In chapter one there is a great deal of dialogue between Magwitch and Pip this dialogue adds tension and suspense.
“O! Don’t cut my throat, sir, I pleaded in terror. Pray don’t do it, sir” (said by Pip)
This exciting dialogue makes you think Magwitch is a cruel man because he is a threatening to kill the poor young boy. It also suggests the he is so desperate for help that he has to do such an evil and immoral thing to survive. This is a good technique because it makes you feel sorry for Pip and you want to read on to find out if he is going to be okay. In this dialogue we also see a lot of conflict between Pip and Magwitch. Charles Dickens does this because it adds tension and will get his readers captivated in the novel.
Through out the first chapter Charles Dickens uses very imaginative description of the landscape. He does this to help the reader imagine the landscape.
“The marshes were just a long black horizontal line then, as I stopped to look after him; and the river was just another horizontal line, not nearly so broad nor yet so black; and the sky was just a row of long angry red lines and dense black lines intermixed.”
This quote actually mimics the shape of the landscape. This gives the impression that the narrator is scanning the landscape, almost like he is seeing it through a lens. This is a good technique as it very effectively helps the reader to picture the scene where Pip is.
Charles Dickens wrote Great Expectation in instalments. This is a good technique because people have more time to think about what had happened and keeps the reader guessing how the story will unfold.
To make people want to read each episode Dickens ensured each episode had exciting events and each episode would end leaving his audience thinking. Charles Dickens does this with great effect. Below is the final sentence of the first chapter.
“I looked all round for the horrible young man, and could see no sign of him. But now I was frightened again, and ran home without stopping”
This quote would make his audience feel empathy for Pip. This may make them read the next episode to find out what happens to Pip.
Charles Dickens has decided to write his novel in first person with Pip looking back on his past because it gives the novel a level of understanding and direct incite into Pip’s past.
"The small bundle of shivers growing afraid of it all and beginning to cry was Pip."
Writing in first person also makes Pip sound like he is alone. This is a good technique because it makes you feel sorry for Pip because he is all on his own with nobody to help him.
In conclusion Charles Dickens used many different and effective techniques to make the first chapter an excellent beginning. The most noticeable of these techniques were the thrilling dialogue between Pip and Magwitch and the illustrative language describing the landscape. These techniques make the reader want to read on and find out what happens next.
