Great expectations

“Great Expectations” essay

In this essay, I am going to look at the ways in which Dickens uses language to create themes, characters and the settings of the novel, focusing on the opening chapter. I will also look into the social context of the story and the historical context, referring to how it accurately represents the lives of those in the time it was written. I will finally be able to look at how the novel is still relevant to modern society and therefore still has a great social context with life today.

Charles Dickens was born on February 12th 1812. He was one of eight children. His parent’s became greatly in debt and because of this Dickens struggled as a 19th century, working class boy. He always dreamed that one day he might be able to improve himself and become a gentleman. Dickens has clearly portrayed a lot of himself in the character of Pip as he too had the same aspirations and dreams to become one of the upper class. Dickens’s family were all sent to debtor’s prison and he was forced to work from a very young age. This too bears great resemblance to the life and work of Pip. Dickens also reflected a lot of his own life in other books that he has written including people and events that he has encountered throughout his life. A perfect example of this that of Bob Fagin from “Oliver Twist”, another of Dickens’ famous novels, who is based on a man that Charles met when he was working in the shoe polish factory to support his family. As a child, Dickens had a passion for literature and spent much of his time reading fairytales and adventures and then later on, works by Shakespeare and Henry Fielding who both greatly influenced his own work. He began to write when he first became a newspaper reporter at the age of 20. After this he decided to write books and published his first, “Sketches by boz” in 1836.

The main reason for Dickens’ dissatisfaction with life as a child was due to the culture in the 19th century. During this era and the industrial revolution, there was a huge gap between those of a higher and low class. Those of different social class rarely mixed and the poor were considered a burden on society and therefore not respected at all. Much of this culture in society is reflected in Dickens’ writing and especially in “Great Expectations” through the life that Pip lives.

The way that Dickens has written this story and structured his writing is very different to how modern day novels are often structured. This is because during the Victorian era, writers would publish their work in a serialised format unlike novels today which are published as a book. This meant that one or two chapters of the book would be published weekly or monthly in a well known magazine or newspaper. This would allow those who couldn’t afford to buy a book, to read the novel. Because of the serialised format of the novel, each chapter would have to have a gripping ending to keep the reader interested and to get them to buy the next issue of the magazine or newspaper. This form of publishing is similar to the way in which modern soap operas tell you the story in instalments to keep you watching and gain your loyalty to the programme. This is very similar to the publication of “Great Expectations” and shows that this form of story-telling still takes place in modern, popular culture. The way that Dickens has written this novel and the experiences and personal encounters that he has included and put into Pip’s life make it a very personal, emotive story.

Within “Great Expectations”, there are a number of interesting characters. It was important because of the serialisation of the story, that Dickens made his characters memorable and recognisable for the readers who would be continuing the story after a break of a week or even a month. The main character who is the narrator of the story is Pip. We learn a lot about the personality of Pip as well as his background in the first chapter of the story and the language that is used helps to create a vivid picture of his physical appearance and also his character.

One of the most significant things that we learn about Pip from the opening chapter is that he is looking back on past events on his life from a different perspective. We learn that he is now a grown adult man looking back on his childhood.

We learn that Pip is to be the narrator of the story as the chapter opens, by the language and point of view it is written from. When Pip says “my christian name” and “I called myself Pip” this shows us that the character speaking will be telling the story and that it will be told through their eyes and their point of view and in this case that is Pip’s.

As the chapter opens, Pip describes how his ideas of his parents’ appearances were “unreasonably derived from their tombstones” and that from them he “drew a childish conclusion”. This tells us that Pip is looking back on a time when he was young and is viewing it in hindsight with different, adult opinions. Throughout the chapter he is acknowledging that his childish thoughts and opinions were unreasonable, wrong but also naïve and show the immaturity and innocence of Pip as a child. By showing us that he is looking back on his childhood Dickens creates a feeling of sympathy with the reader because they will feel sorry for Pip and the situation that he is in. Especially because of the fact that he is a child. Also the way that Pip is portrayed as being very innocent and naïve makes him appear sweet and a very likeable character and for this reason it becomes clear that it will be this character that we will follow in the story and this is the character who we should be supporting and seeing as the “goody” in the story.

