The Triumvirate welcomes you!
"The term triumvirate (from Latin, "of three men") is commonly used to describe a political regime dominated by three powerful individuals" (Wiki).
Prompt to respond to before class on Friday, Sep 26
Re-read the beginning of chapter 39 describing the arrival of Magwitch. Begin with paragraph 4 and read through the paragraph that begins "You acted noble, my boy," said he." Discuss the techniques Dickens uses to create suspense.
Dickens' unique style and ability to convey more than just an image through descriptions help develop this chapter to fully employ its purpose. Once again, Dickens is able to use his talent with words to set up a mood fitting for the return of Magwitch. Right off the bat, this chapter begins by portraying the horrid weather, which gives an overall gloomy atmosphere. "It was wretched weather; stormy and wet, stormy and wet; mud, mud, mud, deep in the streets" (pg 348). Even in that one sentence alone, the reader gets a sense of depression and sadness through the use of repetition. In the following paragraph or two, Dickens focuses on signifying the darkness describing that "..the staircase lamps were blown out..the lamps in the court were blown out.." (pg 344). This emphasis on darkness adds to the creepy, gloomy atmosphere already created by the weather. When Pip hears the footsteps on the stairs, he connects it with the footsteps of his dead sister. The fact that the deceased Mrs. Joe is brought up in this passage also adds to the suspense, for Mrs. Joe stands as a figure that inflicted fear. Furthermore, Dickens did not simply say Pip connected it with Mrs. Joe, but he says "the footstep of my dead sister.." (pg 344), which adds much more suspense and uneasiness. Dickens brings back the darkness when Pip goes out into the hall to see who the unexpected visitor is. The shaded lamp Pip uses to provide light is a very weak light and does not fully show the stranger. The suspense is growing at this point as "he [the stranger] was in it [the light] for a mere instant, and then out of it" (pg 345). Dickens is able to keep the reader engaged throughout this passage through Pip's inability to recognize the face, yet have a sense of familiarity. The stranger's "bright and gratified recognition" of Pip tells the reader that the character has appeared somewhere before, yet does not give away his identity. When Pip realizes who the stranger is, Pip's own excitement and Dickens' descriptive sentence of their past meeting brings the suspense to its climax.
Grace and Sharon both pointed out that Dickens slips tiny details and hints that give a much bigger effect than the words he wrote. I agree that his repetition that it was dark, dreary, and doom-filled allows the reader to be as uncomfortable as Pip. Besides sympathising with Pip, the reader also pities him. This emotion felt for a character places hooks into the reader that pull every time suspense happens in the book. A section in the book where we experience the events in Pip's life alongside him is when Magwith first finds Pip. pg 305, right when Magwitch lumbered up the stairs, Pip describes him: "He looked about him with the strangest air-an air of wondering pleasure, as if he had some part in the things he admire-and he pulled off a rough outer coat, and his hat." He continues in the paragraph along this same idea, but the way the scene is desrcribed makes the reader as curious as Pip. I believe this is an objective point of view which places us in the story, not just hearing it from a friend. This section is also set up like a long sentence with the subject at the end. There're all these supporting details/paragraphs and it's not until the very end that we realize it's Magwitch. An example of this is "...I knew him! Even yet I could not recall a single feature, but I knew him!" (305).Antsy with anticipation, the reader continues, living the suspense with the characters.
In Great Expectations, Dickens often sets the scene before he even goes into detail about what is actually happening to the characters. He sets the atmosphere very well as he paints a vivid picture in the reader's mind.. The descriptions of Pip's surroundings (loud, stormy weather) contrasted with what he is doing (sitting alone, quietly reading) also help set the mood. It makes the weather outside seem even more unpleasant and the room he is in seem more isolated and lonely.
In this chapter, he begins by mentioning the "vast heavy veil... Driving over London... Gloomy accounts had come in from the coast of shipwreck and death. Violent blasts of rain had accompanied these rages of wind and the day just closed as I sat down to read had been the worst of all." This is a general description of the weather in the city.. Then he becomes more specific and goes on to describe the house that Pip is in, which put further emphasis on the unpleasant conditions outside Pip's door: "The wind rushing up the river shook the house that night, like discharges of cannon, or breakings of a sea" (339). He also mentions that Pip notices all the lamps were blown out. This made me realize it must be leading into something more important because he pointed out such seemingly insignificant details that all add to the mysterious atmosphere.
Also, like Grace mentioned, the fact that he is talking to someone in the dark who he can barely see makes it more suspenseful and mysterious.. This is also accomplished through the way he slowly unveils the identity of the visitor through descriptions of his dress, his "air of wondering pleasure," his odd behavior, and the way he talks to Pip like he knows him before Pip even realizes who he is talking to.
Right from the start of the fourth paragraph, the third word “wretched” and then following with the repetition of “mud, mud, mud…” became the mood setter for what was about to take place in the story. Dickens uses the fourth paragraph to establish the setting and the atmosphere by using strong, heavy, and dark diction. Dickens uses the description of a “vast heavy veil” to depict the storm in London. From then on, the whole paragraph was just filled with dark diction, “furious”, “gloomy”, and “death”, that settles in us readers, a negative feeling.
The setting really reminded me of a scary movie. And in this book, Dickens does a great job of fully grabbing our attention taking us into great suspense just by describing all the things that can go wrong in a scary movie. One example is when Pip describes his surrounding saying, “I saw that lamps on the court were blown out, and that the lamps on the bridges and the shore were shuddering, and that the coal fires in the barges on the river were being carried away before the wind like red-hot splashes”, explaining the effects of the storm on his surrounding which renders the atmosphere with great thrill. This kind of suspense made it flow right into the unveiling of Magwitch as Pip’s benefactor.
One obvious technique Dickens uses is how he used his description to set up the atmosphere. One aspect of suspense is uncertainty. As the paragraph begins, Dickens sets the reader up in a wretched “wretched weather; stormy and wet” setting. As the paragraph proceeds, he uses multiple sentences to really create even a darker story atmosphere, making sure the reader knows exactly how they should picture the streets. Also in the proceeding paragraphs, he creates a dilemma all can relate to. When one is home alone on a stormy night, while all of a sudden, a mysterious noise haunts you. It’s the fear of the unknown that Dickens uses to hook us in as he did on the seventh paragraph, “what nervous folly made me start,” to “I took me reading lamp and went out…whoever was below has stopped on seeing my lamp, for all was quiet.” Again, I think Dickens strongest tool to create suspense is the way his diction describes everything. An example is the mysterious man below and how he described his features, “iron-grey hair…grew only on its side…large brown veinous hands. One other technique I saw was that Dickens was withholding who the mysterious man was. The reader found out as Pip found out.
Dickens uses several different ways to create suspense in this passage of the story. He starts first by setting up the scene- talking of the harsh, windy weather, and ending the paragraph with shipwreck and death which helps the reader to visualize how destructive the windstorm is.
He also uses another connection to death when Magwitch is walking up the stairs. Dickens writes: “What nervous folly made me start, and awfully connect it with the footstep of my dead sister, matters not.” This statement automatically causes the reader to imagine a ghost slowly coming up the stairs, with one step every few seconds which is incredibly mysterious in itself.
Magwitch even says something that triggers suspense in the reader. He asks: “There is no one nigh,” said he, looking over his shoulder, “is there?” This statement makes the reader think that Magwitch is going to do something to Pip and doesn’t want any witnesses.
