Discuss the ways in which Dickens creates and maintains suspense in chapter 39 of 'Great Expectations'.
Florencia Rubio 10CB.
Discuss the ways in which Dickens creates and maintains suspense in chapter 39 of 'Great Expectations'.
Charles Dickens was born on the 7th February 1812, during the Victorian era. He was born in Portsmouth but spent most of his life in London. He was considered to be the best author of Victorian times and his work is still very famous today.
His father was a well paid clerk in the Navy and his family were well off and very high up in the social classes. But in 1814 his father fell into a lot of debt and ended up in prison. This made the Dickens family fall down the social class ladder and become very poor. While Charles's father was in prison, he died this meant that Charles had a very traumatic childhood. This childhood has featured in many of Dickens's books through characters, for example, Great Expectations involves crime, class, London and bad family life, Charles experienced all of these things as a child. Also as a child Dickens's experienced both classes - rich and poor, as Pip does in Great Expectations.
When Charles was 12 years old he was sent to work in a blacking factory in Hungerford market to try and help out his family who were in a lot of financial trouble. He used to dream about becoming a gentleman just like Pip does. From 1824-1827 Charles studied at Wellington House Academy and then from 1827-1828 he was a law office clerk. Then he went on to become a short hand reporter at Doctors Commons. In the 1830's Dickens contributed to Monthly Magazine and the evening chronicle and edited Bentley's Miscellany. These jobs gave him a taste for writing and in 1833 he started to write short stories, he had a very sharp ear for conversation, which helped him to create colourful and imaginative characters such as Miss Havisham.
Some of Dickens's most famous books are A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield and Great Expectations. Many of his books were serialised in newspapers such as Great Expectations, which was serialised in 1860 in a newspaper called 'All year round' because of this the stories had to be interesting and give cliff-hangers so that people would want to buy the next instalment, just like TV soaps of today.
From reading the beginning of Great Expectations we have already learnt a lot about Pip's character. As a child he was very poor and lived a working class life with his sister Mrs Joe Gargery and her husband Joe Gargery, the blacksmith. His sister treats him very badly, always shouting at him and blaming him for everything, but he gets on very well with Joe and when he reaches 14 he becomes his blacksmith apprentice. But it's not just Pip's sister that would give him a reason to be scared, while Pip was visiting his mothers and fathers grave when he was younger he came face to face with an escaped convict called Magwich who threatened him and was forced to bring him food. Also when Pip is a young boy he is sent an order to visit Miss Havisham to play and entertain her where he meets Estella and falls in love with her, but he knows that she would never love him back.
One day though Pip is told that he is to go to London and live the life of a gentleman and is given a large sum of money. But since he has been in London, suddenly very rich and not having to work he has become very arrogant and self centred. He is still in love with Estella and now thinks that he could have a chance with her because he is a gentleman and he thinks that it's Miss Havisham that has been his benefactor.
In the Victorian times people loved to read about horror and suspense in their stories, just like horror films that people today love to watch. They were big fans of Dracula, The hound of the Baskerville, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Wuthering heights. So in many of his stories Dickens uses horror and suspense to grab his readers attention and Great Expectations is no exception. In chapter 39 Dickens manages to create a very high point in tension, suspense and horror, which is one of the reasons why Great Expectations was so popular.
Great Expectations is ...
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In the Victorian times people loved to read about horror and suspense in their stories, just like horror films that people today love to watch. They were big fans of Dracula, The hound of the Baskerville, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Wuthering heights. So in many of his stories Dickens uses horror and suspense to grab his readers attention and Great Expectations is no exception. In chapter 39 Dickens manages to create a very high point in tension, suspense and horror, which is one of the reasons why Great Expectations was so popular.
Great Expectations is written in the first person narrative so we can get empathy of Pip.
At the beginning of chapter 39 Charles Dickens created a sense of normality, that would add to the readers sense of expectation and anticipation of would was going to happen to Pip. He isn't able to settle to anything in life all he does is read also he still doesn't know who his benefactor is, he still secretly thinks it is Miss Havisham. Pip is all alone in his house and Dickens emphasises this by the repetition of the word 'alone'. " I was alone and had the dull sense of being alone" He is feeling quite depressed because his friend Herbert Pocket had gone on a trip to Marseilles. Similarly Pip's mood is reflected in the weather at the time. It is described as 'stormy and wet,' 'a vast heavy veil,' and 'mud deep in all the streets' this violent imagery sets the atmosphere and emphasises on the terrible weather also the repetition of the most violent descriptions makes in even more extreme. The alliteration on 'wretched weather' and 'day after day' draws people's attention to the scene. Dickens also uses metaphors to make the weather sound more violent 'violent blasts of rain has accompanied these rages of wind' this makes the weather sound angry and that's why it is so violent. The good use of adjectives adds to the suspense because you are able to imagine the setting, this would also add to the anticipation.