We also learn that Pip is looking back on life at an early age from the explanation that is given for his nickname. He says that his “infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip”. This tells us that he was a child who would not have been very advanced in his speaking or articulate. The name that he was given as a child also tells us something else about Pip’s character at the start of the story. The name Pip is also that for a small seed. This compares him to a seed that has the potential to grow to a great plant or tree. By giving him this name Dickens tells us that Pip is a young child with a lot of potential and that through the story we will watch him grow from a tiny seed into something much greater.

Not only in the first chapter are we shown that Pip is looking back on his life and at the time he is describing was a young, lonely child, but we also learn that Pip finds life difficult. He describes his life as a “universal struggle”. This is a way of describing that we would not ever expect from a young child and this reminds us that Pip is now a grown man, looking back on his childhood experiences. The use of this term sums up Pip’s feelings and shows us that he is unhappy and is not happy with his circumstances. This is very empathetic and makes the reader feel sympathy towards Pip because it is very sad that a young child should have to go through life with this mature, adult view on his situation.

As the chapter continues, we learn more and more about Pip as a character. Dickens describes how after looking at his parents’ graves he was afraid and “beginning to cry was Pip”. This reinforces the fact that Pip was not happy and did not have a pleasant childhood, again creating empathy. This also shows us that Pip was ashamed of the way that he was as a child and wants to consider that he is different person to the one he was when he was younger. Dickens shows us this by putting this section of the text in third person so that Pip does not appear to be talking about himself. This shows us that a theme in the novel is likely to be self-improvement because Pip does not like to look back on the life he used to have and associate it with the very different life that he has when he is telling the story.

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We learn a lot about Pip’s lifestyle and upbringing as a child, from this first opening chapter. We find out that he is poor and living in poverty when he describes himself as “undersized for my years, and not strong”. This tells us that Pip is undernourished because of the lower class background that he comes from. Otherwise he would not be like this. This again creates a feeling of sympathy with the reader and even pity because of the difficult situation that such a sweet, innocent young child is in. Because of the way that the opening of the book makes the reader feel like they also know Pip personally, because of the things they have found out about him, this also makes the feeling of pity stronger because it is as if someone that the reader knows is in this difficult situation and feeling that they know the person they feel more for the person.

Overall, Dickens introduces the character of Pip as a young, vulnerable child and creates a feeling of empathy for this child. However while it is very clear that Pip is a child Dickens also makes it clear that the grown up Pip who is narrating the story does not want to be considered the same person and for this reason creates the feeling through language that they are two very separate people.

In the opening chapter, we meet another character who will become very significant in the plot of “Great Expectations”. This is Magwitch, the convict. We meet him as he approaches Pip on the marsh. Dickens uses very descriptive language to describe the convict and make the reader as afraid of him as possible.

We get our first idea of Magwitch’s character from the sound of his voice. This is a way that Dickens has used the different senses to create a greater, more detailed and vivid idea of the character’s personality. As Pip sits on the marshes, we are told how “a terrible voice” cried out to him. This gives us an idea that Magwitch is someone to be feared before he is even seen or described to the reader. We become aware that Magwitch is certainly a very dangerous character as he continues to shout at Pip saying “Keep still, you little devil or I’ll cut your throat!”. This tells us instantly that Pip is in danger and therefore this man must be dangerous and evil. This speech would also grab the readers’ attention in the time that it was written. This would draw attention to the aggression of the character because he is threatening to hurt a poor, innocent child and do something that in society is thought of to be completely barbaric and immoral. Therefore it would shock the reader that someone could even consider doing such a thing to such a vulnerable child. This adds to creating a negative opinion of the character.