All throughout the novel we see Dickens using weather to create a sense of atmosphere. These sometimes harsh conditions not only set the mood for the surrounding environment, but also are used to project the internal struggles and confusions of Dicken's characters. Whenever there are dramatic points of high suspense, mayhem, or stress--especially for Pip--the weather is often times gloomily chaotic. In this passage leading up to the arrival of Magwitch, Dickens manages to create a sense of lingering suspense through his careful diction. He uses words and phrases such as: an "Eternity of cloud and wind," which creates a sense of an incredibly vast distance, a horizon where we are unable to see the potential threats and dangers heading towards Pip--and us, the readers; "Violent blasts" with "stumbling footsteps" sounding like a haunting from his deceased, scolding sister, Mrs. Joe; and other words he uses to describe the overhwelming darkness create a scary atmosphere as well. People cannot see all the way through the dark, and therfore do not know of the monsters lurking behind "a vast heavy veil" (313). His use of diction creates very strong images of what he is aiming to portray. His words paint a picture in our minds so it is easy for us to see every little detail. We can hear the terrifying weather, feel the overpowering wind, and see the blackness--darkness which is soon illuminated as a mysterious face creeps into the faint glow of Pip's lamp. This scene is also extremely suspensful because I believe there to be an element of dramatic irony. The moment Pip starts to describe the man, we have a pretty good idea it's Magwitch because of the words Dicken's uses to describe him. He uses the word "iron" more than once to describe his hair. We relate "iron" to the convict because of his request for the file to escape his shackles. Readers remember/get a sense of the convict because the description of "iron" is perhaps a character tag for Magwitch. Even though we get a sense of who is lurking behind the shadows, we don't really know what the convict will do to Pip. We are scared for Pip. It's like those scenes found in movies where we want to yell at the T.V. screen, " Please, please...Don't open the closet!"
This passage is full of vivid details and many colorful adjectives. When I reread this, looking for the characteristics of suspense, I found it almost humorous how stereotypical the scene was for encountering someone unknown and potentially dangerous.
Phrases like "a vast heavy veil" and "gloomy accounts" only add the the scene. It almost seemed to me as though Dickens' left out the roaring thunder and hair-raising lightning. The scene is set for something potentially bad to occur. Upon reading it the first time I thought Orlick or someone was coming to sneak up on Pip and murder him. The suspense is built by the great detail so that the reader assumes something bad is about to happen.
The paragraph which begins, "I read with my watch upon the table..." is very strong to me. The fact that you can hear every bell in London simultaneously ring is just eerie. It is hard to think of even hearing every alarm clock in my house go off, let alone the neighborhood. The scene set is silent and dark. Befor it is even read that someone is approaching the reader gets that "someone is over my shoulder" feeling.
While I had no idea it was Magwitch at the door, the hints Dickens' left were enough for me to know it was his benefactor. The references to pleasure in seeing Pip, yet being unfamiliar, indicate that this was the one who helped pip acheive his great expectations.
I feel that the suspense built by Dickens' comes mostly because Dickens' uses so many, perhaps too many, details in descrbing the scene that you just want him to tell you what is going to happen so that your anxious heart slows down.
All throughout the novel, Dickens uses his incredible vocabulary to set up the mood and atmosphere of the current scene. It's almost as if he's describing a still frame of a movie, where he can just look and describe everything that he sees. Even in the scene where Pip is alone in his apartment, Dickens uses his words to set up the mood before anything actually happens. "It was wretched weather; stormy and wet, stormy and wet; mud, mud, mud, deep in all the streets." (333) just has a negative connotation to it. Dickens could have easily said that the weather was gloomy and it had been raining for a couple days, but it is again his diction that sets his work apart from other novels. Also, like Nick also said, I've noticed that Dickens uses the weather or the surrounding atmosphere to allude to the present condition of the characters. One example is when Pip goes and sees Ms. Havisham for the first time. He does not know what to expect, however, the house is dark, dusty, and in a sense dead. This alludes to Ms. Havisham. She is just as old, dusty, and dead on the inside as her house. Her attitude is dark, and somewhat malevolent. Getting back to the prompt, I also noticed that whenever something important is about to happen in the novel, Dickens tends to describe every little detail. My guess is that he does this to make the scene seem more real. This way we can imagine ourselves there along side of the characters. By describing the scene with the amount of detail that Dickens uses, the scene becomes much more than just a painted picture, but a full color movie in 3D.
I first noticed the creepy setting where Pip was late at night. As the scene progressed it got a little freaky. I believe that Dickens set up this chapter like this to set the readers nerves on the edge. Like the build up in a monster movie with the violins in the background slowly building up into a chaos of noise to have the audience jump out of their seats. Even though this is just Pip in a building late at night, I still got that edge like something is going to happen. Not till now did I connect his sisters footsteps could of been heard walking up the stairs either. Just the idea of that...woman coming back to haunt Pip for the night scares even me. When Magwitch came into the scene Dickens made him very recognizable to the reader through character tags. Pip's brain brought out horrifying memories of the thought of Magwitch visiting Pip so Pip reacts very quickly and the end of the suspense ended for me there because Pip had I.D. the mystery guy.
I thought this scene was another fantastic example of Dicken's firm grasp of expansive diction, and thoughtful organization to enhance his effect. His goal to introduce a dark, mysterious character, and he uses the dreary weather in a synergistic effect to punch in Magwitch's characteristics. Dicken's brings in a sharp contrast of environment from the previous chapters, to Pip being alone without the support of Herbert, then with such bleak weather. As those above me have outlined, Dicken's uses subtle statements that in total , add a more powerful sense of suspense. Dickens utilized all the facets of the environment and techniques at his disposal to create that suspense. He used weather, allusions to his dead sister, the sense of his loneliness, the obscure depiction of Magwitch as he enters the dim lit apartment, the manner in which Magwitch approaches Pip, the powerful diction used to enhance everything, and many other ideas I can't think of right now. And overall, Dicken's rhetorical prudence captivates and sweeps the reader into the story to feel the anxiety Pip felt.
This section is a true example of Dickens' ability to create suspense through more than just the mere descriptions.
The scene starts off with a description of the horrid weather. This sets the atmosphere of the scene as gloomy. He then follows this up with quotes such as, "I read with my watch upon the table," and "the footstep of my dead sister." Quotes such as these serve as allusions to previous tragedies in Pip's life (death of Mrs. Joe) as well as defining the anxiety that Pip felt.
Additionally, this scene creates suspense with the depiction of the dark passageway that Pip is in when he comes face to face with Magwitch. The diction used here is unique, such as the description of the circle of light being "contracted," and gives an accurate sense of how Pip was reacting to what could have easily been someone trying to kill him. It is with a combination of these techniques that Dickens is able to create suspense in this section, and make the arrival of Magwitch even more suspenseful that it was expected to be.
