How effective is the opening chapter of 'Great Expectations' in maintaining the reader's interest? - page 1
Keywords: Great Expectations, Chapter 1, Pip, Convict, Dickens, Magwitch, Description, First Person Narrative
By Kevin Jimenez on 08/07/2011
Level: GCSE Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11)
Page Number: 1 of 6 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6
Great Expectations was written by Charles Dickens between 1860 and 1861. It is set in Victorian Britain and follows a young boy from his innocent youth into adulthood. Dickens incorporates the themes of crime, punishment and ambition in an effort to relate to his readers, and to represent how their lives were shaped by the poor conditions that plagued a nation at the forefront of the industrial revolution. Interestingly, Great Expectations was written in serials, enabling people from all walks of life and social classes to enjoy the adventures of this one character. It also required Dickens to write in a particular style that added a degree of suspense between each instalment in order to fully maintain the reader’s interest throughout. In this essay I shall explore the very techniques in which Dickens uses to do so, focussing on Chapter One and how well he is able to engage us within the first few pages of his novel.
We are first introduced to our protagonist as he explains how he ‘came to be called Pip’. The first person narrative is effective because we gain a more in-depth understanding of Pip’s inner most feelings. We soon realize this as the light mood sharply turns less welcoming, from a simple acquaintance into the harsh reality brought about by death. Pip speaks of his family and his early memories, ‘gained on a memorable raw afternoon’. On this afternoon he remembers his parents and siblings being ‘dead and buried’. In particular, the word ‘raw’ implies that he still has strong emotions which he finds difficult to come to terms with. We immediately feel sympathy for Pip and are emotionally engaged because first memories are usually associated with being positive, but in Pip’s case, his will certainly haunt him. Also, Dickens’ sudden change of the mood and tone already serves as an insight to the rest of the novel, preparing us for an unpredictable turn of events ensured to grip us with each new revelation.
Although the novel is written in first person, one might argue that we are given a narrow perspective overly centred on Pip. This is despite the reality that death during child birth was common in that period, with many expecting mothers confined to the Workhouse. For this reason, the modern reader may be more shocked to learn that Pip is an orphan and his tragic circumstances when compared to a Victorian reader
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