In the excerpt from "Great Expectations", the narrator, who is a young boy, meets an eccentric old lady. Even though nothing happens a lot in this scene, the author’s way of describing it makes it sound interesting. To be specific, the author uses imagery to enhance the eccentric tone of the story, dialogue to juxtapose the woman and the boy’s status, and pathos to show the old lady’s emotional status, all in order to effectively portray the two characters’ unusual interaction.
Firstly, the author uses imagery to enhance the eccentric tone of the story, especially by describing the old woman. In the third paragraph, the woman is described as rich and flamboyant, with descriptions including satins, laces, and silks. Moreover, the fact that they were all white contributes to the eccentric tone because not a lot of people wear everything in white especially when they are alone in the house. The way of describing the woman makes like as if the woman is going to have a wedding, and such description, therefore, portrays the two character’s first interaction that must have surprised the little boy. If I consider the purpose of writing such a scene as to convey not just the old woman’s fashion style but her thoughts and personal values that can be shown through her outer appearance, the woman’s description further effectively builds up the woman’s style that deviates from the social norm.
Secondly, the author effectively uses dialogues to juxtapose the woman and the boy’s status. For example, the author uses many dialogues to show that the boy was brave enough to talk to the woman, and the woman is old and dark, unlike the young childish boy. Considering that the exigence of this excerpt might be heightening the tension by introducing a new character and engaging the reader, such dialogue can grab the reader’s attention and simultaneously show the different personalities and lifestyles of a young boy and the old woman. Therefore, the dialogue is well-written to connect back to the two character’s unusual interactions.
Thirdly, the author uses pathos to show the old lady’s emotionally unstable status. In the excerpt, the lady claims that her heart is broken. She also says that she wants to die in the bride’s dress on the bride’s table. Even though the lady is described as weird throughout the short excerpt, at this point, I can see that the lady is constantly thinking about her death. Such a scene can surely appeal to the reader’s emotion of pity and brings out their empathy towards the woman. Through this, the reader can see the reason why the lady was being rough with the boy. Therefore, this is an effective way to connect back to the interaction that the boy and the woman were having, and the possible reason behind that.
To conclude, the author uses imagery, dialogue, and pathos all in different ways to show the two main character’s interaction that is unusual, but understandable at the same time. This effectively builds up the story’s interesting part and grabs the reader’s attention.
Writer: Grace Jun
(Image from the movie "Great Expectations")
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