I agree with many of the prior postings that Dickens cleverly sets off this gloomy and suspenseful atmosphere by using imagery, diction, and repetition. Also, as Natalie mentioned last class, Dickens often uses personification to further support the mood he wanted to create. In this scene the veil was “driving over”, the gusts were “furious”, and the rain “dashed.” (pg.303) All those personifications send out a feeling that everything was unstoppable. To further create this feeling of losing control and fear, Dickens takes out all the possible light sources. When the scene moves to the inside, Dickens develops another feeling of suspense by putting the readers in Pip’s shoes. The most obvious trigger of fear was the description of the footsteps. I really like how Grace explained that since Mrs. Joe was Pip’s source of fear the connection between the two footsteps adds to that suspense. The less obvious technique used to create suspense was the amount of time Dickens took until finally revealing who the stranger was. This makes readers anticipate and guess what is going to happen. One of the styles that Dickens uses that really provided me with the atmosphere and image of the scene was his consistent use of similes. The atmosphere in this section is mainly fear and nervousness. To create this mood Dickens based his similes on the specific theme of traveler at sea. This first simile occurs in the fifth paragraph, “the wind rushing up the river shook the house that night, like discharges of cannon, or breakings of a sea.” (pg.303) and when Pip shined the light upon Magwitch’s face Pip described him “like a voyager by sea.” When sea travelers are caught in a storm they are overwhelmed with fear; they don’t have the slightest idea of what is going to happen to them.
Right from the very beginning, Dickens starts the chapter with a very descriptive portrayal of the weather. "It was wretched weather; stormy and wet, stormy and wert; mud, mud, mud, deep in all the streets." (pg. 303) Throughout the rest of this chapter, he continues to uses words like "vast heavy veil", "eternity of cloud", "lead stripped off", "trees had been torn up", "sails carried away", and "gloomly...of shipwreck and death", which are words that are very dark and scary. He makes a paragraph so intense and suspenseful with just a use of 4 or 5 phrases of words. These words create a suspense that Dickens foreshadows to for the rest of the chapter. Right before the dialogue begins to start, the paragraph consists of vocabulary and sentences that screams "SUSPENSE!!!" "...and heard the footstep stumble in coming on." (pg. 304) Dickens continues to use so much detail and emphasis on the little things. And as Sharon mentioned, I think that because Pip is talking to a "stranger" in the dark, creates more suspense. I mean who talks to someone in their room, in the dark, without knowing who it is? It just seems like a nightmare waiting to happen.
The first thing Charles Dickens uses to create suspense in this passage is the description of the cataclysmic storm in the beginning. Usually when there's a cataclysmic storm in a piece of literature, bad things are sure to follow. Pip also makes a cryptic and foreboding comment; “...and the day just closed as I sat down to read had been the worst of all.” (End of the first paragraph in passage). I'm not entirely sure how to take that comment, or if it's even proper grammar, but it sounds like something is going to happen. Later, Pip also hears footsteps and mistakes them for his dead sister; the fear conjured up by this makes the reader jump, if only a little. Also, it serves to point out that there's someone walking up the stairs. Who can it be now? Suspense created.
Another technique Dickens uses to create suspense is the dialogue between Pip and Magwitch. While reading it, you can tell that this stranger knows who Pip is, but Pip has no idea who this guy is. And if Pip has no idea, then the reader has no idea. So they're frantically flipping through pages, trying to see when this stranger is finally identified. Even when Pip finally does recognize the stranger as Magwitch, he never says as much. The reader is then forced to keep reading until the big reveal.
When Dickens wants to, he makes a scene tense enough to cut with a knife. This is definitely one such scene. For the entire second part of the novel, throughout all of the stories of Pip's education, one question constantly lingered in my head. Once it seemed I was about to have my question answered and out the identity of the benefactor, it made the detailed description agonizing to read. Dickens knows that he is taunting his readers from the beginning. The foreboding weather sets the stage for Pip to have a grim encounter. Once it becomes clear there is someone at his house, there is no question as to who it is. Why else would a mysterious person decide to visit Pip? You feel Pip's intestines churning as he ascends the staircase towards his apartment. Before entering his house Pip scans the area to find all of the lights turned out, leaving him all alone to face his fate. The short and cryptic dialogue also builds the suspense. Pip is afraid to ask the questions that he deeply desires to know the answers to, and Magwitch refrains from informing him until Pip invites Magwitch in. When Pip finally asks why he's there, Magwitch only responds "You're a game one" (305). With these building details and choppy dialogue, Dickens constructs a literary torture chamber for readers, waiting on pins and needles to find out the identity of Pip's benefactor.
I totally agree with what most people have said about the scene being described to the reader by Dickens. There is a desolate, bleak feel to the diction portrayed in the description of Pip’s home during the night. The mood is set by the words used, for example in the fourth paragraph where he would use such adjectives to describe the weather; ‘Violent blasts of rain’ and ‘Rages of wind’ and ‘Furious gusts’ all bring such a ferocious and terrorizing aspect to the night, making the reader feel bad for Pip, who has to endure such a setting.
I also noticed how clever Dickens introduced Magwitch back into the story with such suspense and curiosity. Reading over this passage again, I felt again drawn into the question, who is this strange unidentified man walking up the stairs, just barely hidden by the light?? Who could this person be? The SUSPENSE was killing me.
I agree with what people have said earlier that the precise diction and syntax of the descriptions of the weather and the darkness sets the suspenseful and scary atmosphere in this passage. The dialogue and Magwitch's familiarity also tantalizes the reader because you're left trying to figure out how this stranger knows Pip.
I think one of the best ways Dickens created suspense was the very first paragraph of the section: "It was wretched weather...had been the worst of all" (303). It immediately sets a solemn, gloomy tone for the arrival of Magwitch. The repetition, especially, gives the reader a sense of what it felt like -- "stormy and wet, stormy and wet" (303).
This is something slightly off topic (sorry), but I was also thinking about Dickens' purpose in setting this mood. It occurred to me that he might have done this so readers could relive the terror, loneliness and fear that Pip felt as a child when he met Magwitch in the marshes. Pip's memory of his dead sister from so long ago and his loneliness on this dark night contribute to these emotions. It's ironic because Pip never expected to feel terror or sadness when his benefactor is finally revealed, but yet he does since Magwitch revives unpleasant memories. This also creates suspense because it's difficult for the reader to guess who this person, so late on a stormy, cold night, would want with Pip. I guess I did relate it back to suspense in some way! Well, anyway, there's my two cents.
A key element to establishing suspense was the point of view. We discussed last class that Dickens uses "young Pip" as well as "old Pip" to help tell the story. During this scene, young Pip is the narrator. Having the scene unfold in the same manner that Pip experienced it first hand is critical in Dickens effort in leaving readers holding their breath.
"I looked at him attentively then, and recoiled a little from him; but I did not know him." The younger Pip doesn't know who his visitor is, but his unconscious actions say otherwise. His keen observing of the stranger and his sense of fear is a recurrence to when Pip sat and watched the convict devour his breakfast at their first encounter. This hint at Pips previous engagement is very subtle, and so is its description of mixed emotions that Pip is feeling. Pips spark of interest and fearfulness is very curious to the reader when Pip claims to not know the mystery man whatsoever. This indeed promotes the readers interest and adds to the suspense of the plot.
Right away, you can see the difference between third and fourth paragraphs. The fourth paragraph is much more dense with juicy words that weren't included in the previous paragraphs. "Wretched.. stormy and wet.. furious.. stripped off.. torn up.. gloomy..death.. rages of wind.." All these words and more provide a set mood that Dickens builds upon to bring the reader that sense of uneasiness. You feel, as a reader, that something bad is going to happen. Pip's behavior also contributes to high tension already provided by the vocabulary. He is in his room, but is kind of restless, moving around the place, sensitive to the little things happening around him. The situations that Dickens puts Pip in also provide a more malevolent feel. Lamps everywhere are blown out, and the dark staircase becomes scarier than ever, with the stranger blocking the only exit out of the house.
