Chapter One of Great Expectations Essay - 767 Words

COURSEWORK ‘How effective is chapter one as an opening to â€Å"great expectations†?’ The first chapter is set in the grave yard, where pip is looking at the tombstones of his dead parents and brothers. ‘Arranged in a neat row beside their grave, and were sacred to the memory of five little brothers of mine- who gave up trying to get a living exceedingly early in that universal struggle’. He is stating that all of his brothers gave in to death, which gives the idea that life expectancy was low for everyone. He then goes on to describe the area surrounding his home ‘Ours was the marsh country, down by the river, within, as the river wound, twenty miles from the sea’. He is clearly explaining that he lives quite close to the sea,†¦show more content†¦children’s tombstones. The style of writing contains a lot of repetition, this gives a persistent effect, e.g. ‘†you bring me a file.† He tilted me again. â€Å"And you get me wittles† he tilted me again† â€Å"you bring them both to me† he tilted me again â€Å"or I’ll have your heart and liver out!† he tilted me again’. Also it very clear that the story is written from an adults’ point of view looking back to when he was a child because the language is so mature and complex that it’s just impossible to think that a 9 year old child could speak that way. The sentences are long, descriptive and seem to always follow a rhythm. Dickens plays around with language to give a clear image of pip’s imagination. ‘The shape of the letters on my fathers, gave me an odd idea that he was a square, stout, dark man, with curly black hair. From the character and turn of the inscription, Also Georgiana Wife of the above, I drew a childish conclusion that my mother was freckled and sickly’. The quote shows how pip imagines his parents from the lettering of their tombstones. In the first chapter Pip meets the convict. He doesn’t think much of the meeting later on is life but this meeting ends up being the most important event in the novel. That meeting probably led to pip thinking that Miss Havisham, an old yet rich and heart broken bride, thought that she was his benefactor and that he was meant to grow into aShow MoreRelatedChapter One of Great Expectations Essay832 Words   |  4 PagesWhat is the Significance of Chapter One of Great Expectations in Relation to the Novel as a Whole? Great Expectations is a novel written by Charles Dickens and is considered to be one of his best stories. The plot follows a young boy named Phillip Pirrip or Pip and it focuses on his growth as he matures from a young boy into a fully grown man. He had always had great expectations of himself, wishing to become someone of high social class - as this was set and written in the VictorianRead MoreEssay about Chapter One of Dickens Great Expectations1858 Words   |  8 PagesChapter One of Dickens Great Expectations The title of the novel that I studied is, Great Expectations, written in the 19th century by Charles Dickens. Pip, an orphan often goes to the cemetery to mourn for his dead parents and brothers. While mourning one day, a convict hiding in that same cemetery scares him. All that he thinks of is to listen and obey the man. As the story evolves, we are also introduced to the sentimental part of Pips life. He is in love withRead MoreChapter One and Thirty Nine of Great Expectations Essay1814 Words   |  8 PagesCompare chapter 1 of Great Expectations, in which Pip first meets the convict, with chapter 39, when the convict returns. Charles Dickens is considered to be one of the greatest English novelists of the Victorian period. This greatest of Victorian writers was born in Landport, Portsmouth, on February 7, 1812. His father John worked as a clerk in the Navy Payroll Office in Portsmouth. It was his personal experience of factory work and the living conditions of the poor that created in DickensRead More Compare Chapter One of Great Expectations, in which Pip first meets1737 Words   |  7 PagesCompare Chapter One of Great Expectations, in which Pip first meets the convict, with Chapter 39 when he returns. Pip Pirrip is our main character of the story ‘Great Expectations’ by Charles Dickens. From what we’ve read in chapter one, we have found out that he is an orphan living in Kent with his older sister and her husband, Joe Gargery. We are not sure about his age but we can guess that he is around eight years old. He meets an escaped convict by the name of Magwitch, who asks himRead MoreEssay about Settings in Great Expectations928 Words   |  4 PagesShow how Dickens uses settings in Great Expectations to enhance our understanding of character and the symbolic elements of the plot - Great expectations Show how Dickens uses settings in Great Expectations to enhance our understanding of character and the symbolic elements of the plot. As we notice in the novel Great Expectations, Charles Dickens uses many different narrative techniques other than the usual description. One of these techniques is that of describing character throughRead More How the Views of Magwitch Change through the Course of the Novel734 Words   |  3 PagesHow the Views of Magwitch Change through the Course of the Novel Great Expectations is about a boy called Pip, who has Great Expectations and doesnt want to be poor all his life. Along his way, a lot of strange things happen to him, such as meeting strange people and getting money off unknown people. Great Expectations was wrote in 1860 and was Dickens thirteenth novel. This essay will be about how our views on Magwitch change through the story, such as at the beginning us thinkingRead MoreThe General Theory Of Employment, Interest, And Money.1653 Words   |  7 Pageshis toddler years in Cambridge where he attended kindergarten. In 1889, he attended his first kindergarten lessons at Perse School for Girls where he was supposed to attend lessons for five days a week. At the initial stage of education, he showed great interest in Arithmetic, laying a firm foundation for his future career as an economist (Bateman, et al. 2010) As his health was not good at this time, he had to take his lessons from home lessons since he could not attend classes on a regular basisRead MoreEssay about Great Expectations, Life of Pi and the Great Gatsby1274 Words   |  6 PagesEnglish Literature Summer Task The Great Gatsby, Life of Pi and Great Expectations: The Opening Chapters The opening chapters of each of these three books are both similar and different in many ways, and succeed to keep the reader interested enough to carry on their journey with Pip, Nick or Pi. The way characterisation is put forward in these three novels is rather similar, in the fact that all three are written in the first person, giving the impression that the character in question is tellingRead MoreThe Relationship Between Pip and Abel Magwitch in Charles Dickens Great Expectations1125 Words   |  5 PagesMagwitch in Charles Dickens Great Expectations In this essay, I am to observe the changes in the relationship between Pip and the convict Abel Magwitch in chapters 1 and 39 by examining Read MoreCharles Dickens: Great Expectations Essay988 Words   |  4 PagesCharles Dickens: Great Expectations Describe how Dickens creates atmosphere and introduces characters in Chapter One of Great Expectations. In this essay I am going to describe how Dickens successfully uses tension and drama to create atmosphere and to introduce his characters status, emotions and identity in the opening chapter of Great Expectations. The central character, Pip, is followed from youth as he makes the journey from poverty to riches and back again as