Pip's Childhood in Charles Dickens' Great Expectations

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Pip's Childhood in Charles Dickens' Great Expectations In the first five chapters of Charles' Dickens "Great Expectations", we follow the life of a young boy, Phillip Pirrip - Pip for short, in early nineteenth century England. A time when England was in industrial revolution and when the rapid growth of cities brought social divisions between class - rich and poor. The British government fearing a revolution, maintained a harsh regime. In "Great Expectations", Dickens writes about this and conveys attitudes towards children, most especially Pip and the severity and turbulence of his childhood. Dickens is able to convey Pip's youth and the nature of his childhood through the language, use of description and other language devices. Dickens conveys Pips imagination and youthful thoughts through the language and content of the book. Dickens uses all these techniques to develop Pips portrayal as a young boy, building up an account and conveying the type of childhood he leads. Exaggeration and irony are key factors in the portrayal of Pip as a youth with vivid imagination and conveying his childhood. When we first begin to follow Pip we are immediately aware that he has a very tumultuous childhood. We learn that he has lost most of his family including his Mother, Father and five younger brothers. He seems very immature, with vivid imagination and does not realise the trauma and sadness of losing your family. Pip is narrator throughout the story and we are able to obtain an impression of Pip's childhood through what Dickens tells the reader. Pips vivid, youthful imagination is apparent straight away on the first page. We learn that Pip u... ... middle of paper ... ...r four contains examples of dialogue, exaggeration and understatement. A sample of exaggeration and understatement is represented in chapter four when Dickens writes "I think my -Pips- sister must have had some general idea that I was a young offender whom an Accoucheur Policeman had taken up and delivered over to her, to be dealt with according to the outraged majesty of the law." This statement shows a slightly attention seeking, exaggerated and miserable side to Pip as he believes his sister to have been almost ordered to punish him as much as she does, all he wants is a loving, steady and peaceful childhood and his only explanation for Mrs Gargery's treatment of him is that she must punish him. Pips sister Mrs Gargery seems to be the source of most of Pips suffering as we learn throughout the first five chapters.

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