Being a writer who published his works often in serial form, it was quite important for Charles Dickens to create suspense in his writing so he could keep the readers committed to the books. The scene in this novel where Pip is revisited by Magwitch showcases some of Dickens' techniques he uses to create this suspense. One thing he does is he doesn't blatantly point out what is occuring in the novel, he alludes to it and lets you know there's something but not exactly what it is. This is seen when pip first realizes the stranger he sees is his lnog returned Convict,".. for I knew him! Even yet i could not recall a single feature, but I knew him!..". He goes on to describe that he knows who this stranger is, but it takes Dickens quite a while to finally outright say who it is. This has the reader sitting on the edge of their seat, hurrying to find out what is really going on.
Dickens' uses every memory of fear and darkness he could use in this section of the book to create suspense and keep his readers hooked. He sets the scene, making the initial feel for the beginning of the chapter 'dark', 'furious', 'wretched', 'torn up' and 'violent' against the viewer. He makes this dark and terrible weather perfect for the return of Magwitch, a dark character that scared the living light out of Pip in the beginning of the book. He paints the house in detail, turning the winds against the house into ‘discharges of a cannon’ or the ‘breaking of the sea’, making it seem like the house in under attack from Mother Nature herself. He does this again with the bells, tearing at the bells of Saint Peter, like hope be torn by the weather. Dickens then brings up Pip’s dead sister, making the reader wonder, and holding them in suspends of why was she mentioned and fear that she would normally bring with her. He also doesn’t come straight out with who it is at first, leaving the reader to deduce who it was, keeping them holding on to the suspense of who it is. He follows up with how the air is different and how the light is being differently described.
Dickens creates suspense by manipulating the atmosphere in the novel. One method he employs is the repetition of the words "wet", "stormy", and "mud", giving the reader an unappealing perception of the environment (348). Following this technique is a metaphor for the weather, linking the windy forcast to to a heavy veil, which conveys a cumbersome and unyielding feeling. In the next paragraphs, Dickens continues his use of strong diction with power words like "dashed", "rocked", and "shuddering". The diction is the most important vehicle by which the atmosphere is created and the reader begins to sense the fear of the protagonist and vicariously develops an internal anxiety about the events that are to come. What I like especially about this section of the book is that Dickens stalls and stalls before Pip realizes that the stranger is the convict and his benefactor, another stylistic technique. Lastly, something about this scene that Nick picked upon on as well is the dramatic irony. The reader guesses immidiately that the stranger is his convict but waits anxiously for Pip to realize what he is about to be faced with. Our impression of the convict at this point in the novel is that he is dangerous. We do not know yet that he is actually very grateful and has helped Pip immeasurably.
Grace, Sharon, and many others pointed out an important technique that Dickens used to portray suspense-Mood. When I was reading the passage, the first thing that stuck out to me was the atmosphere and mood Dickens uses. When Pip describes the weather by saying, “It was wretched weather; stormy and wet, stormy and wet; mud, mud, mud, deep in the streets" (pg 348), you get an overall sense of sadness, gloominess, and the feeling that something bad is going to happen. Dickens repeatedly refers to darkness, describing that "the staircase lamps were blown out," and "the coal fires in the barges on the river were being carried away before the wind." The description of the overlying darkness surrounding Pip gives you a scary, creepy, and dark feeling. It also makes you feel like something bad is likely to occur, which creates suspense.
Like Grace said, another thing that creates suspense were the footsteps that Pip was hearing. Not only was Pip feeling nervous, but footsteps following an individual in the darkness is never a good thing in any novel you read. Pip's reference to his dead sister adds a spooky mood to the overall dark mood created by Dickens.
Even after the person has identified himself, Dickens hides the identity of the person well by keeping him in the shadows. Dickens also continues to make reference to the darkness in the scene. As you continue reading the passage, Dickens leaves in small details of the stranger's appearance and continues to do so as the climax reaches its height. Even after Pip has caught glimpses of the man, he still can’t recognize the face. This inability to recognize the stranger, as Grace points out, adds another element of suspense. Finally, as Pip recognizes the face, Dickens reveals his character tag for the convict, and you know for sure who this stranger is.
Mystery writers are the masters of deception and suspense, I think in this case Dickens has transformed himself into a mystery writer. It is almost as if he is Sherlock Holmes waiting for the prey to fall into his trap (Pip is the Holmes), there is the possibility that perhaps this prey is too strong and will attack them or perhaps it s harmless. Simply by looking at Dickens' language you too can get that feel of the unexpected happening to Pip.
I would start the same way as everyone else, with the weather. The weather is always a simple but dreadfully efficient way to set the tone in writing, just as it is in life. The weather in this case is absolutely dreadful. It is "wretched, stormy, and wet" Somewhat fitting for the return of an old convict , it makes you believe he may have returned to kill Pip.
In addition the other details Dickens chooses to show us help complete this picture. The lamps blow out and everything becomes dark. Then he flashes back to the past to remember Ms. Joe. I think that psychologically for a reader to just flash back to that part of the book will bring back all of the feelings and events associated with Pip's early childhood and Mrs. Joe. The first event in the book is Pip meeting Magwich, It adds anxiety to the scene and it is in my opinion a clever way to foreshadow while actually flashing back. It seems that most of the little details he selects are not only clever details but are also symbolic in some way or another. Like the lights going out on the stairs so he gets a shaded lamp. If we think back to the beginning it was always his big thing that he hated not being allowed a candle upstairs. Now he has a house with real lights on the stairs and everything but when his past "catches up to him" it all goes back to the beginning. This entire passage is a way to show how Pip's life has changed entirely but Pip has not. He is still the same scared little boy he has been, still needs that light on the stairs, but he doesn't have it. It is all the same as the very beginning, even most of his feelings are the same in this passage.
It is that similarity that makes this passage important to me. If it was simply a "dark gloomy day" I might think it was Eeyore speaking, but with the way that all of Pip's life catches up too him at once. You get a genuine sense of dread and suspense with the ability to spark a real flame in your head until you figure out who it really is. That is what makes Dickens better than most.
One of the ways Dickens creates suspense through his descriptions. Through his description he makes the reader feel that they are in Victorian London with Pip. He creates a dark and gloomy atmosphere by introducing a scene using words like "wretched", "stormy", and "wet". He also reinforces the gloominess of the scene by emphasizing key descriptive words through repetition. Dickens continues to develop the scene and creates tension and fear through his choice of words like "furious", "blasts", "rages". Dickens does this to build up the entrance of Magwitch. However, Dickens further builds upon this tension by not revealing the identity of the stranger.
Paragraph four unveils a setting of gloomy, and dark proportions. 'Furious gusts' and a forced isolation swallowing Pip allows Dickens to instill a darkness within the reader. A foreboding sense of despair and fear for what's in store for Pip in the next few pages of the chapter.
Pip is in a "Stormbeaten lighthouse" and all "lamps were blown out," again Darkness. "Wind assail"ing suddenly shifts to "a footstep on the stair"!!!!!! And moving on like some scary movie, Dickens uses the 'strobe effect' in materializing mysterious man on the stair through flickering light. He intensifies the waiting and suspense as the stranger requires "half a minute" more and more time to just tell Pip what the bloody hell is going on. "I knew him!" is repeated but he doesn't quite know who exactly.