After describing the weather Dickens goes back to emphasising how alone Pip is 'it has not now so lonely a character as it' Pip is in a very isolated setting. To add more suspense to the scene Dickens relates back to chapter one when the convict escapes 'like discharges of cannon' this is a good simile that describes the cannons. Pip is looking out of the windows and how the wind was making them rock, he thinks to himself about living in a light house which would be a very isolated place to live just like he is feeling now. The way Dickens has been describing the weather no one would want to go outside unless they really had to. When Pip looks down the staircase he sees that the lamps have been blown out by the wind, this adds to more suspense because he is now in a dark, eerie house in the middle of a gigantic storm. Dickens uses very long sentences, broken up with a lot of punctuation like commas, brackets and the use of 'and' Pip then sees that the lamps on the bridges and in the court had been blown out and the shore was shuddering, this adds to more tension because now its not just the lamps in Pip's house that have gone out, its outside as well. Also this description is a good use of personification because people shudder.
At exactly eleven o'clock Pip shuts his book and at the very same time all of the church-clocks in the city chimed, this adds suspense because of the timing and it would of made him jump. He stops and listens to the wind but then suddenly he hears a footstep on one of the stairs. In such appalling weather no one would be outside so the suspense increases. In the last few lines of the paragraph Dickens starts to write in shorter sentences that aren't as detailed as the ones before about the lights being blown out, this is a contrast so that the speed would increase which would also increase on the amount of suspense.
As soon as Pip hears the footstep he immediately thinks that it is his dead sister coming back 'with the footstep of my dead sister' but that thought soon leaves him 'it was past in a moment' he then hears the footstep again but this time it stumbles which makes the person sound clumsy. Whenever Pip moves the person stops, this increases the amount of suspense because you don't know who it is and it looks like they don't want Pip to find out because they are mirroring Pip's movements.
Pip eventually talks to them and says 'There is some one down there, is there not?' and the person just replies with the simple one word answer 'yes' Dickens only writes that it is from a voice so we still don't know who it is. Pip simply asks him what floor he would like, probably still thinking that he is not there to see him, but the person replies 'the top. Mr Pip' this made the suspense go up a lot because the person knows Pip's name. Pip is obviously shocked that he knows his name and asks if anything is wrong and when the person says no the man walks on.
Pip now knows that it is a man but because of the lack of light it is hard for him to see exactly who it is. He has a small lamp and he uses that to try and see who it is but he only manages to get a quick glimpse of him. Dickens uses a good contrast between light and dark using words such as 'shaded,' 'circle of light,' and 'very contracted.' He manages to see the face of the person but he doesn't recognise him. But to confuse Pip even more the man looks pleased to see him. As the man moves Pip is able to see that he is 'substantially dressed, but roughly' He has 'long iron-grey hair' and he is about 60, he is 'a muscular man, strong to his legs,' so he obviously isn't a gentleman like Pip. The use of the colour grey makes the man sound dull. He is a working class man, this increases tension because readers would want to know why a working class man would want to see Pip at eleven o'clock at night in the middle of a horrific storm.
Pip addresses the man like a gentleman and as if he is talking to a gentleman by saying 'Pray what is your business?' he then goes on to ask him if he would like to come in 'D o you wish to come in' remaining a gentleman in the way that he talks. The man returns the politeness when he replies 'Yes, I wish to come in Master.' Pip is only 33 and the man is about 60 so it is odd for an older man to call Pip master.
Pip tries to remain civil but he finds it hard because he doesn't like the man 'I had asked him the question inhospitably enough, for I resented the sort of bright and gratified recognition that still shone in his face.' Dickens then makes a repetition of the mans appearance 'rough,' 'long iron grey'
When the man says 'there is no one nigh? Is there?' this makes the suspense increase because the readers would want to know why the man would want to be on his own with Pip and make sure that there is no one else around. Pip asks out front why he would want to know something like that 'Why do you, a stranger coming into my rooms at this time of night, ask that question?' Pip has obviously got a lot of thoughts going through his head and wants to exactly why this man has come to his house in the middle of the night. 'I'm glad you've grow'd up, a game one,' is the man's reply, this answer would increase the amount of tension because it sounds as if this man knew Pip when he was younger.
