Opening Chapter of ‘Great Expectations`

In the opening chapter of 'Great Expectations' Dickens draws upon a wealth of literary devices which range from the carefully selected word to a rather grand style of writing in long, complex sentences. He focuses these literary devices on conveying setting, character and atmosphere which enable the reader to have a entertaining, fictional experience.

Immediately, in the first line the reader realises who the main character is and begins to build a picture of him. The reader is conscious of an older narrator looking back on his childhood when the following line announces: "I called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip." As the first chapter is all about "Pip" it is appropriate that readers should be able to envisage the main character who will transport them to a Victorian childhood. In the second paragraph the reader deduces that Pip is very imaginative as from the "shape of the letters" on his father's gravestones he has formed an image of a "square, stout, dark man with curly black hair." It's important that the reader understands at this early stage that Pip's imagination has such a hold over him as later on in the chapter. It explains why Pip obeys the convict and is so frightened of him. The young boy is in thrall to his child-like imagination.

The setting of the novel is closely associated with the main character as is revealed by the line: "ours was the marsh country". The word "ours" is not simply a pronoun; it gives the reader the impression that he has always lived there like the generations. The word suggests he feels, even as an adult looking back on his childhood, somewhat proprietorial about the marshes. In short, the marshes were his homeland or heartland.

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The memory of that day at the marshes is described as "vivid and broad." These words give the reader the impression that what happened was something unforgettable that stood apart from all of Pip's other memories in the way that vivid colours stand out and you remember them better.

The word "broad" signifies a lot of things happened in the short space of time. Dickens goes on to describe the day as "raw" which initially seems to contradict the word "vivid" however it reinforces the idea that the day was memorable. The word is an interesting choice as it is often associated with cold and unpleasant experiences as opposed to "vivid" which makes one think of reds and oranges which are warm and cosy. .

The area around Pip is a "bleak place overgrown with nettles". Dickens' words seem to be chosen deliberately. "Bleak" is important as all the next paragraph is going to be about how desolate this area is and how Pip is alone where as the word "nettles" makes the reader think of being stung. When you're stung by a nettle you remember it because it hurts like Pip remembers this day. Throughout the opening chapter Dickens uses noun phrases to describe "scattered cattle", "broken shoes" and "high tombstones" These enhance his description of place and in the "wilderness" of the marshes, the reader builds up a picture of there being nothing else there which makes it appear a very lonely setting where one may have to fight to survive. In effect the description of the setting foreshadows the fight for survival the prisoner will have, mentally and physically. Furthermore, the single word "wilderness" also has another connotation i.e. the marshes reflect Pip's inner feelings. Pip is "dark" inside as he has no happiness. He's a working boy whose parents and brothers have died which makes him "flat" as he has no highs or lows

The setting and atmosphere link incredibly closely with one and another and without Dickens excellent description of the setting the reader would be unable to build such an atmosphere which engages their mind and senses building up fear and suspense. The reader understands Pip is alone however being alone can be very beautiful, peaceful and relaxing but the reader creates the scared atmosphere after Dickens adds the adverbial phrases and noun phrases like "place overgrown with nettles", "dark, flat wilderness", "low leaden line", "distant savage lair", and "wind was rushing". All of these are dark, frightening phrases which don't describe any beauty.

The description of the sea as a "distant savage lair" is also a very good description of what the marshes are to the convict. A "lair" is somewhere an animal often "savage" lives and the convict is living in the marshes and he is like an animal as he's uneducated and eats "ravenously" as well as having a "savage" mind and temperament for he makes threats involving blood ("savage" and blood are closely linked) and is physical unkind turning Pip upside down. The key thing about a "lair" is the fact it conceals the animal and the convict is much concealed as prior to him just appearing Pip is unaware anyone else is there; this links with "distant" as at that point any threat to Pip is very "distance" in his mind as he is believing that he's alone.

The convict "started up from among the graves" is how his entrance is described but the words "started up" mirror and foreshadow how something else is starting up and that is Pip's change in fortune. "Started up" is also different and unusual in this context as it would normally be used for a car or a mechanical thing not a person. The difference between people and mechanical things are people have feelings and at this point in the story the convict is being portrayed as a cold man who doesn't seem to have feelings or concern for anything just gets on with life.

Before the reader develops a sense of sympathy for the convict, his mannerisms make a reader afraid of him and understand why Pip as a small boy would have followed his orders. He never talks without issuing commands. His first spoken word is usually an imperative verb which gives the reader the impression the convict will not tolerate disobedience. The sentence, "Hold your noise!" hints at the convict's concern not to be discovered. He is a "fearful man" and a long descriptions of the convict follows in which Dickens uses a string of adverbial phrases to emphasise the dreaded physical condition of the convict who had been "...soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints, and stung by nettles ..." In this way, a picture of sustained suffering is created that arouses the sympathy of the reader.