At first the reader has no idea who this man is. All we know is that he is dangerous and does not appear to be a nice person. The way that Dickens portrays the convict as a dangerous man is very effective because he gives a clear description of what the man is like but does not say enough to spell it out to the reader. He gives them a description and allows the reader to realise for themselves that this man is bad and dangerous. In this way Dickens does not tell the reader what to think about the character but allows them to form their own opinion of him; however he cleverly manages to influence this opinion in a very unobvious way in the description that he gives of the character. Dickens makes us aware of the fact that that man is an escaped convict. However he does this indirectly by describing his appearance and the “great iron on his leg”. This tells us instantly that the man is a convict. Dickens also makes us aware of the social class of the man through the way he describes his appearance. He describes the convict as “A man with no hat”. This implies that he is not a gentleman showing that he is of a low class. Dickens goes on to describe him “with broken shoes” and “an old rag tied round his head”. The first impression that is created of Magwitch is that he is scruffy, poor and dangerous. However the language that Dickens uses also creates an air of sympathy for the convict because of his state. He is living in poverty and this is shown by his appearance. Another reason that Pip is showing sympathy towards Magwitch is because of the way that the opening chapter is written. Dickens writes this chapter from Pip’s point of view as if he is looking back on his childhood. Therefore the attitude that Pip shows in the way he describes the character will be different to how he would have felt when he first met the character. This is because Pip has seen the man a changed person and is aware that Magwitch was his benefactor and for this reason he cannot look back at him in hindsight as being a completely bad person.

Dickens then goes on to describe the way that the convict is acting and this helps to portray some of his background circumstances as well as his personality. He describes that the man had been “soaked in water, and smothered in mud”. This gives a very emotive description of a broken man who has been through many trials and tribulations in his life. This description could therefore be seen as metaphorical as well as literal. The character is literally soaking wet and covered in mud but the water and mud could be symbolic of a lot of the difficult things that the man has been through in his life, such as the pain and difficulty that he has been “soaked” or “smothered” in. This description creates sympathy and empathy for Magwitch, despite the fear that is also created due to his presence.

As most traditional stories have a “baddy” in the storyline, we know after the character of Magwitch has been introduced that he seems to be the “baddy” of “Great expectations”. Dickens enforces this traditional “baddy” role in the character of Magwitch by making his speech, a very close resemblance to that of a fairytale character. Magwitch picks up Pip and says “What fat cheeks ya ha’ got”. This reminds the reader of the well known tale of “Little red riding hood” and the similarity between this line and those of the big, bad wolf. This also enforces the idea that Pip is a child because children are much more likely to look at the situation from a perspective that links closely to fairytales and children’s stories. While this quote shows clearly that Magwitch is the “baddy” in the story, it is also rather ironic. This is very ironic because as a child from a very deprived background, Pip would most likely be undernourished and therefore it is very unlikely that he would have fat cheeks. This use of irony emphasizes the poverty that the convict is in because he sees Pip as well-fed compared to himself and thinks Pip has fat cheeks and for this reason something that seems ironic to the audience may appear to be a perfectly reasonable comment to someone who is in even more poverty than Pip.

The dialect of the language used also tells us a lot about the social class of the convict and his character. Magwitch says that he wishes he “was a frog. Or a eel!”. In this sentence, Magwitch doesn’t use standard English as he should be saying “an eel”. Because Magwitch is not particularly articulate, it again enforces the fact that he is not a gentleman and is of a low class, living in poverty.

While these are the two main characters that we are introduced to in the opening chapter, there are a number of other very significant characters that we are introduced to throughout the rest of the book. These characters contrast greatly with many of the characteristics of Pip and Magwitch and this can be shown through the language that Dickens uses to describe their physical appearance as well as their personalities.

One of the other significant characters in this story that we meet later on is Miss Havisham. She is an old lady who is bitter from the love that left her on her wedding day. She lives in the past and is hungry for revenge on mall men. Dickens focuses greatly on the physical appearance of Miss Havisham and the atmosphere that this helps to create within the text. Miss Havisham is a very interesting comparison with Pip especially. She lives with a sad, negative view of the world and others around her especially men. This contrasts greatly with Pip’s fresh, childish opinions and views at the start of the novel.

