Charles Dickens Thesis Part 1
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Kelly Williams
AP English
Mr. Kramer
November 15, 2005
Thesis Draft
Charles Dickens, one of the greatest authors of English literature, one of the greatest authors of all time. Dickens wrote on the issues and problems that concerned the lives of the people around him, the people of the Industrial Revolution. Dickens wrote of truth and realism. Dickens wrote about every aspect of life and included all classes of society. Dickens used experiences from his own life and turned them into creativity for his novels and other writings. Three of Dickens’ novels, Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, and Hard times all illustrate the emotions Dickens felt towards crime, social conditions, and life’s necessities during the Industrial Revolution. These novels spelled out the cruelty that was happening everywhere and how Dickens really wanted the people to stop and look around. He wanted them to see and understand what was no just hurting him, but everyone.
February 7, 1812, Charles Dickens was born to John and Elizabeth Dickens. Charles the second of seven children attended the local school. Charles’ father, John Dickens had financial problems and in 1824 was imprisoned for debt at Marshalsea Prison. Charles was sent to work at Warren’s
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Blacking Factory (Cody, 1.) The factory was a very scary place for Charles and he was very psychologically upset by the experience. Charles’ father got his financial issues in order and was released from prison. At age fifteen Charles
found employment as an office boy at an attorney’s office and studied short hand at night.
In1829, Dickens became a reporter at Doctor’s Commons Courts. He fell in love Maria Beadnell, a banker’s daughter in 1803. Dickens was becoming very successful as a shorthand reporter of Parliamentary debates in the House of Commons and in 1832 began working as a newspaper reporter.
Charles’ relationship did not last long and ended in 1833. With in the year, Dickens began to publish some short stories. In 1834 he adopted the pen name “Boz” (Langton, 41.) Charles’ father was charged of debt again and Charles had to help him out. Charles met another woman named Catherine Hogarth and became engaged to her.
In 1836, Dickens published his first “Sketches by Boz.” In that same year Dickens was hired to do some writing to accompany a series of humorous illustrations drawn by a popular artist name Robert Seymour (Cody, 2.) Seymour committed suicide, but Dickens continued the work, though altering the original plan, which eventually became The Pickwick Papers. On April 2, 1836 Dickens married Catherine Hogarth. Within that year Dickens became editor of Bently’s Miscellany and published The Pickwick Papers in December.
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Dickens decided to be a novelist and make it his full- time career. Dickens worked very fast and his work gained much appeal. In 1837 he began to write Oliver Twist. That year Catherine gave birth to their first child of 10, named Charles.
In 1838 Dickens began writing Nicholas Nickleby. Both Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby were finished in 1839. In the next two years Dickens published Master Humphrey’s Clock, The Old Curiosity Chop, and Barnaby Rudge. Dickens traveled to Canada and America where he spoke on antislavery and piracy. In December of 1844, Dickens published A Christmas Carol, which was in immediate success and became known as one of his more famous works.
For the next three years Dickens and his family traveled through Europe visiting Italy, Switzerland, and France. In those years Dickens visited England to publish The Chimes, The Cricket and the Hearth, and “Pictures From Italy,” which he published in the newspaper the “Daily News.”
While in Switzerland Dickens published Dombey and Son and Battle of Life. In 1848 Dickens published his third Christmas book, The Haunted Man. Dickens also began work on David Copperfield, which was his most autobiographical novel (Langton, 68.)
In 1853 Dickens began to give public readings. In 1855 Dickens wrote Hard Times and in 1857 wrote Little Dorrit. Dickens was in partial ownership of a theatrical company through out much of his years and in 1858 a young actress
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named Ellen Ternan came to work for him. Dickens fell in love with her and after many years of quarrels and problems separated from his wife.
Over the next three years Dickens wrote A Tale of Two Cities, burned many of his notes and personal letters, re-read his David Copperfield, and finally began work on Great Expectation, which he finished in August 1861. Dickens
continued to do public readings, which took place in Paris and London. Dickens began to overwork himself and in 1865 fell victim to poor health.
Already sickly, Charles and Ellen were in a terrible train accident and witnessed catastrophic injury to many people. Dickens and his wife were very shaken by the event and were both disturbed psychologically and physically (Cody, 4.)
Dickens ventured to Ireland and Scotland and presented his public readings. Dickens was becoming very ill, but 1868 traveled to America to do another reading. Dickens was exhausted both physically and mentally, but continued to proceed compulsively.
In 1869 Dickens collapsed in what was to be a mild stroke. In 1870 Dickens did his last public reading in England and began working on Edwin Drood. On June 8, after working very hard on his novel, Dickens suffered a much more severe stroke and died the next day on June 9, 1870. He was buried at Westminster Abbey on June 14 and The Mystery of Edwin Drood was left unfinished (Cody, 5)
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Charles Dickens writes on the issues of his times and uses his life experiences as influence in his novels. Oliver Twist was one of these novels. Dickens discusses the lack of charity, the rise and significance of capitalism, and finally the power of the environment and its influence on the reader. Dickens strongly reaches out to show the lower levels of life and crime in this novel. Dickens was severely criticized for introducing criminals and prostitutes in Oliver Twist, to which Dickens replied, in the preface to the Library Edition of Oliver Twist in 1858, "I saw no reason, when I wrote this book, why the very dregs of life, so long as their speech did not offend the ear, should not serve the purpose of a moral, at least as well as its froth and cream" (Perdue, 7.)
One of the main fundamental issues Charles Dickens discusses in his novel Oliver Twist is the lack and failure of charity. When Charles was young he was put to work at Warren's Blacking Factory. A lot of the first part of the novel deals with the poor organization of the workhouse. A system described by Dickens was put into place by the Poor Law of 1834, which stated that the poor could only receive government assistance if they moved into the workhouses of the Government. The people who lived in the workhouses had no rights and were almost imprisoned in them. Everyone had to work and families were often split up. Living conditions and the food were terrible. Dickens was very appalled by the very thought of the workhouses and spends much of his time in Oliver Twist describing it and the people in it.
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The workhouses operated on the principle that poverty was the consequence of laziness and that the dreadful conditions in the workhouse would inspire the poor to better their own circumstances (Twist, 32.) The economic conditions of the time left no room for people to rise up, so their only choice was to stay at the workhouses even though the conditions were so bad. In addition, as Dickens points out, the officials who ran the workhouses had no regards for the lives of the workers. The management took unequal shares of money and horded some for their own pockets. Mrs. Mann and Mr. Bumble would have no regards for a starving infant while they sit at a nice table drinking beer (Twist, 33.) When the workers in the workhouse look happy then there is a problem and concern is raised throughout the officers and board. New rules are placed so that there is less food and people are hungry all the time. When Oliver asks for more food the management punishes him instead of understanding his needs (Twist, 39.)
“'Please, sir, I want some more.' The master was a fat, healthy man; but he turned very pale. He gazed in stupefied astonishment on the small rebel for some seconds, and then clung for support to the copper. The assistants were paralyzed with wonder; the boys with fear. What!' said the master at length, in a faint voice. 'Please, sir,' replied Oliver, 'I want some more.' The master aimed a blow at Oliver's head with the ladle; pinioned him in his arm; and shrieked aloud for the beadle” (Twist, 38.)
