In Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations" how does setting aid the dramatic effect of the novel?

In Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations” how does setting aid the dramatic effect of the novel?

Introduction

In this fantastic novel Dickens uses imagery and linguistic techniques to raise levels of tension. I am going to explore and discuss three settings from the novel these are the graveyard, Miss Havisham and her house and London. All of the settings have a effect on the novel as they reflect to the characters for example in chapter 1 when we meet Pip in the dull, dark graveyard we see Pip as a small fragile child like the graveyard. A even better example of this technique that Dickens uses is during chapter 8 when we meet Miss Havisham the setting we meet her in, which is her house, is a exact replica of Miss Havisham herself. The dirty yellow wedding dress she wears is like the dusty, antique furniture and paintwork of the house. When we go to London it is a disgusting ruined old place, which also reflects on the character we meet during this chapter. The settings help the audience get impressions of who the characters are. The setting matches the character we meet there giving us some idea of who the character is. From reading the detailed explanation of Miss Havishams house we already know she is going to be a dirty old women who has long passed her prime, like the old house. Great expectations is basically about a boy named Pip trying to discover who leaves him his fortune, then his struggle to find someone to love. At the end of the play Joe Gargery, Pips brother-in-law, ends up looking after Pip. Great expectations is set in a time when living conditions were very poor a example of this is Pips house which is small and cramped with several people under one, very small, roof.

Chapter 1

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Chapter 1

I am going do describe and explore the various settings in chapter 1 of Great expectations. This is where we are introduced to the main character Pip and also we meet Magwitch here. In this chapter dickens creates a dark mood of fear, terror and suspense. During the build up to meeting Magwitch we find Pip who runs into a mad man chasing him in a dark smoky, dull, scary place. Pathetic fallacy is also in the novel this is when a inanimate object takes on the emotions of a human, for example “the friendly sun” a example of pathetic fallacy in the play is the “raw afternoon” making it seem like a unpleasantly damp and chilly day. Pathetic fallacy is very similar to personification, except personification is a inanimate object doing something, a example of this is “the wind was rushing”. Another quotation that sets the mood is “long angry red lines and dense black lines” this is a extraordinarily effective sentence as the language describes the weather as being angry, ferocious, dark and evil. Another quotation says, “ Bleak place overgrown with nettles” creating the image of this dark uncared for graveyard. The descriptions effect the characters as they reflect on them and set the mood for the chapter and the character as well.

Chapter 8

I am going do describe and explore the various settings in chapter 8 of Great expectations. During this paragraph we meet the fascinating, but weird Miss Havisham. Miss Havisham and the setting we meet her in, which is her house, are both described as old, outdated, antique and uncared for. These adjectives give us a clear image of Miss Havisham and her surrounding, we see her as dirty old women in a dilapidated house. “the rank garden was the garden of the house, and that it was overgrown with tangled weeds” this quotation is taken from chapter 8 describing the outside of Miss Havishams house these powerful words tell us that the garden is also uncared for and left to rot and overgrow. Another quotation states “ everything within my which ought to be white, had been white long ago, and had lost its lustre and was now faded and yellow.” This is describing the inside of the house, this effects us by telling us of this appalling house that has been dirty and dusty for so long that the dust and dirt had just melted into all the furniture, the walls and the house itself. The descriptions in this chapter are similar to the ones in the first chapter as they both describe the settings with negative views, but very effective. The descriptions even effect the characters as the characters are usually the same as their setting. Such as Miss Havisham and her house. All of this creates a dull, darkening, dirty mood to chapter 8. Although the mood is negative the chapter is very complex and well structured.

Chapter 20

I am going do describe and explore the various settings in chapter 20 of Great expectations. This is were Pip travels to London and meets the lawyer Mr. Jaggers in an attempt to find his benefactor. Dickens describes London as “rather ugly, crooked, narrow and dirty” the effects us by giving us another clear image of London, making it seem small, dark, twisted and uncared for, almost evil. Dickens describes Jaggers office as “ a most dismal place” since the definition of dismal is causing gloom or depression we can see that Jaggers office must be a really terrible place, which again gives us a image on who Mr Jaggers is and how he lives which reflects on the characters mood. The last place we see in chapter 20 is Newgate prison and Smithfield market dickens describes this as another bad place he says, “Smithfield; and the shameful place being all asmear with filth and fat and blood and foam, seemed to stick to me” this creates a nasty, disgusting, abysmal, image of these places actually making readers feel ill. The descriptions in chapter 20 can be compared to chapter 1 and 8 all three chapters give negative descriptions of the settings, as they are all dirty, disgusting, ugly, gloomy and sickening and they all effect the characters in that specific charter setting the mood of the characters and how they are to others. Chapter 20 creates a mean evil and fearsome mood, making the characters gloomy as the audience but yet the audience are still very engrossed in the novel.

Conclusion

During great expectations dickens creates various different moods using only the settings of the chapters. He uses linguistic techniques and figurative devices such as similes, personification and pathetic fallacy. The moods for each chapter I have explore are very similar they create negative images on the settings and make us feel pity for the characters for example Miss Havisham and her house her house is gloomy and uncared for so is she stops the clocks at the time she was abandoned at the altar, which makes us feel sorry for her but her and her house are still dirty, just like the streets of London in chapter 20 which links to the prison and Mr Jaggers office. All chapters have the same gloomy pitiful mood. This mirrors the contemporaries harshness of life, the people in his time had things very hard like most of the characters, they had to work very hard for very little in return. The settings of each chapter also mirror the characters we meet in a chapter, such as when we me Miss Havisham. We see her house first which is uncared for old, broken down and worn out basically then we see miss Havisham who is exactly the same. I feel that the most effective setting is Miss Havishams house as it mirrors her exactly and is a perfect example of the question asked for this essay. Despite Dickens unusual style he still creates very complex settings which are sharp and focused.