The setting of the begginning this story takes place in a small village located on some marshes in England. The author is trying to establish a tone of sorrow and darkness. It is in a graveyard where Pip's dead parents and siblings lie. The story states this when it says, "At such a time i found out for certain that this bleak place overgrown with nettles was the churchyard; and that Philip Pirrip, Late of this Parish, and Also Georgiana Wife of the Above, were dead and buried; and that Alexander, Bartholomew, Abraham, Tobias, and Roger, infant children of the aforesais, were also dead and buried; and that after dark flat wilderness beyond the churchyard, intersected with dikes and mounds and gates, with scattered cattle feeding on it, was the marshes; and that the low leaden line beyond was the river; and that the distant savage lair from which the wind was rushing over the sea." (Great Expectations, Chapter 1, page 1 and 2) This quote tells us some of the land features as well as the tone of dark and sad. .
Conflict:.
One conflict is the man vs. man conflict in which it is Pip vs. Estella. In this conflict Pip is constantly trying to make Estella like him and Estella is constantly pushing him away and rejecting him. Another conflict displayed in this story is the conflict of Pip vs. Himself in which Pip is trying to decide whether he should be a gentleman or a common blacksmith. If he becomes a gentleman then he thinks he will be good enough for Estella, but his family and his roots are where he is a common blacksmith.
The conflict of Pip vs. Estella played a major role in the development of this plot because if Estella would have just accepted Pip as a commoner than Pip would have never gone off to become a gentleman. He would have married Biddy and become a blacksmith like Joe. The conflict of Pip vs. Himself played a major role in the making of this plot because he would have stayed a blacksmith if he had no desire to be a gentleman.
