How does Dickens introduce character and create atmosphere in the opening chapters of Great Expectations?

Great Expectations How does Dickens introduce character and create atmosphere in the opening chapters of Great Expectations? The novel introduces Pip in a deserted graveyard, he is recalling his experiences from the past. He is a small child who named himself Pip because his "infant tongue" could not pronounce Pirrip or his Christian name Phillip. He is alone and is reading his parents` gravestones, this makes the reader feel sympathy for him, that he is a lonely and innocent boy. He had five little brothers who died at a young age; five little stone lozenges next to his parents` gravestones represent them. He feels that he owns the marsh, and that it is important to him, the evidence of this is that he states, "Ours was the marsh country". As the convict approached him, he becomes scared and fears him, he describes him as being a "fearful man". He is obviously afraid, because the convict describes him as being a "little devil". Pip responds to the convict's actions by pleading "O! don't cut my throat sir" this indicates that he respects his elders and it suggests that he was strictly raised. He speaks with no hesitation to the convict, he displays this by the way he states his name immediately: "Pip, Pip sir". We learn that Pip is quite poor because all that was found in his pockets was a piece of bread. Although he is poor, there is evidence that he seems to be fed

  • Word count: 2707
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How does Dickens create sympathy for his characters in the opening passage of Great Expectations?

How does Dickens create sympathy for his characters in the opening passage of Great Expectations? Published initially as a weekly contribution in a local newspaper, Dickens' Great Expectations developed to be a great success. Great Expectations was a story for all classes, both rich and poor appreciated his efforts. Great Expectations is the tale of Phillip Pirrip who has no family except an older sister, he feels insecure in the world around him. Having no parents to give him a sense of identity, he wanders in the wilderness that is the graveyard to search for answers. Dickens' own life was very much along the lines of Pip, his father a well paid clerk went to jail for unpaid debts. Dickens himself was a weak and feeble child who was not cared for. He moulds his family history in to the character of Pip, who also suffers in a way that Dickens had. This essay focuses on which writing techniques Dickens uses to help the reader empathize with the characters of Pip and Magwich. The techniques in particular to be examined are setting, characterization, narrative voice and dialogue. The chapter opens in the desolate setting of a marshy graveyard. Already an ambience of anxiety and uncertainty has been created. The marsh is a symbol of wilderness, amid which stands a lonely Pip. Pip is physically and mentally alone in his surroundings; he has no sense of belonging. This helps the

  • Word count: 1235
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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What do SatisHouse and its inhabitants contribute to your understanding and appreciation ofthe novel 'Great Expectations'?

What do Satis House and its inhabitants contribute to your understanding and appreciation of the novel 'Great Expectations'? 'Great Expectations' is a novel written by the English author, Charles Dickens. The story is set in early Victorian England, a time when great social changes were sweeping the nation. The plot is based around a young man called Pip who lives in the marsh country and happily works with his brother-in-law. That is until he meets Estella and then considers himself too good for his surroundings, and experiences success in London. In the book, Satis House is a dark, dead and dismal. Pip thought that "the cold wind seemed to blow colder than outside the gate" after entering the manor's gardens. Pip's first impression of Satis House, is one of coldness and lifelessness. The physical coldness echoes the joylessness. This coldness is reflected in its occupant, Miss Havisham. The reader links coldness with death. It was a clever artistic device used by Dickens to good effect. The reader knows Satis House as the manor where time is has stopped. In fact the word 'satis' is a Latin word meaning 'enough'. This gives meaning behind the manor in the novel, as if Miss Havisham has had enough of men, has had enough of living, and more importantly, has had enough of time. Time has stopped in Satis House, everything left exactly how it was, the minute Miss Havisham

  • Word count: 1714
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Through close study of Pip and Estella, show how Dickens presents an image of Victorian childhood in 'Great Expectations'.

