Dickens View of the World Shown Through the Narration of...

Dickens View of the World Shown Through the Narration of Pip in Great Expectations Reading the opening chapter of Great Expectations demonstrates something of the extraordinary range and power of Dickens language. After a brief statement about his self-naming, which in itself is important as it instigates the whole debate about identity in the novel, Pip goes on to entertain us with an amusing description of his family graves, their inscriptions, and what he, as a small boy, made of them. The older, more sophisticated narrator explores the imaginative but essentially innocent mind of his younger self with a wit and vocabulary that is anything but childlike. This introduction into young Pips†¦show more content†¦This tension between an urbane, educated, retrospective narrative voice and other, more urgent forms of direct speech is a feature of the book throughout. The dominant tone is that of Pip telling his story, but there are a great variety of other languages, different voices and more eccentric styles within this dominant discourse. This is not to suggest that Pips own voice lacks range and variety. As we can see, he can investigate his own childish terror vividly, but he can also recreate Pumblechooks nemesis with the tar-water to great comic effect. Pumblechooks appalling spasmodic whooping-cough dance, his plunging and expectorating is described from a childs point of view but with an educated adults syntax and vocabulary. As narrator, Pip has a sharp way with irony, particularly when it is directed against his own pretensions. Despite the humour and the comic episodes, the prevailing tone of Pips narration is one of resigned melancholy. Sometimes the reader feels like an eavesdropper listening to the mature Pips reflection on his earlier self. We are persuaded that Pip is explaining the matter to himself as much as to us, his readers. At other times, like the final paragraph of chapter 9, he addresses us more directly. Dickens is at pains to make us share Pips trials and tribulations; he wishes toShow MoreRelated Laws, Crime and Punishment in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens3288 Words   |  14 PagesLaws, Crime and Punishment in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Great Expectations criticises the Victorian judicial and penal system. Through the novel, Charles Dickens displays his point of view of criminality and punishment. This is shown in his portraits of all pieces of such system: the lawyer, the clerk, the judge, the prison authorities and the convicts. In treating the theme of the Victorian system of punishment, Dickens shows his position against prisons, transportation and deathRead MoreGreat Expectations: the World of Laws, Crime and Punishment3378 Words   |  14 PagescenterbThe World of Laws, Crime and Punishment in Great Expectations/b/center brGreat Expectations criticises the Victorian judicial and penal system. Through the novel, Charles Dickens displays his point of view of criminality and punishment. This is shown in his portraits of all pieces of such system: the lawyer, the clerk, the judge, the prison authorities and the convicts. In treating the theme of the Victorian system of punishment, Dickens shows his position against prisons, transportationRead MoreCharles John Huffam Dickens Great Expectations2301 Words   |  10 PagesCharles John Huffam Dickens was born on February 7, 1812 in Portsmouth, England to Elizabeth and John Dickens. He came from a large middle class family that suffered from debt and received schooling from Wellington House Academy. After completing his education he pursued a career as a freelance reporter for Parliament and a clerk at a law firm. His career as a reporter provided a gateway to his embarkment as a full time novelist who produced complex works at an incredible rate. His career took offRead MoreANALIZ TEXT INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS28843 Words   |  116 Pagescommentary in which the reader explains what the text reveals under close examination. Any literary work is unique. It is created by the author in accordance with his vision and is permeated with his idea of the world. The reader’s interpretation is also highly individual and depends to a great extent on his knowledge and personal experience. That’s why one cannot lay down a fixed â€Å"model† for a piece of critical appreciation. Nevertheless, one can give information and suggestions that may prove helpful