How Does Dickens Create An Atmosphere At The End Of Stage 2

End Of Stage 2 Essay

In novels, authors usually connect the atmosphere to the climax by intensifying the plot. For example, at the end of Chapter 39 in Great Expectations, Charles Dickens creates an intense setting on a dark and gloomy night. Pip is alone in a storm because Herbert is on a business trip and Estella is with Drummle. Pip is about to be reunited with his convict and his life is about to be completely altered. Dickens uses imagery, descriptive details, and foreshadowing to create a confound and shocking atmosphere at this moment in the plot.
When Dickens introduces the convict, he uses descriptive details from the first chapter because that's the first time the readers see the convict. As the wind rushed up the river it

was like “discharges of cannon (388).” When the rain came Pip fancied himself in a “storm beaten lighthouse (388).” And the wind came with coal fires in barges “like red-hot splashes in the rain (388).” In the novel’s opening chapter the cannons were used to warn the reader of a mysterious character. Now, in Chapter 39, the cannons prepare readers for the reappearance of the convict. The lighthouse is a symbol of what Pip saw back in chapter 1 because that was the only thing Pip could see. And the red splashes of the torches on the river reflect the angry red lines of Chapter 1 when Pip could only see his life as a bleak and doleful marsh with only one black thing to see. These details built the suspense that Dickens uses to re-introduce the convict from Chapter 1.
Pip has gone off in his life without the presence of the convict in chapter 1, but the readers know that he may be back through foreshadowing. Pip describes the man’s attire as “roughly, like a voyager by sea(389).”. He described the man having “iron-grey hair(389).” Then Pip made out that he is “strong on his legs(389).” In chapter 5 the soldiers found 2 escaped convicts and fired off 3 canons. A soldier states, “your expected on board.” This indicates that the convict went on a boat and came back looking like a voyager. In chapter 1 Pip is startled by the convict at his families tombstone. He is detailed with wearing “all in coarse grey.” This relates to chapter 39 were Pip describes the man having iron-grey hair. The description on his legs foreshadows the convict because he had iron chains on his legs in chapter 1 and has probably wore them since. This foreshadowing is supported by the setting of chapter 39.