Great Expectations Essay Example for Free

Great Expectations Essay QS. Look carefully at the opening chapters of great expectations and explore some of the ways in which Dickens captures and keeps the interest and attention of the reader. Explore also how social conditions of the time inform his writing. When Dickens writes he uses three methods to interest his readers, the presentation of character, creation of atmosphere and his use of narrative, description and speech. To begin with we will look at dickens presentation of character. When my English class first began reading great expectations I noticed that Dickens did not describe a character physically or through their thoughts, instead he describes them with two details, their surroundings and their past. For example we are never told that Pip is blonde or his age etc, instead we are only told that he has a married older sister who cares for him and that they live quite simply for example we learn that for dinner they would have something like buttered bread which suggests that they have poor nutrition. We are also told about the fact that when Pip was younger his parents died along with five of his siblings, which suggests that he comes from a family that were and still are struggling and this suggests that they are living in the popular social conditions of the time which were harsh cold, poor hygiene, no hot water or heat, high infant mortality rate etc and this is also suggested at the bottom of page two when Pip says I was undersized for my age and not strong, the house they live in is also described as being in the marsh country this method of Dickens I found to be quite striking as I have not before read a book that does the same, however I think it is very effective because it allows the reader to paint their own picture of the characters and give them a greater insight into the characters and helps them to understand the characters actions, thoughts and words. This also allows the reader to become more involved in the novel and therefore the readers interest is already being drawn in. These social conditions, so far mentioned inform the novel a great deal as it is the story-line of this young boy from a poor background, and because he has been raised by hand that this child is so meek and innocent, and because of this innocence, and by chance, he is given the opportunity to become someone, quite literally, a man of great expectations In the first two chapters it is also noticeable that Dickens starts to give particular traits to each character to make them individual, such as Mrs Joe Gargery Was the evil step-mother while her husband Mr Joe Gargery was the quiet and almost wimpy yet kind man. Dickens narrative technique is also very powerful. Unlike most novels the action starts almost straight away. By page two we are shocked by the very sudden arrival of Magwitch with the shocking and almost frightening line Hold your noise! We are suddenly completely sucked in to the story when we find very quickly that Pip, the young boy we have become fond of is in danger and that Magwitch has only just escaped from a prison ship and is in desperate need of food, drink and possibly a file, if he will be able to make a full escape. This makes the first chapter become very exciting. Also it seems quite realistic because Magwitchs language is very powerful because it is so graphic, blunt and colloquial. Also Magwitch not only speaks in the way you would expect a convict to speak but he dresses how you would expect as well. Dickens uses many subordinate clauses and he also uses the word and a lot yet he uses it with style and it makes his writing seem much more rhythmic, for example in the third paragraph in the first chapter when Pip is telling us of his first memory, he says My first most vivid and broad impression of the identity of things and that the small bundle of shivers growing afraid of it all and beginning to cry, was Pip Dickens mainly keeps our attention by using drama such as when Magwitch enters on page two. Another way in which Dickens sustains the readers attention is his use of language in the way he writes. For example the type of words he uses to describe the new characters intrigues the readers so that they want to know more such as when Mr Joe Gargery is being introduced, In the middle of page six, Pip describes him as being a sort of Hercules in strength, and also in weakness. This seems to be very confusing and makes the reader want to continue in the story in order to figure out its meaning. Finally the most effective way which Dickens uses to with-hold the readers attention is through the creation of atmosphere. By using words such as raw, bleak, marsh and phrases like overgrown with nettles, dark flat wilderness etc. the writer makes the scene seem gloomy, drag and sad, and with the opening setting not only being in a churchyard, but a graveyard, we are subconsciously being prepared for Magwitchs arrival. Pip describes the river as a low leaden line This is a perfect example of Dickens art of alliteration. The word low is also representing the low spirit of Pip, The word Leaden makes us think of something that is heavy, grey and dull, and the word line sounds very bland and boring. Also the way in which Dickens uses personification for example in calling the wind a savage beast, these words make us think of Pip a small helpless child who is out alone in what seems like an extremely solitude and scary place. We then fear for this young child and want to learn what happens to him so once again the reader finds that they wish to continue in the book, and for the rest of the novel the drama and language that Charles Dickens uses makes us keep wanting to read on continues Therefore it is through using the techniques previously mentioned, of character presentation, creation of atmosphere and narrative, description and speech that Dickens gains and sustains his readers attention. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Great Expectations section.