Through close study of Pip and Estella, show how Dickens presents an image of Victorian childhood in 'Great Expectations' Childhood has changed dramatically in the last 200 years. Life was hard and rough for working people in Britain at the end of the 19th century. From a very early age, children were expected to do all they could to help their parents, this was necessary in order for the family to survive. Life was quite different in a wealthy home- there was plenty of space, good food and clothes, and no duties to do as a child. However all children were expected to be seen and not heard, and to respect their elders. 'Be grateful, boy, to them which brought you up by hand' - Mr. Pumblechook, page 26 In the novel Great Expectations, there are three children who grow up throughout the story, Pip the main character, Estella, and Herbert Pocket. Society was firmly divided into three parts in the Victorian era, there were upper class, middle class, and working class people. Pip is an orphan, he lives with his sister and her husband Joe Gargery. Pips family are working class as Joe does hard, manual work. 'Wife of Joe Gargery, the blacksmith' - Pip, page 7 Upper class people had a very superior attitude to anyone below them. Estella was born into poverty as her parents were criminals, but she was adopted by Miss Havisham so was brought up as upper-class. Miss Havisham

  • Word count: 1145
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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GCSE Great Expectations Essay

Great Expectations Essay In this essay I am going to explore the ways in which Dickens builds up tension in chapters 1 and 39 and also how these two chapters are very similar in terms of the technique Dickens uses to build up the tension which is a way of hooking the reader as this technique almost demands the reader to read on and find out what awaits the character, in this case Philip Pirrip. Albeit, there are differences between these two eventful chapters too; such as Pip's attitude towards the convict, Magwitch, who in chapter 39, is revealed to be Pip's unknown benefactor. The book begins with Pip at the graveyard standing alone, referring to death and tombstones. The story is set in a time were disease and death were common, before any major advances in medicine, and it was ordinary to lose a lot of close family to illness- This immediately creates sympathy for Pip from the reader as it emphasises how lonely Pip is with little family member left. Pip describes the setting in a childish list using 'and that' and at the end of his list of the surroundings, he finds himself afraid of the church yard as he tells the reader that 'the small bundle of shivers growing afraid of it all and beginning to cry was Pip.' This is linked back to the start of his childish list as he says the place is 'overgrown with nettles'; this puts an image of an isolated place in the readers mind

  • Word count: 1242
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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In the opening chapter of Great Expectations, Explore the way in which dickens uses language to create themes, characters and setting for the story.

Great Expectations coursework assignment (A) Look at the opening chapter of 'Great Expectations' and explore some of the ways in which Dickens uses language to create themes, characters and the setting for the story For this coursework assignment, I will be looking at the opening chapter (chapter 1) of the 'Great Expectations' novel to explore some of the ways in which Dickens uses language in order to create themes, characters and the setting for the story. 'Great Expectations', which is regarded by many as one of the finest achievements, was written in London between 1860-1861 by Charles Dickens, a very successful and well-known author, who was famous in both England and America. Charles Dickens was born on February 7th, 1812 in Portsmouth, but spent the first part of his early childhood in Kent (England). The eldest son, and one off eight children, Charles was part of a poor, working class family. Dickens' Father, John, worked as a clerk in the Navy Pay office but unfortunately got himself and his already under-privileged family into terrible debt; the family moved to London when Dickens' was nine. By the age of twelve, his father was finally imprisoned for debt, where his mother and five other siblings soon followed; Charles was left, feeling lonely and abandoned, he was taken out of School and sent to work at a factory, earning just six shillings a week. In the

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How does Dickens make us feel sorry for Pip? Look at the opening scene and the extract when he first meets Miss Havisham.

How does Dickens make us feel sorry for Pip? Look at the opening scene and the extract when he first meets Miss Havisham. The two scenes in the novel "Great Expectations" explain how Pip is threatened and intimidated by both Magwitch and Miss Havisham, although in different ways. Magwitch is very physical and violent as he threatens Pip, whereas Miss Havisham is strange as she makes weird requests to Pip. This makes Pip feel intimidated, too, but more in a psychological way. The settings of the two scenes are also very different. Pip meets Magwitch in a very bleak dull graveyard on the empty dark flat wilderness of the marshes. Pip was at the graveyard visiting his parents' graves At that point Pip had already wanted to go home before Magwitch jumped out at him. The graveyard was a cold depressing place. Dickens describes the wind as coming from a "savage lair". This metaphor makes us think of a wild animal, which could be dangerous. Pip is also described as a "bundle of shivers" which also shows how terrible the weather is and of what Pip is feeling inside, which is cold and miserable as he was visiting his parents' graves. Whereas the scene where he meets Miss Havisham is creepier as it is in an old house with a woman who hasn't seen the light of day since before he was born. Also she hasn't changed what she is wearing for years and suddenly wants him to play in front of

  • Word count: 1097
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How Is Miss Havisham Presented In Chapter Eight And Chapter Eleven?

