Great Expectations -how Dickens uses language in the opening chapter and in chapter 8.

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Charls Dickens – Great Expectations

GCSE English

The story of this book is quite opened with a short yet informative paragraph, stating the main character’s name. Through out the story it is narrated in the first person.

“So, I called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip.”

Not only does the reader realise that it is written in the first person but it also has a young and naïve dialect to it. Charles Dickens decided to begin the story in such a simple and unworldly way, to emphasise the narrator’s childishness and to point out that “Pip” is only a young infant at this certain stage of the story. However, one could also say that the reason for a simple introduction is to draw the reader is and make the reader eager to know about the so called boy named “Pip”

The addition the story is also opened in a very conversational and forward manor.

“My father’s family name being Pirrip and my Christian name Philip”

This is due to the fact that the narrator wants the reader to feel comfortable and it also shows the friendly nature of Pip.

The reader then goes on to learn that Pip is an orphan since he clarifies that both his father and mother have passed away.

“My father’s family name on the authority of his tombstone.”

Already the reader is sympathetic towards Pip in only just the second paragraph due to the fact that Pip is so young and helpless. This, the reader is quickly drawn to this boy who we know little about.

In addition, the description of “death” creates airiness. This is a very dramatic start to the book, to engage the reader, since knowing his parents are dead the reader wants to know more about his life.

Finally the scene is set during the second paragraph; it is set in a grave yard. In the grave yard Pip is stood there looking at his parents grave stones.

This image creates furthermore sympathy towards the naive and clueless young boy.

“As I never saw my father or my mother, and never saw any likeness of either of them” shows how he has missed out on having parental guidance in life.

However, in the course of the second paragraph we gather that the story is set in the late Victorian era.

“(For their days were long before the days of photography)” explains how simple technology was new to this period of time. This statement then leads the reader to believe that Pip was amongst the poorer and more unfortunate people who actually had the privilege to live in that era, also described as a “universal struggle” in the story.

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Further on in the chapter, in paragraph three, Pip goes on to describe the area he lived in.

“That this bleak place overgrown with nettles was the church yard”

This vivid description of nature shows the harsh conditions and it creates a dark and insecure feel to the place.

“Dark flat wilderness beyond the church yard, intersected with dykes and mounds and gates” almost resembles the way of life in those days. The word “dyke” (meaning a wall to prevent water or flood) also shows how life then prevented poor people from succeeding or made it extremely hard for ...

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