Estella is another of the very significant character within the story and the relationships that Pip develops. She contrasts greatly with Pip and the overall theme displayed in the opening chapter because she is of a much higher class and thinks very highly of herself. Her lifestyle is the complete opposite of that which both Pip and Magwitch live in poverty.

I think that one of the most effective ways that Dickens creates the character of each person is through the childish views and associations he includes as Pip narrates the story. The comments that are made to show the difference between Pip as a child and an adult also foreshadow changes that may take place in the story therefore getting the reader to think about the forthcoming events of the novel. This would also have been very effective in the serialised format of the story because it would have made the reader want to find out what happens later in the story and then they would be more likely to buy the next published chapter. I think that the way in which different senses are used are very effective because this gives the reader a much more vivid picture of the character and makes them feel much more part of the story as if they were overlooking the situation.

Another aspect that I am going to look at in this essay is the way that Dickens uses language to create setting for the opening chapter and how this setting affects the overall effectiveness of the chapter and the events and atmosphere within it.

One of the main techniques that Dickens uses too create a setting is Pathetic fallacy. Many of the settings reflect the feelings of a character within that scene and help to create an atmosphere that will express feeling and affect the reader in a certain way.

In the opening chapter, the main setting is in the marshes where Pip first comes across the convict. The setting reflects a lot of things about Pip’s life as well as his feelings at the time.

At first Dickens describes the “marsh country, down by the river” as a whole. This gives us an overall idea of what the area is like and its appearance making it easier for the reader to create a mental image of what is going on. Dickens goes on to describe the area in more detail. He describes the marshes as “bleak” and “overgrown with nettles”. This tells us what the area is like in more detail as well as helping to create the feeling of the area. This gives the impression that the atmosphere is dull and depressing as well as quite empty and desolate.

One of the methods that Dickens uses in the description of the setting is to use it as a metaphor for Pip’s life. Dickens describes the marsh as being a “dark, flat wilderness”. Here the marsh is supposed to represent Pip’s life. The fact that it is flat suggests that there is no change in his life and everything is constant. The darkness suggests that his life is quite sad and depressing but also that he has no expectations in life and it is unlikely due to the flatness that any expectations will ever appear. Finally the way that Dickens describes the marsh as a wilderness suggests that while Pip’s life is flat and without expectations, it is not easy. He struggles with many things in his life and therefore it is like a wilderness that he is trying to find his way out of. This is a form of Pathetic fallacy. This is where the writer uses the settings to reflect how a character is feeling and therefore create an overall atmosphere for the scene that reflects these feelings and emotions.

Dickens continues to use pathetic fallacy throughout the chapter to describe the settings. Later on in the chapter he says how the sky was “a row of angry red lines”. This incorporates the methods of both pathetic fallacy and personification. Dickens has given the sky a human emotion and characteristic and this portrays the characters’ emotions in the scene. The use of pathetic fallacy here could also have been used as a way of foreshadowing. The angry, red lines could almost be foreshadowing the anger and frustration of Pip in his situation when we have progressed further on in the novel. The use of this pathetic fallacy here shows us that Pip is looking back on the situation from an adult point of view because of the way that the pathetic fallacy links closely to Pip’s feelings later on in the story.

One very effective aspect of the settings description that Dickens uses is the colours. They are very reflective of the atmosphere in the area as well as feelings of the characters. He describes the sky as “a row of long angry red lines and dense black lines intermixed.” These are bleak, desolate colours and both are often associated with death. For this reason, the use of these colours tell us that the area is bleak and desolate and also tell us that there is a feeling of danger within the scene and that this links very closely with the feelings and emotions of the two characters who we have met in this chapter.

Once Dickens has created the atmosphere by setting the scene overall and telling the reader, the basics of the environment where the scene takes place, he goes into more detail, highlighting specific objects in the area that are again reflective of the themes, characters, atmosphere and emotions of the story.

Dickens focuses on “two black things in all prospect that seemed to be standing upright”. The fact that he focuses on these two objects tells the audience that they must be of significance to the story and draws their attention to them so that they are more aware of the themes that they link with.

