Ask any high school student why Charles Dickens wrote Great Expectations, and they'll tell you "because he was crazy and wanted us to suffer studying him." I'd hate for any literature fanatic to glance at my blog, but it's true. Of course, Charles Dickens wrote his novels for reasons most authors write, but the literary elements he used within Great Expectations might draw his audience's attention to what might be his real purpose.
In Great Expectations, Magwitch was first characterized directly by his ragged, brutish appearance. To add more shape to it, Dickens provided diction that would indirectly characterize Magwitch's impression. Threatening to rip out Pip's innards if he were to leave Magwitch to the authorities, the escaped convict outdid himself by making an absolutely horrid first encounter with the protagonist. Maybe hoping to become an expert in characterization, Dickens wrote this novel, because another example lies within his main character, Pip. By corresponding Pip's advancements in society to his growing age, the novel serves as a bildungsroman. Phillip Pirrip is even a funny name for a character as Dickens was known for a creative humor when characterizing the roles of his books. Phillip "Pip" Pirrip is clearly seen here as an alliteration - yet another literary element that justifies Dickens's approach.
It's no mystery why novelists write - to better themselves by utilizing their techniques a little differently with each new experiment until they snag a "best-seller." Even so, the joy that the creative pen draws forth might do the trick as well.
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