Great Expectations -
Dramatic Impact

[Context passage: Chapter 53. From 'It was a dark night, though the full moon rose...' to '"Who is it? Help, help, help!"']

Consider the dramatic impact of the passage and how it is achieved.

Pip "went home" after making preparations for Magwitch's "flight" from London and discovered a "very dirty letter in the box" when he opened the outer doors of the chambers he shares with Herbert. The letter instructed him to visit the "little sluice house" at the Marshes alone if he wanted "information regarding his uncle Provis" and he was to keep his trip a "secret". He "had had load enough upon his mind before the receipt of this strange letter". Being very concerned about the welfare of Magwitch, he "resolved to go". [Nicely set in context]

The ominous tone of the first paragraph reflects the mood of the entire passage. Charles Dickens presents us with the setting of a horror flick to go with the most violent scene in the entire novel -- Orlick's attempt to end Pip's life. The "dark night" symbolises the probable end of Pip's life. The "large red moon ascending out of that clear field, in among the piled mountains of cloud" prepares us for the possible bloodshed in the struggle between Pip and Orlick amidst the thick fumes in the sluice house. We are once again brought back to "the marshes", the centre of violence in the novel. The violent fight between Magwitch and Compeyson, the episode where Joe was provoked to attack Jaggers in defense of Pip, Joe's easy victory in his fight with Orlick and Orlick's vicious attempt on Mrs. Joe's life… all of that rushes into our minds as we remember the past. However, we know there's hope for Pip in that "ribbon of clear sky". [Well done, good]

The "melancholy wind" and "dismal" marshes reflects Pip's state of mind. "A stranger would have found them insupportable, and even to me they were oppressive". We recall how the marshes had been the origin of the many traumatic incidents in his life -- Magwitch's appearance, Miss Havisham's influence, the coming of his "great expectations", etc. At the forefront, we are reminded of Pip's sense of being helpless and out of control just like he is now. He did not feel at ease with his decision but "having come there against my inclination, I went on against it". He does not have a choice in the matter because of his profound concern for his benefactor, "Uncle Provis".

His thoughts were on his loved ones. "The direction that I took on, was not that in which my own home lay, not that in which we had pursued the convicts." He is thinking about Joe as well as Magwitch. Both men play the role of father figures in his otherwise barren life. "My back was turned towards the distant Hulks" is symbolic of Pip's renouncing his "great expectations" for the older man. [Good] Due to his burdened state of mind, Pip failed to notice a crucial fact. Although he "knew the limekiln as well as he knew the Old Battery", he did not connect the strange letter to Orlick, his evil twin. Pip and Orlick "were miles apart" in character just like the limekiln and the Old Battery. " If a light had been burning at each point of the night, there would have been a long strip of the black horizon between the two bright specks" resembles the large void between the two men. The image also brings to mind Orlick's vow to turn Pip into vapour that comes out of the limekiln. He wanted to create a "black horizon" between the both of them.

An air of suspense permeates the scene just like "the sluggish stifling smell" from the limekiln. We know what is in store for Pip but he does not. He fails time and again to link the strange episode with Orlick although we recognise the blatant references to that "slouching" character; "the old sluice house", etc. The dramatic impact of Dickens' writing lies in that element of ignorance in Pip. The ominous mood is further illustrated by "the choking vapour of the kiln crept in a ghostly way". Pip very nearly dies because of that "choking vapour". Apprehension builds up slowly but steadily when Pip lets himself into the house and discovers an empty room with a "lighted candle". Obviously someone was in the room and had left it when Pip arrived. The "rain" also adds to the atmosphere. This was the run-up to the grand finale.

Everything comes to a climax when the candle in Pip's hand "was extinguished by some violent shock". The possibility of Pip's light being snuffed out is starkly put forward. The "strong running noose" which in mythology symbolises Death signifies Pip's seeming end. Till that moment, our hero still has no idea of the identity of his attacker but we know. Of course, much to our relief, Pip survives the madman's attack.

We have been presented with a dramatic passage through Dickens' complex writing style, which had brought to our attention the significance of this dramatic and yet slow-moving situation.