Dickens drags the revelation on further and further but at the same time draws his reader in closer and closer to the characters, the story, and the setting. And, if "swept back to the churchyard" wasn't enough for, he concludes the readers' fascination with how he "could not have known (his) convict more distinctly then I knew him now."
29 comments:
Dickens' unique style and ability to convey more than just an image through descriptions help develop this chapter to fully employ its purpose. Once again, Dickens is able to use his talent with words to set up a mood fitting for the return of Magwitch.
Right off the bat, this chapter begins by portraying the horrid weather, which gives an overall gloomy atmosphere. "It was wretched weather; stormy and wet, stormy and wet; mud, mud, mud, deep in the streets" (pg 348). Even in that one sentence alone, the reader gets a sense of depression and sadness through the use of repetition. In the following paragraph or two, Dickens focuses on signifying the darkness describing that "..the staircase lamps were blown out..the lamps in the court were blown out.." (pg 344). This emphasis on darkness adds to the creepy, gloomy atmosphere already created by the weather.
When Pip hears the footsteps on the stairs, he connects it with the footsteps of his dead sister. The fact that the deceased Mrs. Joe is brought up in this passage also adds to the suspense, for Mrs. Joe stands as a figure that inflicted fear. Furthermore, Dickens did not simply say Pip connected it with Mrs. Joe, but he says "the footstep of my dead sister.." (pg 344), which adds much more suspense and uneasiness.
Dickens brings back the darkness when Pip goes out into the hall to see who the unexpected visitor is. The shaded lamp Pip uses to provide light is a very weak light and does not fully show the stranger. The suspense is growing at this point as "he [the stranger] was in it [the light] for a mere instant, and then out of it" (pg 345). Dickens is able to keep the reader engaged throughout this passage through Pip's inability to recognize the face, yet have a sense of familiarity. The stranger's "bright and gratified recognition" of Pip tells the reader that the character has appeared somewhere before, yet does not give away his identity. When Pip realizes who the stranger is, Pip's own excitement and Dickens' descriptive sentence of their past meeting brings the suspense to its climax.
Grace and Sharon both pointed out that Dickens slips tiny details and hints that give a much bigger effect than the words he wrote. I agree that his repetition that it was dark, dreary, and doom-filled allows the reader to be as uncomfortable as Pip. Besides sympathising with Pip, the reader also pities him. This emotion felt for a character places hooks into the reader that pull every time suspense happens in the book.
A section in the book where we experience the events in Pip's life alongside him is when Magwith first finds Pip. pg 305, right when Magwitch lumbered up the stairs, Pip describes him: "He looked about him with the strangest air-an air of wondering pleasure, as if he had some part in the things he admire-and he pulled off a rough outer coat, and his hat." He continues in the paragraph along this same idea, but the way the scene is desrcribed makes the reader as curious as Pip. I believe this is an objective point of view which places us in the story, not just hearing it from a friend.
This section is also set up like a long sentence with the subject at the end. There're all these supporting details/paragraphs and it's not until the very end that we realize it's Magwitch. An example of this is "...I knew him! Even yet I could not recall a single feature, but I knew him!" (305).Antsy with anticipation, the reader continues, living the suspense with the characters.
In Great Expectations, Dickens often sets the scene before he even goes into detail about what is actually happening to the characters. He sets the atmosphere very well as he paints a vivid picture in the reader's mind.. The descriptions of Pip's surroundings (loud, stormy weather) contrasted with what he is doing (sitting alone, quietly reading) also help set the mood. It makes the weather outside seem even more unpleasant and the room he is in seem more isolated and lonely.
In this chapter, he begins by mentioning the "vast heavy veil... Driving over London... Gloomy accounts had come in from the coast of shipwreck and death. Violent blasts of rain had accompanied these rages of wind and the day just closed as I sat down to read had been the worst of all." This is a general description of the weather in the city.. Then he becomes more specific and goes on to describe the house that Pip is in, which put further emphasis on the unpleasant conditions outside Pip's door: "The wind rushing up the river shook the house that night, like discharges of cannon, or breakings of a sea" (339). He also mentions that Pip notices all the lamps were blown out. This made me realize it must be leading into something more important because he pointed out such seemingly insignificant details that all add to the mysterious atmosphere.
Also, like Grace mentioned, the fact that he is talking to someone in the dark who he can barely see makes it more suspenseful and mysterious.. This is also accomplished through the way he slowly unveils the identity of the visitor through descriptions of his dress, his "air of wondering pleasure," his odd behavior, and the way he talks to Pip like he knows him before Pip even realizes who he is talking to.
-Sharon Kim
Right from the start of the fourth paragraph, the third word “wretched” and then following with the repetition of “mud, mud, mud…” became the mood setter for what was about to take place in the story. Dickens uses the fourth paragraph to establish the setting and the atmosphere by using strong, heavy, and dark diction. Dickens uses the description of a “vast heavy veil” to depict the storm in London. From then on, the whole paragraph was just filled with dark diction, “furious”, “gloomy”, and “death”, that settles in us readers, a negative feeling.
The setting really reminded me of a scary movie. And in this book, Dickens does a great job of fully grabbing our attention taking us into great suspense just by describing all the things that can go wrong in a scary movie. One example is when Pip describes his surrounding saying, “I saw that lamps on the court were blown out, and that the lamps on the bridges and the shore were shuddering, and that the coal fires in the barges on the river were being carried away before the wind like red-hot splashes”, explaining the effects of the storm on his surrounding which renders the atmosphere with great thrill. This kind of suspense made it flow right into the unveiling of Magwitch as Pip’s benefactor.
One obvious technique Dickens uses is how he used his description to set up the atmosphere. One aspect of suspense is uncertainty. As the paragraph begins, Dickens sets the reader up in a wretched “wretched weather; stormy and wet” setting. As the paragraph proceeds, he uses multiple sentences to really create even a darker story atmosphere, making sure the reader knows exactly how they should picture the streets. Also in the proceeding paragraphs, he creates a dilemma all can relate to. When one is home alone on a stormy night, while all of a sudden, a mysterious noise haunts you. It’s the fear of the unknown that Dickens uses to hook us in as he did on the seventh paragraph, “what nervous folly made me start,” to “I took me reading lamp and went out…whoever was below has stopped on seeing my lamp, for all was quiet.”
Again, I think Dickens strongest tool to create suspense is the way his diction describes everything. An example is the mysterious man below and how he described his features, “iron-grey hair…grew only on its side…large brown veinous hands. One other technique I saw was that Dickens was withholding who the mysterious man was. The reader found out as Pip found out.
Dickens uses several different ways to create suspense in this passage of the story. He starts first by setting up the scene- talking of the harsh, windy weather, and ending the paragraph with shipwreck and death which helps the reader to visualize how destructive the windstorm is.
He also uses another connection to death when Magwitch is walking up the stairs. Dickens writes:
“What nervous folly made me start, and awfully connect it with the footstep of my dead sister, matters not.”
This statement automatically causes the reader to imagine a ghost slowly coming up the stairs, with one step every few seconds which is incredibly mysterious in itself.
Magwitch even says something that triggers suspense in the reader. He asks:
“There is no one nigh,” said he, looking over his shoulder, “is there?”
This statement makes the reader think that Magwitch is going to do something to Pip and doesn’t want any witnesses.
All throughout the novel we see Dickens using weather to create a sense of atmosphere. These sometimes harsh conditions not only set the mood for the surrounding environment, but also are used to project the internal struggles and confusions of Dicken's characters. Whenever there are dramatic points of high suspense, mayhem, or stress--especially for Pip--the weather is often times gloomily chaotic.
