Victorian society was one of extremes; there were mainly two classes of people- the rich and the poor. Many of the rich were factory owners who became wealthy as a result of the industrial revolution, and the poor working class families who lived in extreme poverty as illustrated in the book as Joe Gargery, and the wealthy as Miss Havisham. Charles Dickens himself was from a poor background. Pip’s only chance of rising out of poverty was having his education and apprenticeship paid for by a wealthy benefactor. In Victorian times there were no social benefits to support the poor. So the workhouse, an institution where disease was common and work was exchanged for a roof and poor food was the only solution to debt. In Victorian times there were many values, some of these include; Children must be seen and not heard and cleanliness is next to godliness. This is portrayed in the book as Mrs Joe always keeping her house clean and immaculate and Pip not saying a word at the dinner table.
The book ‘Great Expectations’ was written in 1939.The main influence of Charles Dickens, as a writer would have been fiction written in the gothic genre. Gothic novels have a theme of mystery and suspense, usually suspense, and are usually set in lonely places using decrepit buildings, which were isolated from the neighbourhood. There was usually a dark menacing stranger and a vulnerable hero or heroin, which would feel threatened. The book has some Gothic elements to it. In the first chapter it describes the graveyard as being a dark, lonely and run down place, which is often typical of gothic style. Another gothic element that the book Great expectation has is that there is a villain (Magwitch), and a vulnerable hero (Pip). There are also other novels at the time of when Charles Dickens was writing ’Great Expectations’ that he as a person might have read. These may have included ‘Dracula’ by Bram Stoker or ‘Jane Eyre’ by Charlotte Bronte. He would have used these ideas in the other books of the period and would have definitely influenced him in the writing of Great Expectations, of creating a picture of a lonely, isolated graveyard on the marshes, which was the scene for the vulnerable Pip’s meeting with the mysterious menacing figure of Magwitch- the terrifying convict. Also the dilapidated, ‘Satis house’ was a typical picture of a gothic mansion.
Charles Dickens uses many figures of speech, adjectives and adverbs. He does this very well and his choice of language and writing skills including onomatopoeia, personification and alliteration, gives us a very clear and good image of what the marshes were like and the atmosphere.
In chapter 1 he uses alliteration, “low leaden line” to show how dense and gloomy the area was, from this you get the idea that the marshes were an inhospitable place. Charles dickens also mentions in paragraph three that Phillip Pirrip, Georgiana (Phillips wife), and all the children- Alexander, Bartholomew, Abraham, Tobias and Roger- were dead and buried. From this we get the idea that life wasn’t good at the marshes and gives the impression that death was constantly upon them and that life was about just waiting until you die. Also in chapter one paragraph three it says that the marshes were “…intersected with dykes…” this is a geographical term, dykes are levees that are man built to protect the low land from flooding which suggests that the marshes getting flooded was a problem and that they were close to a big river. Dickens also uses a good metaphor in chapter one verse three, ‘…distant savage lair from which the wind was rushing was the sea…’Also in chapter one he gives us a good description of where the village is actually situated,” I pointed to where the village lay, on the flat in-shore among the alder-trees and pollards, a mile or more from the church”. He mentions the sky as having “…long angry red lines…” Anger is a human emotion that can only be felt by a human; Dickens has used this device- personification- on purpose because he wants us to feel as if the sky is a person like us and that we feel the sky’s anger as well. Dickens is describing a winter sunset at the end of chapter one. Dickens also uses a lot of adjectives; in one particular paragraph he mentions all these describing words- fearful, old, soaked, smothered, lamed, cut and stung. He also uses a lot of repetition in that same paragraph; he uses the word ‘and’ eleven times to enforce the ideas upon the reader of Magwitches suffering. At the end of chapter one Dickens mentions a gibbet with chains hanging off it, which had once held a pirate. A gibbet is the gallows on which criminals were left suspended after execution. In my opinion a gibbet looks rather sinister, menacing and scary, which just adds to the effect of the marshes being a bad place to be. At the end of
Chapter two Dickens states that the marshes were ‘misty’, giving us a clearer image of the marshes. Dickens also uses an effective simile in chapter three “…as if some goblin had been crying there all night, and using the window as a pocket-handkerchief.” This is referring to how damp the marshes were and gives yet another image in our minds to what the marshes were like. He also uses personification, to personalise the marsh mist, he says, “…everything seemed to run at me.” As if the mist was an actual person. This is a clever device to use and Dickens uses it effectively here.
Dickens uses many clever devices such as adjectives and adverbs to describe the characters in his book very well. Especially for characters Such as for Pip, Magwitch and Mrs. Joe.
Magwitch is an escaped convict and has escaped a prison ship. He is currently on the run and is hiding out on the marshes. In chapter one Dickens shows us exactly how much Magwitch Is actually suffering by using several phrases of adjectives in one sentence, “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 …”. Limped, shivered and glared are words that suggest to me that Magwitch isn’t only a menacing character but that he is also a vulnerable person now that he is on the run in the marshes. Charles Dickens also exaggerates the characteristics of his characters especially of the people that are not very likeable. Such as Magwitch. Charles Dickens also gives us the Impression that Magwitch is quite a powerful figure as he says that,”…his eyes looked powerfully down into mine, and mine looked most helplessly up into his”. WE can also tell that Magwitch is not very well educated, we can tell this because in chapter one Magwitch says “And you know what wittles is?” This isn’t correct grammar even for Victorian times. Gradually Dickens starts to make us feel sympathy for Magwitch for example the exaggerating of his suffering.
Pip is a little boy who lives with his older sister (Mrs Joe) and his older sisters husband (Mr Joe Gargery). Mr Joe Gargery is a Blacksmith and lives in quite a peasant house although it is clean. He lives with his sister and sister’s husband because all his other family has passed away. Pip is quite humorous at times, for example when Magwitch mentions how wet and cold the Marshes were, Pip says that, “I wish I was a frog, or a eel!”. This to me is quite a funny statement to make. Also Pip is quite caring as he starts to feel sorry for Magwitch. You can tell that Pip isn’t scared of Magwitch any more as in chapter three he writes that Pip was “pitying his desolation” referring to Magwitch. Also in chapter three Pip refers to Magwitch as his friend. This tells me that Pip is caring and even loving towards other people.
Finally Mrs Joe, wife of Mr Joe Gargery and sister/mother of Pip. We can tell that she isn’t a very nice person as she believes in the common belief that children should be seen and not heard. Also she believes that cleanliness is next to Godliness, she keeps a very clean house, too clean that it felt uncomfortable to be in the house as Pip mentions. Also Mrs Joe feels resentment for having to raise Pip since their parents died.
My conclusion from reading and studying the first four chapters of great expectations is that Charles Dickens is an amazingly good writer and gives us a very clear picture of the characters in the book and the landscape in the surrounding area. He uses many good describing words such as ravenously referring to Magwitch as he was eating the bread. In my view I believe that the title is rather humorous because there doesn’t seem much hope for Pip and his family to gain a better life for themselves or getting away from the marshes. It is as if they are entrapped in the marshes until they die, and there’s no way out.