The first object that Dickens focuses on is “the beacon by which the sailors steered”. A beacon represents hope and being given direction. Here Dickens has used foreshadowing to give the readers a hint as to what will happen later in the story. The beacon represents the fact that there is hope in Pip’s life and that he will be given direction. Therefore it is possible that his life will not be flat and without expectations, as the rest of the setting had suggested.

The other object that is picked out from the setting is “a gibbet, with some chains hanging to it which has once held a pirate”. This aspect of the setting refers to one of the main themes within the first part of the novel, crime and punishment. The fact that pip notices this object shows us that he is very aware of the fact that he is about to steal food for the convict and that this is a crime. It also shows his fear of punishment if he is found out.

This shows how Dickens has used the setting of the chapter as a way to communicate emotions, the main themes as well as give hints to the audience as to what will happen later on in the story. This will make them want to read on to find out whether their predictions are correct. I think that the most effective technique that Dickens has used in the description of the setting is the pathetic fallacy. I think that this creates an atmosphere in the book and helps the reader to create a vivid mental image of the situation and become more aware of the feelings of the characters as well as the themes of the story and their significance.

Throughout the story, we are introduced to a number of other settings that become extremely important in the overall story and are the settings for important events in the lives of Pip and numerous other characters. One of the other settings that is used a lot in the story and is very significant in the storyline is Satis house. This is the home of Miss Havisham and the house in which Estella, Pip’s love interest, lives.

Again, in the description of Satis house, Dickens uses a lot of pathetic fallacy. He describes the house in general and then describes Miss Havisham’s room in great detail. We have already learnt about Miss Havisham’s circumstances and her character and the description of her room links very closely. A very significant example of this is where Pip describes how all of the clocks in the house had been stopped at the time in which she had been left by her one love, shortly before they were due to get married. The time in which the clock stops in many ways reflects the time that Miss Havisham felt that her life ended or at least her happiness. The house itself reflects greatly her personality and the tribulations that she has been through. The house was grand and was once beautiful. However in the detailed description that Pip gives he says that it is now empty of life and emotion and almost cruel in its appearance. This reflects the changes and personality of Miss Havisham. She was once young, beautiful woman with her whole life ahead of her. Now she has become old, cruel and empty of life. She also does not show emotion very well. Every single aspect of this change is reflected through the house in pathetic fallacy and personification.

Satis house therefore shares many techniques of description with the opening setting of the marshes. They are also both quite desolate settings however they are they reflect and are the settings for events of completely different themes however both equally important in the context of the plot. One thing that Dickens does with Satis house to emphasize its importance in the story is the way in which it features heavily towards the start of the story and is also the ending setting of the story. This shows that it is a major part of Pip’s changes and is an important setting for a number of relationships that are formed throughout the story.

Another setting that is very significant in the story is London. This is again a very important setting because it is where a lot of the change in Pip’s lifestyle takes place and he becomes a very different person while he is here. Again in this setting, an element of pathetic fallacy is used to link the settings to the circumstances and feelings of the characters, in this case Pip. London is described in great detail as a busy place and also messy. This greatly reflects what life for Pip was like when he was there. It was both busy and extremely messy. Pip’s life was messy because he lost many of his morals and got into huge financial difficulty out of foolishness. This also meant that his life was in many ways busy with problems and difficulties despite the excitement and privileges that he had at first. This is all reflected clearly in the description of London and for this reason this setting is similar to the marshes and also Satis house in the techniques that it uses. However, while the techniques used in the setting are very similar, the actual atmosphere created by these techniques is completely different. While they are all negative atmospheres in many ways, London is a major contrast with the others because of the business and life that it holds. Another thing that is very significant of the description of London as a setting in the story is that while he is very familiar with the marshes and knew what to expect with the environment of Satis house, London is the one place where Pip was unsure of what to expect and was shocked by the atmosphere when he arrived. This again links to the fact that he was unsure of what was going to happen with his life when he went off to London and the use of pathetic fallacy here reflects this through the uncertainty he had about what the city would be like.

Finally the last thing that is very significant through the techniques that Dickens uses in the opening chapter are the themes that it makes obvious to the readers.