In this passage leading up to the arrival of Magwitch, Dickens manages to create a sense of lingering suspense through his careful diction. He uses words and phrases such as: an "Eternity of cloud and wind," which creates a sense of an incredibly vast distance, a horizon where we are unable to see the potential threats and dangers heading towards Pip--and us, the readers; "Violent blasts" with "stumbling footsteps" sounding like a haunting from his deceased, scolding sister, Mrs. Joe; and other words he uses to describe the overhwelming darkness create a scary atmosphere as well. People cannot see all the way through the dark, and therfore do not know of the monsters lurking behind "a vast heavy veil" (313).
His use of diction creates very strong images of what he is aiming to portray. His words paint a picture in our minds so it is easy for us to see every little detail. We can hear the terrifying weather, feel the overpowering wind, and see the blackness--darkness which is soon illuminated as a mysterious face creeps into the faint glow of Pip's lamp.
This scene is also extremely suspensful because I believe there to be an element of dramatic irony. The moment Pip starts to describe the man, we have a pretty good idea it's Magwitch because of the words Dicken's uses to describe him. He uses the word "iron" more than once to describe his hair. We relate "iron" to the convict because of his request for the file to escape his shackles. Readers remember/get a sense of the convict because the description of "iron" is perhaps a character tag for Magwitch. Even though we get a sense of who is lurking behind the shadows, we don't really know what the convict will do to Pip. We are scared for Pip. It's like those scenes found in movies where we want to yell at the T.V. screen, " Please, please...Don't open the closet!"
This passage is full of vivid details and many colorful adjectives. When I reread this, looking for the characteristics of suspense, I found it almost humorous how stereotypical the scene was for encountering someone unknown and potentially dangerous.
Phrases like "a vast heavy veil" and "gloomy accounts" only add the the scene. It almost seemed to me as though Dickens' left out the roaring thunder and hair-raising lightning. The scene is set for something potentially bad to occur. Upon reading it the first time I thought Orlick or someone was coming to sneak up on Pip and murder him. The suspense is built by the great detail so that the reader assumes something bad is about to happen.
The paragraph which begins, "I read with my watch upon the table..." is very strong to me. The fact that you can hear every bell in London simultaneously ring is just eerie. It is hard to think of even hearing every alarm clock in my house go off, let alone the neighborhood. The scene set is silent and dark. Befor it is even read that someone is approaching the reader gets that "someone is over my shoulder" feeling.
While I had no idea it was Magwitch at the door, the hints Dickens' left were enough for me to know it was his benefactor. The references to pleasure in seeing Pip, yet being unfamiliar, indicate that this was the one who helped pip acheive his great expectations.
I feel that the suspense built by Dickens' comes mostly because Dickens' uses so many, perhaps too many, details in descrbing the scene that you just want him to tell you what is going to happen so that your anxious heart slows down.
All throughout the novel, Dickens uses his incredible vocabulary to set up the mood and atmosphere of the current scene. It's almost as if he's describing a still frame of a movie, where he can just look and describe everything that he sees.
Even in the scene where Pip is alone in his apartment, Dickens uses his words to set up the mood before anything actually happens. "It was wretched weather; stormy and wet, stormy and wet; mud, mud, mud, deep in all the streets." (333) just has a negative connotation to it. Dickens could have easily said that the weather was gloomy and it had been raining for a couple days, but it is again his diction that sets his work apart from other novels.
Also, like Nick also said, I've noticed that Dickens uses the weather or the surrounding atmosphere to allude to the present condition of the characters. One example is when Pip goes and sees Ms. Havisham for the first time. He does not know what to expect, however, the house is dark, dusty, and in a sense dead. This alludes to Ms. Havisham. She is just as old, dusty, and dead on the inside as her house. Her attitude is dark, and somewhat malevolent.
Getting back to the prompt, I also noticed that whenever something important is about to happen in the novel, Dickens tends to describe every little detail. My guess is that he does this to make the scene seem more real. This way we can imagine ourselves there along side of the characters. By describing the scene with the amount of detail that Dickens uses, the scene becomes much more than just a painted picture, but a full color movie in 3D.
I first noticed the creepy setting where Pip was late at night. As the scene progressed it got a little freaky. I believe that Dickens set up this chapter like this to set the readers nerves on the edge. Like the build up in a monster movie with the violins in the background slowly building up into a chaos of noise to have the audience jump out of their seats. Even though this is just Pip in a building late at night, I still got that edge like something is going to happen. Not till now did I connect his sisters footsteps could of been heard walking up the stairs either. Just the idea of that...woman coming back to haunt Pip for the night scares even me.
When Magwitch came into the scene Dickens made him very recognizable to the reader through character tags. Pip's brain brought out horrifying memories of the thought of Magwitch visiting Pip so Pip reacts very quickly and the end of the suspense ended for me there because Pip had I.D. the mystery guy.
I thought this scene was another fantastic example of Dicken's firm grasp of expansive diction, and thoughtful organization to enhance his effect. His goal to introduce a dark, mysterious character, and he uses the dreary weather in a synergistic effect to punch in Magwitch's characteristics. Dicken's brings in a sharp contrast of environment from the previous chapters, to Pip being alone without the support of Herbert, then with such bleak weather. As those above me have outlined, Dicken's uses subtle statements that in total , add a more powerful sense of suspense.
Dickens utilized all the facets of the environment and techniques at his disposal to create that suspense. He used weather, allusions to his dead sister, the sense of his loneliness, the obscure depiction of Magwitch as he enters the dim lit apartment, the manner in which Magwitch approaches Pip, the powerful diction used to enhance everything, and many other ideas I can't think of right now. And overall, Dicken's rhetorical prudence captivates and sweeps the reader into the story to feel the anxiety Pip felt.
This section is a true example of Dickens' ability to create suspense through more than just the mere descriptions.
The scene starts off with a description of the horrid weather. This sets the atmosphere of the scene as gloomy. He then follows this up with quotes such as, "I read with my watch upon the table," and "the footstep of my dead sister." Quotes such as these serve as allusions to previous tragedies in Pip's life (death of Mrs. Joe) as well as defining the anxiety that Pip felt.
Additionally, this scene creates suspense with the depiction of the dark passageway that Pip is in when he comes face to face with Magwitch. The diction used here is unique, such as the description of the circle of light being "contracted," and gives an accurate sense of how Pip was reacting to what could have easily been someone trying to kill him. It is with a combination of these techniques that Dickens is able to create suspense in this section, and make the arrival of Magwitch even more suspenseful that it was expected to be.
I agree with many of the prior postings that Dickens cleverly sets off this gloomy and suspenseful atmosphere by using imagery, diction, and repetition. Also, as Natalie mentioned last class, Dickens often uses personification to further support the mood he wanted to create. In this scene the veil was “driving over”, the gusts were “furious”, and the rain “dashed.” (pg.303) All those personifications send out a feeling that everything was unstoppable. To further create this feeling of losing control and fear, Dickens takes out all the possible light sources. When the scene moves to the inside, Dickens develops another feeling of suspense by putting the readers in Pip’s shoes. The most obvious trigger of fear was the description of the footsteps. I really like how Grace explained that since Mrs. Joe was Pip’s source of fear the connection between the two footsteps adds to that suspense. The less obvious technique used to create suspense was the amount of time Dickens took until finally revealing who the stranger was. This makes readers anticipate and guess what is going to happen.
