The Importance of Settings in Great Expectations Essay example -- Engl

The Importance of Settings in Great Expectations The purpose of setting is to provide a physical background for the narrative and it must enhance or advance the plot. In â€Å"Great Expectations† Dickens has varied and contrasted his settings (on purpose), to make the changes in characters personalities more appropriate. For example Pip goes from a poor, working class boy from the marshes, to a socialite of the upper class who is arrogant and proud in London. In his choice of setting Dickens has made sure that his settings tie in with his characters social class, he has done this with Jaggers the lawyer who lives in London, Wemmick his assistant who lives in a quiet, small, eccentric urban house and the Gargery’s in their forge on the marshes. By making Characters settings seem appropriate for their class and personal storyline this makes the novel seem somewhat realistic and possible and this must have been very exciting to the readers of what was then a series and would have been one reason why they might have been eager to read the next chapter. I think Dickens intentionally made his purpose of setting real and authentic to achieve the appeal, which would have been generated from this. Dickens ability to set mood, tone and atmosphere to compliment his characters was crucial in their success, for example, Abel Magwitch and his first appearance in the story as the ‘convict’. What better a place to situate a convict but in a place where it is misty, foggy, cold, damp, dark, dangerous and perilously silent? What makes it even better is that also Dickens puts in a timid boy who has come to visit his dead relatives, only to be ambushed by a convict. The atmosphere created here really works and is effecti... ...reate unique and powerful portrayals of his settings for example ‘the sky was just a row of long angry lines and dense black lines intermixed’. By using similes like ‘skylight patched like a broken head’ Dickens made setting imaginable and so easier to imagine/relate to. The use of setting Great Expectations is of a high standard as Dickens has been able to create vivid world through his involvements of senses and various writing techniques. Also Dickens was able to make his novel realistic as he drew from many of the experiences of his life. Dickens has provided more than a physical background for his narrative as through is settings he has further enhanced and also deepened his plot there for bringing his book to life, also he has used mood, tone and atmosphere to complement his characters effectively and his choice of locations fit in with his story.