How Does Dickens Use Setting In Great Expectations

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How does Dickens use the setting to reveal the depressing nature of Pip’s childhood in Kent?

Pip’s early life is enveloped in a grey, dismal mist of depression. Dickens mirrors Pip to the weather and setting in a way that captures the bleak and neglected life he lives, with his sister. Pip’s view on life is tainted from his experiences and the location Dickens surrounds him in, mimics that.
Pip’s early life is full of abuse from his sister. She not only abuses him physically but also emotionally. This continuous abuse has warped Pip’s perception of the surroundings he lives in. His fear is shown by the way Dickens describes the way he perceives things. What would commonly be seen as beautiful, Pip sees them filled with horror and disgust. His depictions of the marshes are filled with dismay. The sea to Pip is a ‘savage lair’ that is evil and infused with animalistic convicts that are a constant threat.
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It is an object of evil that has been tainted, a retreat for the malevolent. This represents how Pip is frightened of the Hulks and the convicts that are brought with them. As the book is written in first person narrative, it shows Pip’s warped description of the settings and reflects Pip’s life. Pip is oppressed, harmed and has no escape from this tough life.
Dickens uses these depictions to show that Pip has nowhere to escape; he constantly has the foreboding body of peril following him around. His despair holds him by the throat and eventually he feels choked by the cold sea