Pre 1900 Prose Assignment Charles Dickens Essay Example

Pre 1900 Prose Assignment Charles Dickens Essay Example Pre 1900 Prose Assignment Charles Dickens Paper Pre 1900 Prose Assignment Charles Dickens Paper what fat cheeks you ha got. , and if I hant half a mind tot! are all quotations where an accent is visible from the convict. An accent might create confusion as Pip might not be able to understand him and also lets us know he probably is foreign. When the convict asks where Pips mum was, and Pip answered There, sir! the convict, acting as though he wasnt scared and was scary until then, runs away. This suddenly brings to mind that he isnt as threatening as he was thought to be. Who dye live with supposing youre kindly let to live, which I hant made up my mind about? The convict is re-affirming that he is still dangerous and delivers a threat if Pip doesnt answer. He makes an even greater threat not long after when he wants food and a file, You get me a file. He tilted me again. And you get me wittles. He tilted me again. You bring em both to me. He tilted me again. Or Ill have your heart and liver out. He tilted me again. The convict backs this threat up by scaring Pip when he tilts him back and back. In this extract, Dickens has again used effective techniques to create an atmosphere where Pip is frightened and vulnerable. At times, though, he has made the convict look slightly afraid and sometimes you feel sorry for him because of how he has been described. The scene and setting changed as the extract went on, one part was when Pip was described as petrified in his point of view, and another was a different perspective of Pip. Also the convict, when he first arrives on the scene he is described as intimidating and a scary person but your opinion changes as the extract goes on. The Signalman is quite a bit different to this extract from Great Expectations as Dickens doesnt try and use the same techniques to create the same effect. Oliver Twist was one of Charles Dickens most popular novels and was first published between 1837 and 1838. It centres on the hardship of the dispossessed and those of outside civilised society. The extract that I am analysing is Chapter 47: Fatal Consequences and focuses mainly on a discussion between Fagin and Bill Sykes, and then at the end of the chapter, Bill murdering Nancy. The first paragraph is basically a very long sentence; it is over five lines long and goes on to set the scene and atmosphere. It was nearly two hours before daybreak tells us that it is still dark and darkness can be seen as where all evil takes place. This immediately sets a dangerous and frightening atmosphere, just like Dickens did with The Signalman. That time in which the Autumn of the year. This backs up the evil part as autumn is barren and hibernation takes place. Dead is related to evil and darkness and the next quotation is just part of the description of the setting but we already know that the atmosphere is dangerous and scary. May truly be called the dead of night is also very negative and nothing g ood is said. The dead of night is personification and so is sounds appear to slumber. The first quotation the dead of night could mean that at night everything seems dead as it could be silent and maybe unsettling. The next quotation sounds appear to slumber suggests that because it was silent it felt that all sounds were sleeping and fits in with the danger atmosphere. Personification was used in The Signalman so again this extract has similarities with the short story. Fagin was first described as though he was evil and dead, and went well with the description of the setting. Fagin sat watching in his old lair, with face so distorted and pale, and eyes so red and bloodshot makes us create an image of Fagin which was quite frightening. That he looked less like a man, than like some hideous phantom, moist from the grave, and worried by and evil spirit finishes of that fearsome picture of Fagin in our minds and describes him as though he had died long ago and risen up from his grave. Dickens uses evil again to tell us about a spirit and this helps with the frightening atmosphere if the character is like it. Fagin is then portrayed as being an animal or monster, he sat crouching over a cold hearth, his toothless gums and fangs are all features or characteristics of an animal such as a dog. At last. He muttered, wiping his dry and fevered mouth. At last! This quotation suggests that Fagin was expecting Sikes, but he might have been late. It could mean that Fagin is impatient. Sikes is described as soon as he comes through the door and creates an image of him being the brawn of the two, whereas Fagin is the brains. The man displayed the burly frame of Sikes. Bur he did not take his eyes of the robber shows that Fagin does not trust Sikes and shows that he fears him a bit. Dickens has given Sikes an accent Damme said Sikes, and this has made Sikes foreign, more dangerous as he is from another county and harder to understand. Sikes lacks security, feeling in his breast with a look of alarm, which has made us feel that he is unstable and that he needs protection. It also shows that Sikes mistrusts Fagin as well. Nance will think Im lost. Gives a little glimmer that Sikes is caring and humanises him to his first description. Fagin uses blackmail a few times to persuade Sikes What if I did it! cried Fagin, almost in a yell. I, that know so much and, could hang so many besides myself! This blackmail is strong and is showing that what Fagin is trying to persuade Sikes to do is important. Sikes changes back to his violent self after he is humanised and he makes brutal threats to match Fagins blackmail. And beat your brains out afore the people and that I could smash you head as if I a loaded wagon had gone over it are two quotations showing the violence in him. Dickens has gone further than Sikes being just violent and has also created an image that he is not even afraid of death, Id do something in the jail that ud get me put in irons This finishes our image of the character Sikes in our heads and it is a cruel aggressive one, no sign of the caring part as he is willing to kill anyone who betrays him. When Sikes comes into Nancys room, Dickens makes Nancy feel vulnerable and we can sympathise for her. Even when Dickens uses double-locked the door it shows that she wants some security. The girl was lying, half dressed, upon it. Girl is used to again go further on her vulnerability and that shes not a woman but a defenceless young girl. Nancy is said to be pleased with Bills return and she thinks of him as a guard or some protection, or it shows that she might love him, with an expression of pleasure at his return. During the murder of Nancy, she was said to be praying on her knees and this helps for Dickens to make us feel sorry for her. Also a white handkerchief makes her appear helpless and weak This extract from Oliver Twist has most of the atmosphere techniques at the start of it, so as to create an image of the scene as quickly as possible. The Signalman and this extract are very similar in the techniques used to create atmosphere as Dickens is trying to build up a dangerous and evil place. Techniques used to create character are used throughout the extract and each character has been given different characteristics so there would be conflict. Fagin is very sly and evil, Sikes is violent and aggressive and Nancy is vulnerable and weak. The Signalman and Great Expectations both have two characters and centres mainly on the atmosphere and less on the them, whereas Oliver Twist uses techniques more to describe the characters. I found that The Signalman and Oliver Twist were the more effective of the three. I think I thought this as there was a lot of detail on the atmosphere of The Signalman and had conclusions to what the signalman was like, in his job and what is personality was actually like. Oliver Twist went into great detail with the characters and I liked this as I could create an image of all three characters and then I imagined what the atmosphere was like around them after. Dickens in Great Expectations, though, didnt use as many effective techniques to describe the characters. The atmosphere was being described through the use of the senses and there werent that many other techniques. This is why I thought that Great Expectations was less interesting and therefore less effective in building atmosphere and character.