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Great Expectations

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Great expectations During the period between 1860 and 1861, Charles Dickens wrote the gripping novel Great Expectations. It was the first soap opera of its time, and he kept his audience gripped by writing it weekly. By doing this, he was able to sell each chapter he wrote for 1d each, which would be about a penny these days. Because Dickens was brought up in Victorian Britain it makes it very easy for him to relate and sympathize with the main character of the book, Pip. Dickens' was raised in a poor household, and like many others from that time he came from a tough background. The opening to the novel is very effective because .it is described very darkly and miserably, everything seems dim and scary, and for a young person to be by themselves in this scene standing by his parents grave, makes up sympathy I with pip before any other characters have even been introduced yet. The setting of the scene is "savage lair" this is a very brutal descriptive word because it makes you think that some sort of beast lives in it and anything can attack you at anytime. Then as Magwitch attacks Pip it makes him seem like A wild beast. Also it sets the scene of the story and by introducing different mysterious characters and settings it importantly keeps you hooked. The environment which Pip is in makes the opening to the novel effective because the fact that Pip is alone and gets attacked in the middle of the countryside would be a lot of action and would shock Victorian readers. ...read more.


Pip is extremely nice to the man because he is too young to understand and doesn't want to be harmed , But that is anther way Pip is polite and formal language. The setting at the beginning of Great expectations plays a big part in the spectacular novel because it is based and set in Kent , dickens home town. It was dark and lonely at the time and a tough place to grow up in if you were working class , "The dark, flat wilderness beyond the churchyard". The setting is like this because it reflects and adds more effect to the fact that Pip feels lonely and isolated himself .Because he is at the graveyard alone, among tombstones and a derelict gibbet. The surroundings are scary and are effective to the mood of the story at the time Magwitch is seen through the eyes of Pip, this is effective because it lets the reader see the story through the eyes of a young boy. Therefore Charles Dickens exaggerates a lot at the beginning. This is good when he describes Magwitch because he appears a lot more fierce and meaner. Making the readers want to carry on reading. Also even more in the first chapter because his thoughts about his dead parents and the environment which he is in effect Pips views and thoughts on Magwitch . Magwitch at the beginning is so much scarier for young children so putting it in a little orphans perspective makes the first chapter a lot more effective. ...read more.


The theme he represents at the beginning of the novel is dark and scary this is important because it sets the scene of the story and has to entice the readers to read on. Dickens is trying to say that humans are as simple to judge people by appearance and the way the present themselves but as we now as the story conclude, both characters are not how they seem. Magwitch and Pip grow an unexpected bond and become unlikely friends and help each other. This shows Magwitch is capable of love. In conclusion I think that Great Expectations was an effective novel which Charles Dickens wrote based on his thoughts on Victorian society. Dickens was successful in his character of Pip and succeeded in making the audience feel sorry and like Pip. I feel a lot of sympathy for Pip from when you find out he is an orphan .This is quite typical for Victorian times and makes people sympathize and persuaded the readers to carry on reading . However I do not think Dickens portrayed Magwitch as well as he portrayed Pip because I think he could have had a bit more speaking and language involved in there first encounter . If I was a Victorian reader reading this first chapter I would definitely read the next chapter. I would do this because Dickens made you feel so much for Pip so soon into the novel and makes you wonder about Magwitch therefore you want to find out what Pip and Magwitch do next. Overall I think the first chapter is good, readable and appealing. ...read more.

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