Great Expectations how are the first 5 chapters succesful
It is said that if a novel makes its' audience laugh, cry and wait then it has all the components it needs to be a success. Dickens does all these in the opening five chapters of Great Expectations. Furthermore, the beginning is successful because of the introduction of very diverse characters. Firstly, there is Pip's brother in law, Joe Gargery, a kind hearted and 'good- natured' man, 'a sort of Hercules in strength, and also in weakness. On the other hand there is the convict on the marshes who, after Pip explained the whereabouts of his parents, exclaimed, 'Ha!'The opening is successful because it creates a great depth of sympathy for Pip that no film could recreate. We read first hand, about the cruelty and bad temper of his sister who is communally praised for bringing Pip up 'by hand'. The apron that Mrs Joe Gargery wore is a symbol of the lack of a caring upbringing. Pip could see no reason 'she should have worn it at all' yet it was the source of much discomfort during dinner- time. The bread; ''sometimes got a pin into it, and sometimes a needle'' The pins and needles in the bread are symbolic of Pip's rough upbringing. Thus, sympathy lies with Pip and no other. We do not read about the strain of living with
It is not an over exaggeration to say that the novel mainly focuses on the hardships imposed on Pip and barely on those imposed on any other character. We feel a sense of injustice on Pip's behalf that he feels guilty for raiding the gargery's pantry. Pip describes 'the guilty knowledge that I was going to rob Mrs Joe' as 'a great punishment'. We see all the events from Pips viewpoint, he calls the convict on the marsh 'my convict'. We hear about pip's fear, respect and developing sympathy for the convict in his very own words. This lends even more sympathy to Pip because he is letting the audience know all that he is thinking and in doing so, consolidating the character-reader relationship. a bad tempered wife or a one-dimensional husband. The fact that the book is so broadly biased in favour of Pip means that it evokes more emotions in the reader than it otherwise would. Evoking emotion in the audience is always going to make a novel more successful than leaving them dispassionate and uninvolved. Dickens attracts attention to the opening chapters by truly reflecting a very common trait of almost all individuals. This is to act differently to different people. We see Mrs Joe treating Joe harshly 'she pounced on Joe
Some common words found in the essay are:
Joe Gargery, Pumblechook Furthermore, Pip None, , Expectations Furthermore, Firstly Pip's, sympathy pip, joe gargery,
Approximate Word count = 827
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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