One of the main themes within this story is ambition and self-improvement. This is made clear from the pathetic fallacy used in the setting of the marshes. The description of the marshes is a representation of Pip’s life at the moment. The description of his life as a very “flat, dark wilderness” tells us that Pip’s life is unchanging and without expectations. However this foreshadows that there is a possibility of there being a change in this and there is a possibility of great expectations for Pip. It also shows that he is not happy with his life as it is and finds it a “universal struggle” and would therefore like this to be the case. The fact that Dickens keeps on reinforcing the fact that Pip lives in poverty and is of a low class is also as way of foreshadowing that there is a chance this could change later on in the story.

Another theme that is very prominent in this book is crime and punishment. This is also shown greatly in the opening chapter which I am analysing. The main events of the chapter show this as do the characters that we are introduced to. As soon as we are introduced to the character of Magwitch, we know that he is dangerous and frightening. However it is when we are told about the “great iron on his leg” that we realise he is a convict. This instantly implies that crime is going to be a part of this section of the story. Dickens also shows this when he points out the objects that are significant and stand out in the scene. He picks out the gibbet. This focuses on the theme of punishment and shows us that this is likely to be a major event within the story, though we do not know for whom. Crime is also made a major theme not only because of the convict but also Pip because he is asked to steal. This suggests that Pip is committing a crime and worried about the punishment if he is found out and therefore enforces these two very important themes. This could also be interpreted to again be foreshadowing of Pip’s future. He will go through punishment later on in the novel and this gives the audience a hint as to what may happen to Pip. This shows that this use of language, as well as a lot of other text throughout the novel can be interpreted in many different ways by the reader and that many things can stand out as being important for many different reasons.

Two themes that are especially important in the life of Pip but also in the story overall are death and loneliness and this is shown significantly in the opening chapter. The themes of death and loneliness in the life of Pip are both shown at the very start of the chapter where Pip is looking at his parent’s gravestones. This shows us that Pip has suffered great loss in his life because many of his family have died and for this reason he is very lonely. I think that this helps to build up a background and personality for Pip as well as highlighting these important themes. The convict also helps to show the theme of death through a lot of the things that he says and does in this opening character. Magwitch threatens Pip when he struggles and says “I’ll cut your throat!”. His instantly shows the theme of danger and what could lead to death and also shows that these two themes are very closely linked. Pip also highlights the theme of death when he describes “the hands of people” that stretch out of the graves. This tells us that not only is death a possibility within the story but something that has already taken place too. It also highlights the fact that Pip is showing the knowledge off these themes from a very childish perspective. These themes are very effective because they help to create empathy with the reader so that they feel sympathy for the character of Pip and the difficulties that he has to face in life.

Good and evil is a theme that while is not made obvious, is very significant throughout the story as this is what many of the other themes are built upon. I think that one thing that highlights this theme greatly is how the convict refers to himself and Pip and this also tells us how different his interpretation of good and evil would be from Pip’s. When Pip is struggling, the convict calls him “you little devil”. This shows that in the convict’s eyes, Pip is evil and this enforces this theme. Later on he refers to himself as “an angel”. This again shows how his views are the opposite of what you would expect and in a sense this is like reverse psychology because he is making Pip think that what he considers to be good or evil is wrong. The use of an angel and devil, symbolic of good and evil definitely show that these themes are of importance throughout the story. One interesting thing that Dickens does at this section of the chapter is to use the huge contrast between good and evil as a way to foreshadow what will happen in the future and how good and evil will be part of the same person but this use of good and evil also makes us think about the way that Pip is looking back on this situation. His attitude and description of the character will be different because he is looking back on the character when he has known him as good, not only evil. This also stands out to the audience because it is very difficult to understand how good and evil can be linked through one person. This use of foreshadowing is very effective in hinting to the audience the change in character as the evil convict becomes the good benefactor. Through the use of good and evil Dickens has also put across quite a strong moral message that crime is not black and white and he makes clear that it is possible for people to change. The way he uses the term “angel” to describe the convict tells the reader that even those who have done wrong and appear to be evil can have a bit of good in them. They are not all bad. This strongly reflects Dickens’ open-minded attitude to people and also his forgiving attitude.

