The language in Great Expectations is very formal. The author uses large, descriptive words to get his ideas across. This technique is especially successful at describing the feelings of the protagonist, Philip Pirrip, who is known as "Pip" throughout the novel. This formal language is evident when Pip thinks, "My state of mind regarding the pilfering from which I had been so unexpectedly exonerated, did not impel me to frank disclosure; but I hope it had some dregs of good at the bottom of it.".
The formal language of this work often demands a second reading of a sentence. The large, complex words often demand an inquiry in a dictionary. Both of these effects occur throughout the novel and are caused by the example given previously. A great deal of imagery is used by the author, mostly being associated with characters, and also giving great detail to the emotions, experiences, and thoughts of Pip. This is often haunting, because the reader is given a detailed inside look at the way Pip reacts and feels about his mother's frequent verbal, and to a lesser extent physical abuse. A great deal of the characterisation in the novel is done through imagery. Each character is associated with certain things, often where they are seen, where they live, and what they do. Joe is Pip's friend throughout the novel, especially when Pip has to deal with his sister. Joe works as a blacksmith, and it is quite appropriate, given Joe's helping Pip with his sister, that images used around Joe are warmth and light. Orlick is seen throughout the novel as an evil presence, and he is paralleled with the dark, glum, and dank marshes that he lives in. Another one of the main characters, Magwitch, around whom one of the main themes of the novel is centred, is imprisoned and captured several times. While he is living in exile from England in New South Wales, he tries to better himself and build a trust for the boy who helped him.
