great expectations

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Study the opening chapter consider the effectiveness of characterisation and development of atmosphere and setting and consider the effect on the reader?

In this essay I am going to write about how Charles Dickens creates mood and atmosphere in the opening chapter in the novel Great Expectations. Dickens's creates atmosphere intentionally so we create sympathy towards Pip, and what Pip is going through. Atmosphere and tension set the mood of this chapter.

In this chapter Dickens goal is to give us a little peak into the life of pip and to create sympathy for him and he achieves this through giving the reader information about pips very devastating life.

Dickens's starts the chapter off with Pip in the graveyard to create a dark and bleak atmosphere Dickens refers to death and tombstones.

Dickens begins to tell the reader about the life of Pip who is part of the working class. Pip talks about his early history by telling the reader about his family: mother, father and siblings. Pip explains, "As I never saw my father or mother my first fancies regarding what they were like, were unreasonably derived from their tombstones" This quote creates a lot of sympathy towards pip
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The opening chapter describes pip as a young character it tells us that pip is young and lives with his sister due to the fact his parents are dead in the opening chapter pip visits the graves of his parents and 5 siblings whilst he is there he is ambushed by a man which I believe is a convict who has escaped from prison.

The man orders pip to get him a file and whittles this part again makes the reader feel more sympathetic towards pip

Further more dickens describes the truly terrible living ...

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