One of the styles that Dickens uses that really provided me with the atmosphere and image of the scene was his consistent use of similes. The atmosphere in this section is mainly fear and nervousness. To create this mood Dickens based his similes on the specific theme of traveler at sea. This first simile occurs in the fifth paragraph, “the wind rushing up the river shook the house that night, like discharges of cannon, or breakings of a sea.” (pg.303) and when Pip shined the light upon Magwitch’s face Pip described him “like a voyager by sea.” When sea travelers are caught in a storm they are overwhelmed with fear; they don’t have the slightest idea of what is going to happen to them.
Right from the very beginning, Dickens starts the chapter with a very descriptive portrayal of the weather. "It was wretched weather; stormy and wet, stormy and wert; mud, mud, mud, deep in all the streets." (pg. 303) Throughout the rest of this chapter, he continues to uses words like "vast heavy veil", "eternity of cloud", "lead stripped off", "trees had been torn up", "sails carried away", and "gloomly...of shipwreck and death", which are words that are very dark and scary. He makes a paragraph so intense and suspenseful with just a use of 4 or 5 phrases of words.
These words create a suspense that Dickens foreshadows to for the rest of the chapter. Right before the dialogue begins to start, the paragraph consists of vocabulary and sentences that screams "SUSPENSE!!!" "...and heard the footstep stumble in coming on." (pg. 304)
Dickens continues to use so much detail and emphasis on the little things. And as Sharon mentioned, I think that because Pip is talking to a "stranger" in the dark, creates more suspense. I mean who talks to someone in their room, in the dark, without knowing who it is? It just seems like a nightmare waiting to happen.
The first thing Charles Dickens uses to create suspense in this passage is the description of the cataclysmic storm in the beginning. Usually when there's a cataclysmic storm in a piece of literature, bad things are sure to follow. Pip also makes a cryptic and foreboding comment; “...and the day just closed as I sat down to read had been the worst of all.” (End of the first paragraph in passage). I'm not entirely sure how to take that comment, or if it's even proper grammar, but it sounds like something is going to happen. Later, Pip also hears footsteps and mistakes them for his dead sister; the fear conjured up by this makes the reader jump, if only a little. Also, it serves to point out that there's someone walking up the stairs. Who can it be now? Suspense created.
Another technique Dickens uses to create suspense is the dialogue between Pip and Magwitch. While reading it, you can tell that this stranger knows who Pip is, but Pip has no idea who this guy is. And if Pip has no idea, then the reader has no idea. So they're frantically flipping through pages, trying to see when this stranger is finally identified. Even when Pip finally does recognize the stranger as Magwitch, he never says as much. The reader is then forced to keep reading until the big reveal.
When Dickens wants to, he makes a scene tense enough to cut with a knife. This is definitely one such scene. For the entire second part of the novel, throughout all of the stories of Pip's education, one question constantly lingered in my head. Once it seemed I was about to have my question answered and out the identity of the benefactor, it made the detailed description agonizing to read.
Dickens knows that he is taunting his readers from the beginning. The foreboding weather sets the stage for Pip to have a grim encounter. Once it becomes clear there is someone at his house, there is no question as to who it is. Why else would a mysterious person decide to visit Pip? You feel Pip's intestines churning as he ascends the staircase towards his apartment. Before entering his house Pip scans the area to find all of the lights turned out, leaving him all alone to face his fate.
The short and cryptic dialogue also builds the suspense. Pip is afraid to ask the questions that he deeply desires to know the answers to, and Magwitch refrains from informing him until Pip invites Magwitch in. When Pip finally asks why he's there, Magwitch only responds "You're a game one" (305). With these building details and choppy dialogue, Dickens constructs a literary torture chamber for readers, waiting on pins and needles to find out the identity of Pip's benefactor.
I totally agree with what most people have said about the scene being described to the reader by Dickens. There is a desolate, bleak feel to the diction portrayed in the description of Pip’s home during the night. The mood is set by the words used, for example in the fourth paragraph where he would use such adjectives to describe the weather; ‘Violent blasts of rain’ and ‘Rages of wind’ and ‘Furious gusts’ all bring such a ferocious and terrorizing aspect to the night, making the reader feel bad for Pip, who has to endure such a setting.
I also noticed how clever Dickens introduced Magwitch back into the story with such suspense and curiosity. Reading over this passage again, I felt again drawn into the question, who is this strange unidentified man walking up the stairs, just barely hidden by the light?? Who could this person be? The SUSPENSE was killing me.
I agree with what people have said earlier that the precise diction and syntax of the descriptions of the weather and the darkness sets the suspenseful and scary atmosphere in this passage. The dialogue and Magwitch's familiarity also tantalizes the reader because you're left trying to figure out how this stranger knows Pip.
I think one of the best ways Dickens created suspense was the very first paragraph of the section: "It was wretched weather...had been the worst of all" (303). It immediately sets a solemn, gloomy tone for the arrival of Magwitch. The repetition, especially, gives the reader a sense of what it felt like -- "stormy and wet, stormy and wet" (303).
This is something slightly off topic (sorry), but I was also thinking about Dickens' purpose in setting this mood. It occurred to me that he might have done this so readers could relive the terror, loneliness and fear that Pip felt as a child when he met Magwitch in the marshes. Pip's memory of his dead sister from so long ago and his loneliness on this dark night contribute to these emotions. It's ironic because Pip never expected to feel terror or sadness when his benefactor is finally revealed, but yet he does since Magwitch revives unpleasant memories. This also creates suspense because it's difficult for the reader to guess who this person, so late on a stormy, cold night, would want with Pip. I guess I did relate it back to suspense in some way! Well, anyway, there's my two cents.
A key element to establishing suspense was the point of view. We discussed last class that Dickens uses "young Pip" as well as "old Pip" to help tell the story. During this scene, young Pip is the narrator. Having the scene unfold in the same manner that Pip experienced it first hand is critical in Dickens effort in leaving readers holding their breath.
"I looked at him attentively then, and recoiled a little from him; but I did not know him." The younger Pip doesn't know who his visitor is, but his unconscious actions say otherwise. His keen observing of the stranger and his sense of fear is a recurrence to when Pip sat and watched the convict devour his breakfast at their first encounter. This hint at Pips previous engagement is very subtle, and so is its description of mixed emotions that Pip is feeling. Pips spark of interest and fearfulness is very curious to the reader when Pip claims to not know the mystery man whatsoever. This indeed promotes the readers interest and adds to the suspense of the plot.
Right away, you can see the difference between third and fourth paragraphs. The fourth paragraph is much more dense with juicy words that weren't included in the previous paragraphs. "Wretched.. stormy and wet.. furious.. stripped off.. torn up.. gloomy..death.. rages of wind.." All these words and more provide a set mood that Dickens builds upon to bring the reader that sense of uneasiness. You feel, as a reader, that something bad is going to happen.
Pip's behavior also contributes to high tension already provided by the vocabulary. He is in his room, but is kind of restless, moving around the place, sensitive to the little things happening around him.
The situations that Dickens puts Pip in also provide a more malevolent feel. Lamps everywhere are blown out, and the dark staircase becomes scarier than ever, with the stranger blocking the only exit out of the house.
