How does Charles Dickens create effective images of people and places in chapters 1 and 8 of Great Expectations?

Authors Avatar

How does Charles Dickens create effective images of people and places in chapters 1 and 8 of Great Expectations?

Great Expectations is a novel that is recognised as a classic. This particular Charles Dickens enchanting tale is based on the life of a young boy in the Victorian times named Pip. He is both the main character and narrator of the novel. In the chapter’s one and eight we meet Pip as well as his older sister and his sister’s husband Joe. We also meet Magwitch an escaped convict. These characters are representing the lower class of the Victorian society. I believe this novel is about the fact lower class people may find it harder to push boundaries and achieve big thing. Dickens, I think, is trying to show just how wrong this is that people with lower social status are expected to stay lower class.

Other Characters we meet in the novel are Estella the beautiful young adopted daughter of Mrs Havisham an eccentric, and possibly a quite mad but importantly rich old woman. I think it is no coincidence that Dickens shows these two upper class figures to be bitter and not accepting and at times quite stubborn. This highlights the idea that Victorian society is socially rigid. It is not based on who or what you are but instead about your heritage and your riches. Dickens uses this novel to demonstrate that people lower class are more than capable to easily slot into the life of riches and perhaps too easily.

So the opening chapter starts with Pip he is in the process of analysing his parents and brothers gravestones in desperation for any knowledge of his heritage. This sense of desperation allows the readers to feel pity towards Pip. This is a great example of how effortlessly Dickens is able to control the emotions of his audience. Also the fact pip was visiting the grave alone may show how lonely Pip is without his parents and he may almost feel anger towards them for abandoning him with his rather unfeeling and regiment  sister. She was often inclined to beat him regularly.

Join now!

Dickens starts by describing the graveyard as “a dark flat wilderness. “ This allows the reader to point an image of a quite scary desolate place and perhaps quite intimidating. Dickens then quickly moves on to describe Pip as a “small bundle of shivers.” This again allows the reader to point an image but this time of a minute vulnerable child possibly quite haunted at the situation. This contrast seems to exaggerate the timid Pip allows the feelings of sorrow towards him to increase.

Dickens then introduces us to quite threatening Magwitch who opening words were “Keep still, you little ...

This is a preview of the whole essay