Literary Analysis Of Great Expectations - 1443 Words

Charles Dickens is a well-known author famous for his skillful and distinctive writing style. One of the novels in which Dickens best demonstrates his masterful style is Great Expectations. In this book, many literary elements are employed to develop a cleverly blended story. To create a unique effect, comedy, tragedy, and garish features are mixed together throughout. The wide array of writing patterns used by Dickens can be found over the course of the entire book and exemplified in many different chapters. From the instant this novel starts, Dickens establishes himself as a valid writer and his work as a piece worth literary attention. He accomplishes this by first making his story seem grim, as Pip describes the gravestones of his†¦show more content†¦The inclusion of elaborate details of this seemingly harmful man is also another strategy Dickens uses to help readers sympathize with Pip as he faces a more imminent problem. The reader is already invested in Pip after hearing about the fate of his family. Putting Pip in harm’s way not only creates even more sympathy, but also adds the new aspect of suspense. As Pip describes the situations he encounters, he manages to do so in a very unique way. The narration of this story is in first person, but it is told as an aged Pip reflects back on his younger years. This narration gives the novel dramatic irony; the narrator and the reader know what will happen before the actual characters. This irony is typically apparent when Pip comments on his current state, revealing that he is telling this story as an older person. Although this point of view has an influence on the entire book, it serves a unique purpose in the first chapter specifically. The grave situations in chapter one give the story a very serious tone, but this irony helps to give the chapter a lighthearted note as well. At first the situations being described seem urgent but then Pip gives the reader hints that he is older and has survived the situation. Knowing that Pip survives into adulthood helps make some of the descriptions come across as less somber. For example, the scene where the convict is threatening Pip by hanging him by his feet is very intense, but it is made lighter by the reader’sShow MoreRelatedGreat Expectations - Literary Analysis1674 Words   |  7 PagesAn Evaluation of Pip, and His Great Expectations In the year 1860, author Charles Dicken’s began his thirteenth novel, Great Expectations. The work is a coming-of-age novel, which tells the life story of an orphan boy named Pip, who much like Dickens’ in his earlier years is unhappy with his current life. A number of Charles Dickens’ personal life events are mirrored in the novel, leaving Great Expectations to be one of his most autobiographical works. 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