Being a writer who published his works often in serial form, it was quite important for Charles Dickens to create suspense in his writing so he could keep the readers committed to the books. The scene in this novel where Pip is revisited by Magwitch showcases some of Dickens' techniques he uses to create this suspense. One thing he does is he doesn't blatantly point out what is occuring in the novel, he alludes to it and lets you know there's something but not exactly what it is. This is seen when pip first realizes the stranger he sees is his lnog returned Convict,".. for I knew him! Even yet i could not recall a single feature, but I knew him!..". He goes on to describe that he knows who this stranger is, but it takes Dickens quite a while to finally outright say who it is. This has the reader sitting on the edge of their seat, hurrying to find out what is really going on.
Dickens' uses every memory of fear and darkness he could use in this section of the book to create suspense and keep his readers hooked.
He sets the scene, making the initial feel for the beginning of the chapter 'dark', 'furious', 'wretched', 'torn up' and 'violent' against the viewer. He makes this dark and terrible weather perfect for the return of Magwitch, a dark character that scared the living light out of Pip in the beginning of the book.
He paints the house in detail, turning the winds against the house into ‘discharges of a cannon’ or the ‘breaking of the sea’, making it seem like the house in under attack from Mother Nature herself. He does this again with the bells, tearing at the bells of Saint Peter, like hope be torn by the weather.
Dickens then brings up Pip’s dead sister, making the reader wonder, and holding them in suspends of why was she mentioned and fear that she would normally bring with her.
He also doesn’t come straight out with who it is at first, leaving the reader to deduce who it was, keeping them holding on to the suspense of who it is. He follows up with how the air is different and how the light is being differently described.
Dickens creates suspense by manipulating the atmosphere in the novel. One method he employs is the repetition of the words "wet", "stormy", and "mud", giving the reader an unappealing perception of the environment (348). Following this technique is a metaphor for the weather, linking the windy forcast to to a heavy veil, which conveys a cumbersome and unyielding feeling.
In the next paragraphs, Dickens continues his use of strong diction with power words like "dashed", "rocked", and "shuddering". The diction is the most important vehicle by which the atmosphere is created and the reader begins to sense the fear of the protagonist and vicariously develops an internal anxiety about the events that are to come. What I like especially about this section of the book is that Dickens stalls and stalls before Pip realizes that the stranger is the convict and his benefactor, another stylistic technique.
Lastly, something about this scene that Nick picked upon on as well is the dramatic irony. The reader guesses immidiately that the stranger is his convict but waits anxiously for Pip to realize what he is about to be faced with. Our impression of the convict at this point in the novel is that he is dangerous. We do not know yet that he is actually very grateful and has helped Pip immeasurably.
Grace, Sharon, and many others pointed out an important technique that Dickens used to portray suspense-Mood. When I was reading the passage, the first thing that stuck out to me was the atmosphere and mood Dickens uses. When Pip describes the weather by saying, “It was wretched weather; stormy and wet, stormy and wet; mud, mud, mud, deep in the streets" (pg 348), you get an overall sense of sadness, gloominess, and the feeling that something bad is going to happen. Dickens repeatedly refers to darkness, describing that "the staircase lamps were blown out," and "the coal fires in the barges on the river were being carried away before the wind." The description of the overlying darkness surrounding Pip gives you a scary, creepy, and dark feeling. It also makes you feel like something bad is likely to occur, which creates suspense.
Like Grace said, another thing that creates suspense were the footsteps that Pip was hearing. Not only was Pip feeling nervous, but footsteps following an individual in the darkness is never a good thing in any novel you read. Pip's reference to his dead sister adds a spooky mood to the overall dark mood created by Dickens.
Even after the person has identified himself, Dickens hides the identity of the person well by keeping him in the shadows. Dickens also continues to make reference to the darkness in the scene. As you continue reading the passage, Dickens leaves in small details of the stranger's appearance and continues to do so as the climax reaches its height. Even after Pip has caught glimpses of the man, he still can’t recognize the face. This inability to recognize the stranger, as Grace points out, adds another element of suspense. Finally, as Pip recognizes the face, Dickens reveals his character tag for the convict, and you know for sure who this stranger is.
Mystery writers are the masters of deception and suspense, I think in this case Dickens has transformed himself into a mystery writer. It is almost as if he is Sherlock Holmes waiting for the prey to fall into his trap (Pip is the Holmes), there is the possibility that perhaps this prey is too strong and will attack them or perhaps it s harmless. Simply by looking at Dickens' language you too can get that feel of the unexpected happening to Pip.
I would start the same way as everyone else, with the weather. The weather is always a simple but dreadfully efficient way to set the tone in writing, just as it is in life. The weather in this case is absolutely dreadful. It is "wretched, stormy, and wet" Somewhat fitting for the return of an old convict , it makes you believe he may have returned to kill Pip.
In addition the other details Dickens chooses to show us help complete this picture. The lamps blow out and everything becomes dark. Then he flashes back to the past to remember Ms. Joe. I think that psychologically for a reader to just flash back to that part of the book will bring back all of the feelings and events associated with Pip's early childhood and Mrs. Joe. The first event in the book is Pip meeting Magwich, It adds anxiety to the scene and it is in my opinion a clever way to foreshadow while actually flashing back. It seems that most of the little details he selects are not only clever details but are also symbolic in some way or another. Like the lights going out on the stairs so he gets a shaded lamp. If we think back to the beginning it was always his big thing that he hated not being allowed a candle upstairs. Now he has a house with real lights on the stairs and everything but when his past "catches up to him" it all goes back to the beginning. This entire passage is a way to show how Pip's life has changed entirely but Pip has not. He is still the same scared little boy he has been, still needs that light on the stairs, but he doesn't have it. It is all the same as the very beginning, even most of his feelings are the same in this passage.
It is that similarity that makes this passage important to me. If it was simply a "dark gloomy day" I might think it was Eeyore speaking, but with the way that all of Pip's life catches up too him at once. You get a genuine sense of dread and suspense with the ability to spark a real flame in your head until you figure out who it really is. That is what makes Dickens better than most.
One of the ways Dickens creates suspense through his descriptions. Through his description he makes the reader feel that they are in Victorian London with Pip. He creates a dark and gloomy atmosphere by introducing a scene using words like "wretched", "stormy", and "wet". He also reinforces the gloominess of the scene by emphasizing key descriptive words through repetition. Dickens continues to develop the scene and creates tension and fear through his choice of words like "furious", "blasts", "rages". Dickens does this to build up the entrance of Magwitch. However, Dickens further builds upon this tension by not revealing the identity of the stranger.
Paragraph four unveils a setting of gloomy, and dark proportions. 'Furious gusts' and a forced isolation swallowing Pip allows Dickens to instill a darkness within the reader. A foreboding sense of despair and fear for what's in store for Pip in the next few pages of the chapter.
Pip is in a "Stormbeaten lighthouse" and all "lamps were blown out," again Darkness. "Wind assail"ing suddenly shifts to "a footstep on the stair"!!!!!! And moving on like some scary movie, Dickens uses the 'strobe effect' in materializing mysterious man on the stair through flickering light. He intensifies the waiting and suspense as the stranger requires "half a minute" more and more time to just tell Pip what the bloody hell is going on. "I knew him!" is repeated but he doesn't quite know who exactly.
Dickens drags the revelation on further and further but at the same time draws his reader in closer and closer to the characters, the story, and the setting. And, if "swept back to the churchyard" wasn't enough for, he concludes the readers' fascination with how he "could not have known (his) convict more distinctly then I knew him now."
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