The next paragraph is a very long one with very long sentences; the use of commas builds up suspense because they are able to build up a lot of details. Pip suddenly realises that he knows the man that has come to his house. 'for I knew him!' Dickens makes repetition of the phase 'I knew him!' followed by exclamation marks to add shock to Pip's surprise. Suddenly everything from Pip's childhood and the meeting of the convict in the graveyard comes back to him. Dickens shows this because he uses very long sentences with lots of punctuation to show Pip's thoughts this would build up suspense because the readers would also remember when Pip met the convict and they would want to know why he is coming back to see Pip after all these years.
Pip is in a lot of shock and cant believe that Magwich has come back to see him after all this time. At this part in the chapter the rise in tension has slowed down by still going up. There is still abit of suspense though because we still don't know why Magwich has come back and what he wants with Pip.
Pip is repulsed by Magwich and wants to stay as far away from his as possible by pushing him away and telling him to stay away. 'Stay! Keep off' he is saying that it wasn't necessary for Magwich to come and find him and thank him for helping him years ago. He is still desperate to get rid of him 'Will you have something to drink before you go?'
The rise of tension has become very slow but the readers are still anticipating what is going to happen. We find out that Magwich was sent to live in Australia and he became a sheep-farmer. All Victorian readers would know that if a criminal was sent abroad to live then they would not be allowed back into the country so they would know that Magwich's visit must be important.
Very slowly Pip begins to realise why Magwich has come all the way from Australia to see him, 'It was only now that I began to tremble.' Dickens uses repetition to build up more suspense 'Might a mere warmint ask what property?' 'Might a mere warmint ask whose property?' The readers would have by now been thinking that Magwich is Pip's benefactor but they won't be sure, this wondering would build up tension. Magwich continues to ask Pip questions about how to became a gentleman and how got all of his money. Pip finally realises when Magwich makes references to Mr Jaggers. 'Some lawyer maybe. As to the first letter of that lawyers name now. Would it be J?'
Pip has a mixture of feelings when he realises all of them are negative he feels disappointed, horrified and immense shock. 'To struggle for every breath I drew.' At this point the tension in the chapter reaches its climax, we now know why Magwich has come to see Pip and that he is the benefactor and it's not Miss Havisham.
Dickens uses lots of contracting emotions to show how both characters are feeling. Pip is horrified where as Magwich is trilled, Magwich says that he lived a rough life so that Pip could live a smooth one. All of Pip's dreams about Miss Havisham and Estella are shattered. As Magwich gets more and more excited about seeing Pip and explaining everything Pip becomes more and more revolted and afraid, this is another good contract Dickens made between the two characters.
Magwich thinks that because he made Pip into a gentleman and that he has come to see him that he should become a second father to Pip and he is expecting a long term father son relationship but this thought repulses Pip ' blood ran cold within me.' While this so much for Pip to take in he still hopes that there could be a mistake or that someone else helped 'Was there no one else?' when Magwich tells him that he did it all by his self Pip realises that he now has no chance with Estella.
The amount of tension in the chapter has gone down to barely any thing. Pip's entire life has a gentleman has been broken into pieces he finds himself wishing that he had been left at the forge with his sister and Joe even though he wasn't happy there, he thinks that because Magwich was a criminal then he always will be 'his hand might still be stained with blood.'
In this section of Great Expectations Dickens manages to create and maintain suspense in a very good way, he does it by using a few 'tricks' that have big effects on the readers. He uses punctuation in a very good way so that you can feel the characters thoughts. Also because the book is written in the first person narrative it means we really understand Pip and are able to see how he is feeling. Dickens uses very good adjectives to describe emotions and objects and because of this it adds to the suspense. I think that the part in the chapter that was the most tense is when Pip is talking to the man before he sees him because Dickens makes the readers wait before we find out anything about the man and says that's it's 'a voice' talking. Dickens manages to maintain suspense by slowly dragging the story out instead of just saying exactly why Magwich has come to see Pip instead he makes the readers wait and guess first.
