Question

Read the excerpt from chapter 44 of Charles Dickens's Great Expectations, in which Pip explains to Stella the nature of his passion for her. If you know the story already, explain how this scene contributes to the success of the plot as a whole. If you do not know the story, find a summary online or simply speculate about how Pip's declaration might affect the plot of the novel.

a) This scene adds depth to Pip's character, revealing the intensity of his emotions.
b) Pip's declaration creates a conflict that resolves in an unexpected twist.
c) The scene has no significant impact on the overall plot.
d) The excerpt is too vague to draw any conclusions about its contribution to the plot.

Answer 1

The excerpt from Great Expectations is an example of first-person narration and provides insight into the character of Pip. The narrative perspective alternates between the adult and child versions of Pip, engaging the reader with his emotions. Charles Dickens's use of fragments adds sensory experience and creates a mood for the reader.

Step-by-step explanation:

This is an example of first-person narration. The story is told by a character who is also a protagonist in the narrative. In Great Expectations, as in most first person narratives, the narrator is also the central character. The opening paragraph, with its emphasis on the narrator's family background, and the repetitions of his name - 'So I called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip' – are an immediate suggestion that the character telling us the story is likely to be at the heart of it. This is further reinforced as we are then given more information about his family and his circumstances.

Here, and throughout Great Expectations, there is in a sense a dual narrative perspective, presenting events narrated by the adult Pip which are at times mediated through the perceptions of the child Pip. The opening encounter in the churchyard, for instance, is enacted with a vivid immediacy. Look again at the point at which the narrative shifts from description to direct speech. The rapidity of the exchanges, with further repetitions of the main character's name and the allusion to his feelings of terror, engage us much more directly with the boy's feelings of horror and dismay.

Consider British novelist Charles Dickens's (1812-1870) use of fragments in this story told in The Pickwick Papers (1836). The impact of the sentence fragments here conveys a sensory experience and creates a mood for the reader.