How does Charles Dickens use setting in the novel Great Expectations?

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How does Charles Dickens use setting in the novel ‘Great Expectations’?

Dickens uses setting in a variety of ways in Great Expectations. He uses it as a way to mirror the feelings of a character and to expand on the characterisation towards Pip. This allows him to create an environment that the reader can empathise with.

In Chapter One, we connect with Pip in a graveyard. The dark, dismal feelings portrayed by the negative adjectives mirror the feelings within Pip – specifically, the feeling of loneliness or abandonment that Pip is suffering from at this stage. The dead nature of the graveyard, and the subsequent introduction of Magwitch, could connate Magwitch's death further in the novel.

As Dickens was an outspoken socialist, the graveyard could also be used to represent the high mortality rate as a result of extreme poverty within the 19th century in England. This is specifically represented by the reference to ‘five little stone lozenges’ – siblings of Pip who have already succumbed to the void.

A ‘distant savage lair’ provides the hint of an introduction to Magwitch. Magwitch could also be represented by the brittle, brutal nature of the landscape. This is particularly reinforced by the uncultured, colloquial way in which he speaks, that shows his roots and the time he has spent in prison. However, as the chapter evolves, we see the perspective of Magwitch change. He is shown as ‘limping’ and ‘cut’, which encourages us to feel pity for him and could hint at the battered existence he has had which has led him to crime. This could represent the view that Dickens’ had – that being of one particular sect, whether good or bad, does not force you all to the same opinion.

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The entire novel is told from the point of view of Pip, which allows us to experience the actions from his perspective. This increases the empathy that we feel with the characters and allows a much greater range of tension and emotion to be used. Furthermore, as the story is told from this perspective and it progresses, we see Pip mature and get a much more adult opinion of the world.

In Chapter Eight, Pip visits the house owned by Miss Havisham, who lives there with her ward Estella. As soon as Pip enters the house, we see the influence ...

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