Pip is under the sole control of the convict and has no room to negotiate with a man who is "so sudden and strong". He has to do what the convict says for fear of the verbal threats becoming true and these are forced more on him by the convict's unkind physical treatment including turning Pip "upside down". This re-enforces the frightening atmosphere to the reader as reading between the lines they see Pip has no way of escaping.

When Pip speaks he does so in Standard English e.g. "My sister ... wife of Joe Gargery, the blacksmith." In contrast the convict uses slang "pint" and "mind to't" and sometimes then he doesn't pronounce words right - he says "wittles" instead of "victuals". Dickens endears Pip in the way to a middle-class audience.

Dickens use repetition several times but changes it slightly each time he uses it. Sometimes he just repeats the exact same sentence "He tilted me again...He tilted me again...He tilted me again." This reinforces the point he is making of the convict having control over Pip and builds the reader's feelings even higher creating more of a frightening atmosphere. At other times his repetition is slightly changed by singular words, this links the second part back to the first and the reader is able to build a stronger link between the two. A good example of this is "partly, to keep myself upon it; partly, to keep myself from crying." here the reader sees how both bits are about the same issue, Pip holding onto the tombstone, and receives a better description of why he's doing it but by the repetition the link between them is strengthened.

The final description of the setting refers to "horizontal lines" of "red" and "black". Using "lines" is a really good description as "lines" are very insignificant to many people just like this area is insignificant so no-one hardly comes but without lines nothing would be in the world or happen. As lines form the foundations of letters which allow communication, lines are seen everywhere like on roads and things are built with lines - classroom desk edges are straight lines; and without Pip being a little line figure "intermixed" with all these other lines he wouldn't of met the convict, who therefore couldn't of been his benefactor which means Pip wouldn't of formed the foundations for his journey in becoming a gentleman.

The first line description of a "long black horizontal line" is very significant in the fact it's very plain and simple and that reflects how the marshes were now, they were just simply plain marshes again. However it also reflects how Pip felt and how his life was just one "long line" that so far had never changed. Furthermore it also singles a slight change in the atmosphere although there is still the "frightening" threat of the "young boy" all the high drama has stopped so the reader can take a step back and is able to think about what just happened.

Dickens uses similes in his writing to add extra description and allow the reader to imagine better. The use of a simile is very useful for describing the "beacon" as many readers may not have known what Dickens was talking about especially if they lived in the city but by saying it was "like an unhooped cask upon a pole" they are fully able to visualise what it is. So as well as telling a great story Dickens is also introducing his readers to new words.

In addition Dickens talks about the convict "as if he were the pirate come to life," by using a metaphor he's adding yet a different literary tool. In fact using the tool of a metaphor is very good as they create an image the reader can relate to and remember easily. But Dickens didn't just use any metaphors he carefully selected them using key words such as "pirate" which relates back to what he's talking about - the gibbet. "Pirates" are also scary and people that threaten others to get what they want just as the convict is a "fearful" person and has threatened Pip to get food.

"But, now I was frightened again, and ran home without stopping." is a fabulous final line which makes the reader hungry for more. This sentence sums up the entire chapter well as it relates back to Pip previously being frightened when it says "frightened again" however it leaves you very much on a cliff-hanger wanting to know if Pip gets home safely and if he returns with food for the convict. This was one of Dickens preferred styles as he wrote in episodes but now when they are all put together it forms something excellent as you read stories within a story.

In general, Dickens' style of writing in incredibly long sentences helps set the atmosphere of there being something more to this story than meets the eye, this allows the reader's mind to work overtime and read between the lines. Sentences like "A man who had been soaked in water ... as he seized me by the chin." and "On the edge of the river ... which had once held a pirate." also helps build a clearer picture in the readers mind. All the sub-clauses in the sentences as well give Dickens plenty of time to describe every fraction of detail about the setting or a characters appearance which if you can give the text your full attention without any distractions transport you very easily into this world therefore you don't watch it like a movie but live it like a life.

Sub-clauses in long sentences such as "soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones." are dramatised by the use of commas before the word and. You would not think, especially not in today's modern world, that there should be a comma before the word and however Dicken's deliberately chose to do this. As by having the commas the reader has to slow down when reading the long sentences which gives them chance to digest what they have just read and it sinks into their head more. But in addition it also holds the reader in suspense, only for a couple of seconds, but in that time they build up an urge to read on.

In conclusion, the opening chapter sets up the book as an incredibly worthwhile read which seems to semi-autobiographical and concerned with making a commentary on life, childhood and the class system of Victorian England. In order to express his views through a best-selling novel he combined a range of elements including romance, mystery, crime, comedy and sentiment. It's paramount for the reader to deduce and infer these from the description of the setting, characters and atmosphere allowing them to get the most out of this magnificent book. The opening chapter is a curtain-raiser for the rest of the novel in which Dickens takes the reader back in time to experience a Victorian childhood.

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