a football match by crowd chants, music and cheering.
The prevailing mood in the opening chapter changes, from a
bleak and eerie atmosphere to one of gripping tension. To
introduce a bleak atmosphere Dickens describes the marsh
country as 'the dark flat wilderness beyond the church yard'
Dickens chooses his words very carefully in this phrase to make
the marsh country sound bleak and deserted. The word
'wilderness' creates a sense of emptiness among the marsh
country, 'dark' is also used well in this sentence as it depicts the
marsh country as mysterious. Dickens also refers to the river as
a 'low leaden line' his use of alliteration in this description tells
us he wants the reader to focus on the river which he implies is
dull and lifeless by using the long heavy sounds in his
description, e.g. the 'l' in 'long leaden line' It is no surprise that
on such a 'raw' afternoon Pip gathers a 'vivid and broad
impression of the identity of things' here he is referring to the
one expectation we can all count on ... death.
Dickens uses Pip to a great advantage in the first chapter. As
both narrator and a leading figure, Pip is naturally the most
important character in 'Great Expectations': the novel is his
story, told in his words, and his perceptions utterly define the
events and characters of the book. As a result, Dickens's most
important task as a writer in Great Expectations is the creation
of Pip's character. Because Pip's is the voice with which he tells
his story. In the opening chapter Pip is used as a great asset to
create the tension Dickens desires. Dickens portrays Pip as a
polite, pleasant and well-mannered young boy, however this
serves to depict Pip as vulnerable, especially when the convict
(Magwitch) is introduced to the chapter. Dickens also wants the
reader to feel sympathetic towards Pip, he uses first person
narrative throughout the whole book, which gives us, as the
reader, a real insight into Pips thoughts and feelings, he portrays
Pip as an adult looking back on his lonely childhood. This
sympathy is created in the first chapter, when Pip says,'my first
fancies regarding what they [Pips parents] were like. . . that my
mother was freckled and sickly' the fact that Pip has derived this
impression from his parents gravestones alone suggests he is a
very lonely, yet imaginative child. The reader ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
narrative throughout the whole book, which gives us, as the
reader, a real insight into Pips thoughts and feelings, he portrays
Pip as an adult looking back on his lonely childhood. This
sympathy is created in the first chapter, when Pip says,'my first
fancies regarding what they [Pips parents] were like. . . that my
mother was freckled and sickly' the fact that Pip has derived this
impression from his parents gravestones alone suggests he is a
very lonely, yet imaginative child. The reader also feels
sympathy for Pip throughout the book, he is referred to as 'boy'
many times e.g. by Estella and Miss Havisham numerous times,
this is very impersonal and demeaning, thus the reader begins to
feel sympathetic towards Pip.
When Magwitch is introduced to the chapter, a sense of tension
is imposed on the reader. Magwitch is a very intimidating
character at the beginning of the story, this is clear by the things
Magwitch says when he first meets Pip, for example 'I'll cut your
throat'. Magwitch asks Pip many questions to learn things about
him. Magwitch was of an unkempt appearance 'A fearful man,
all in coarse grey, with an iron on his leg. A man with no hat,
broken shoes, and with an old rag around his head. A man 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' This
emphasise the image of Magwitch to make the reader feel a
sense of sympathy for the character of Magwitch. Also, Dickens
uses passive voice to great effect in the description just given, he
also repeats 'and' many times, to make it seem as though the
torture Magwitch has endured went on over a long period of
time. Pip describes Magwitch as a 'fearful man but still, when
threatened by the 'slitting of his throat' he still manages to stay
well mannered, a prime example of this is the title he
continuously gives to Magwitch, namely 'sir'. Magwitch was
clearly a character created by Dickens to create tension, the first
two times Pip meets Magwitch there is a great sense of tension. I
am now referring to chapter thirty-nine, when Magwitch meets
Pip for the second time, but not as the common convict he was
before, but as Pips benefactor. Pip tells us that night involved
'wretched weather; stormy and wet', bearing in mind Pip is
about to be visited by a man who scared him to death as a child
the 'stormy weather' adds a great deal of tension. You can
clearly understand this when watching Lean's films, in which, on
that night the storms are seen to be horrendous.
Now returning to the opening chapter, the manor of speaking
between Pip and Magwitch is different in many ways,
Magwitch's dialect compared to Pips is very poor. Dickens
portrays Magwitch as very poorly educated and having a speach
impediment, he uses 'w' instead of 'v'. Magwitch also says,
'Pint out the place' using the word 'pint' instead of 'point. This
contrasts largely with Pips speech, even in the opening of the
chapter the reader is informed of Pips well mannered and polite
attitude, but once again, when Magwitch begins to threaten him
with the 'slitting of his throat' he still manages to stay well
mannered, a prime example of this is the title he continuously
gives to Magwitch, namely 'sir', and also when Magwitch says
'what fat cheeks you ha' got' he still stays polite in a narrative
sense as he says ' I believe they were fat, though I was at the
undersized, for my years, and not strong'. This also adds to the
sense of vulnerability that surrounds Pip throughout the chapter,
but could also be seen as humour, which Dickens uses to relieve
some of the tension created in the opening chapter.
