Dickens's Literary Techniques

Through the three stages in Charles Dickens's book Great Expectations, the author thoroughly develops the theme, the characters, and his own style. For example, starting from the first stage of Pip's expectations, Dickens writes, "I felt fearfully sensible of the great convenience that the Hulks were handy for me. I was clear on my way there. I had begun by asking questions, and I was going to rob Mrs. Joe" (21). If the overarching theme of the book is looked upon as Pip's self-improvement, we can see that by doing this crime, Pip feels incredibly guilty. Therefore, his guilt ultimately leads to recognize that he must act better in the future. Characterization is also an eminent factor in this passage. Pip has not yet developed into the gentleman that he is for the majority of the book. Here, his mindset is one that, if told about something dangerous, he will automatically associate this danger to himself and will begin to fear for the future.

Great Expectations. By Charles Dickens. [Twenty-on...

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His crime has not yet been carried out, yet he already feels extremely at fault and that he could be punished severely. Lastly, Dickens's style in the beginning of the book is very important in the aspect that he writes from a child's point of view. From Pip's point of view, he writes the story, clearly understanding how a child's outlook on life works. If it were not written from Pip's point of view, there could be a possibility that the author's style would vary greatly and we would be unable to see how Pip feels very serious about his situation.

In the second stage of Pip's expectations, Pip has undoubtedly matured and now takes his place on a social level as a young gentleman. His change in viewpoint can be seen when Pip says,