How is the character of Miss Havisham presented in chapter eight and chapter eleven? In chapter eight, Miss Havisham is presented as an old and withered character with a definite air of mystery and strangeness around her. We also get the impression that she despises Pip and that she manipulates Estella. In chapter eleven, she is shown to be bitter and disturbed and a little eccentric. She is also shown to be a recluse from society. Additionally, Estella is treated kindly by Miss Havisham, whereas Pip is still despised by her. Dickens uses a variety of techniques to present her in this way; these include metaphors, imagery, powerful adjectives, repetition, powerful verbs, pathetic fallacy, similes, emotive language, etc. In chapter eight, there are many examples to show that Miss Havisham is old and withered. Dickens does this through the use of a variety of techniques. In one particular paragraph, Dickens uses Miss Havisham's facial features to show her age. He does this through the use of powerful adjectives. For example, he describes her eyes as, "sunken". This shows to the reader that she must be extremely aged to have such eyes and that Pip thinks she is scary. Also, it makes the literature more interesting for the reader to read. In a different paragraph, there is another example of her ancientness. Dickens describes her hair; he does this through the use of

  • Word count: 1345
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Great Expectations - short summary

"Great Expectations" coursework By Mickey Haugh 10CE Great Expectations is a story of a young boy who is an orphan. The novel traces the growth of the narrator. The story is about Pip who gets himself into some unexpected scenarios throughout the novel. The novel Great Expectations is written in the Victorian period an age of industry, social status and crime. The author of the novel Charles Dickens wrote many novels and he got most of his inspiration to write these novels from the way of life in the Victorian period. Great Expectations was one of many successful novels that he wrote, and it is said by many people that the best novel that Charles Dickens has ever written is Great Expectations. In the novel Great Expectations it shows Pip trying to escape from his families' poverty and from his very strict and unhappy life. Charles dickens uses Pip to narrate through the novel and we can tell that it is Pip narrating because he uses words like 'I' and 'my', which shows Pip is talking in the first person. Chapter one in Great Expectations gives a great insight into the character Pip through his name, Dickens has thoughtfully portrayed Pip as to be a youthful naive boy. Pip is subservient and impressionable as he does everything as he is told to do, by anyone even a stranger. Pip meets a stranger in the chapter called Magwitch and Pip still keeps his manners with Magwitch

  • Word count: 1389
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Compare how tension and fear is created in the opening chapter of 'Great Expectations', looking at two film versions and the original text.

Compare how tension and fear is created in the opening chapter of 'Great Expectations', looking at two film versions and the original text. For my GCSE Media unit I will be comparing how tension and fear is created in the opening chapter of 'Great Expectations' by Charles Dickens, the black and white film version produced by David Lean and the colour version produced by Kevin Conner. I intend to compare how the fear and tension is created in each of the versions by use of special effects and also, other factors such as actors and sound effects that help to add to the tension and fear. I will consider and compare how successful each version each at creating the feelings and why they were chosen to be used. The written word by Charles Dickens begins with a passage that sets the scene. There is a young boy alone crying, he is in a "bleak" and "overgrown" area. There isn't much life, and death surrounds him. The wind is rushing and sea is described as a "savage lair". The air is raw and the boy is being attacked by his surroundings, the wind is beating him and the sea is fearful. It feels dark and cold as you read it and death is featured heavily, there are gallows all around and the boy is surrounded by gravestones. The atmosphere in scary and makes you wonder why the boy would be there creating tension and fear. I like the way that Charles Dickens had used many descriptive

  • Word count: 1935
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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