At the end of the chapter, Pip looks back on the convict and
begins to feel sympathy for him, Pip says Magwitch was 'like a
man whose legs were numbed and stiff' this is a good example
of why Dickens chose Pip as narrator for the novel, without the
first person narrative the reader would not be able to know Pips
impressions of Magwitch. The description of the marshes at the
close of the chapter is excellent, Pip describes the marsh country
as 'just a long black horizontal line... and the river was just
another horizontal line.. the sky just a row of long angry red
lines' this shows a contrast to his description in the beginning of
which the chapter suggests there is now anger inside Pips mind.
It also informs us of the compassion and sympathy Pip feels for
Magwitch, Dickens uses this to challenge the readers thinking.
The readers immediate reaction towards Magwitch is hatred,
because of the way in which he treats Pip, but this short
description allows us to see the sympathy Pip feels for
Magwitch.
Many of Dickens' novels were written to a purpose, to get a
message across to the audience, there are many in 'Great
Expectations', both moral and philosophical. Dickens' childhood
was filled with disappointment, when he was just a young child
his father was arrested for going into debt, which seems like a
petty offence today, it happens to many people, and does not
involve prison. Many of Dickens' messages were subtle yet
powerful attacks on the way people were treated in his lifetime.
Dickens believed that people who were seen as poor, or not
particularly well educated were given no support, or help and
were left to look after their selves, whether they were capable or
not. London was split in the 1800's, the rich had all the
priviligages, and the poor had very little, they were virtually left
to suffer. Dickens' dreams of making the world a fairer place are
still a long way off becoming true, a prime example of this is
the recent disaster in New Orleans, in which many poor, and
homeless people were left to look after them selves, with no
food, no drink and no shelter. Dickens' uses Magwitch to get
this message across in 'Great Expectations', who sums his life up
as 'in and out of prison' this is yet another technique to make the
reader feel sympathetic towards Magwitch, but also allows the
reader to feel for how convicts were treated. Magwitch had a lot
of potential and was the 'perfect' gentleman to Pip throughout
the book, even if Pip did not realise himself, the message to be
learned here, and what Dickens wanted to make clear is that
people need to be given an opportunity before we judge them.
One other message Dickens tells the reader is that a gentleman is
not defined by the way you speak, dress, are mannered but it is
what they are like inside that counts. In this novel the reader
expects Pips benefactor to be a gentleman by appearance, but
instead we learn it is Magwitch. A man who was seen as just a
common convict, someone who could never make something of
them selves, but Magwitch is an example of what people can do
when they are given an opportunity. Magwitch isn't the cruel,
intimidating convict we meet at the start of the novel, but is a
gentlemen, a perfect gentlemen. He may not have had the best
education, dress well or be well mannered, but he is the heroin
of this book, the person who made Pips life happy. And so is Joe
Gargery, Joe is the person who was always nice to Pip as a
child, even when he was at fault or in the wrong with his
sister(Joe's wife) but when Pip goes to London, he forgets about
Joe. Magwitch and Joe are people who Pip had earlier ridiculed,
but thanks to them he realises the true values of life.
This compares greatly to one of Dickens' most famous novels
'Oliver', in this novel there is a moral message that can be found
also in 'Great Expectations'. The two characters relate greatly are
Magwitch and Nancy. In 'Oliver' Nancy is a prostitute, a person
looked down on in society- this is the first comparison we find
that links both Magwitch and Nancy- they are both seen as
sinners, people who are looked down on by many people. But in
'Oliver' Nancy becomes a hero, as does Magwitch. She risks her
life so that a young orphan named Oliver can live happily, as
does Magwitch in 'Great Expectations'. This once again
reiterates the message that Dickens was showing us, and that is
not to judge people until they have been given an opportunity to
show their worth.
Pip also admits that he concentrated on making a good
impression on the people he likes the least. Instead of making an
effort to make a good impression on Joe or Magwitch (the two
people who have helped in life) he makes more effort to impress
Bentley Drummel, a person who he despises. This links back to
how he neglected Joe once he had moved away, to London.
To conclude, Dickens' creates his atmosphere in a superb
fashion, he uses characters, surroundings and the readers
thoughts to create a powerful atmosphere. Magwitch is used to
create tension, in his actions and what he says, and Pips
vulnerability adds to the sense of tension that surrounds their
encounter.