Another of the core themes in the story is childhood. This is probably the theme that is shown most throughout the opening chapter because of the introduction that we are given to the character of Pip. A number of things in the opening section tell us that the story is written from a child’s perspective and it is therefore likely that a lot of Pip’s childhood will be featured in the story. One way that this theme is shown is the childish ideas and opinions that Pip, as the narrative voice, shows. He hold’s childish ideas such as when he is being turned upside down he thinks that it is “the steeple under my feet” that has moved rather than himself and this example holds very childish ideas. He also speaks of events in a very imaginative way and when he describes how the “church jumped over its own weather-cock”, it is as if he is saying a nursery rhyme and this is associated with children and therefore reinforces the theme of childhood. This is also an example of personification where Dickens has used human characteristics to make an object in a setting seem more alive. Overall, the fact that the story is written from the point of view of a grown man looking back on himself as a child shows clearly that childhood is a major theme within the story.

The story also holds a lot in the themes of Romance and companionship though this is not reflected quite as much in the opening chapter as the rest of the book.

In “Great expectations”, one of the very effective things that Dickens has done is with the narrative voice. Dickens uses Pip, as a grown adult, to narrate the story and at the same time Pip is the story-teller and main character of the novel. By using Pip as the narrative voice we gain two perspectives of the story despite it only being told by one person because we get to see Pip tell the story as a child and then also give comments on his point of view once he is an adult. Because of this we learn a lot about the change that took place in pip between childhood and adulthood. However, while the story gives us two points of view from the same person, the novel is going to be extremely biased in the emotion and feelings that it gives to the reader because there is no-one else that tells the story except for Pip. We cannot see the story from any other characters’ points of view or from that of an omniscient narrator who is observing the story as a whole rather than the emotions and feelings of one particular character. It is interesting, though, to see how one person can change so greatly and make such inaccurate judgements about themselves between different ages and how they can look back on how wrong they were because not many people do this and stay blind to their faults. While the way in which Pip is telling the story is inaccurate because it would not be possible to remember in such detail the conversations from his childhood, Dickens uses the method of suspending our belief to make us accept the way that the story is told and put any disbelief or doubts aside so that we can appreciate the story in the way that it is being told.

Dickens was a very socially aware writer and likes to make philosophical and moral statements through his work. He wanted to make a difference to the way society was and tried to influence this change through his writing. In the story of “Great expectations”, Dickens highlighted the problems that there were with society during the 19th century and the huge gap in social class. Through the life of Pip, his self-improvement which then led to downfall and the changes in his life, Dickens has tried to show that while many people think that money makes their lives better and to carry out self-improvement you must be wealthy, this is not true. Dickens was trying to show how you can be happier with not much money than you can with a lot and that the more you have, the more you want. This can be shown when Pip spends so much money that he gets heavily into debt. Through Pip’s feelings and emotions at the beginning of the book Dickens makes the reader more aware of how hard it is for someone of a lower class than others and the meeting with Estella and other higher class characters highlights the way that people were treated and discriminated because of their social class and position in society.

I think that the most effective way that Dickens has managed to make people aware of this and show that there needed to be a change is the way in which he creates an awful lot of sympathy both for Pip and Magwitch who are the two poorer, main characters. By using Pip as the narrator of the story, he makes the reader feel like the story is much more personal and that they know the character much better and therefore feel affected by the events that take place in his life. Because the story becomes more personal this way, it would be much more effective in creating empathy and sympathy for the characters and therefore raising the awareness of the problems in the social gap in society.

I think that while Dickens wrote this story in a bid to make people aware of society in the 19th century, it is still in many ways relevant to modern society and for this reason, contemporary readers would find this interesting and it would appeal to them. While Dickens made an effort to change society through his writing and the social gap in society is no longer as big, it still exists and you are still treated differently depending on your class and position in society. Therefore, Dickens has written a novel that could appeal and be relevant to readers both in his lifetime and around when it was written, up to the present day.