Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens was to England what Michelangelo was to Italy. Charles Dickens gave us a standard of excellence in writing while opening our eyes to the vast sea of oppression that the lower class had experienced. Dickens grew up during the Industrial Revolution were he experienced these things. He saw child labor, unsafe factory conditions, and coal mining. He saw children begging for food on the streets. He even saw oppressive factory owners and how they put their employees in ramshackled apartments, that not only were overcrowded, but were infested with rats. This was the England Charles Dickens knew. Through his tales of oppression such as Oliver Twist, Dickens vividly depicts these horrible atrocities in society and makes us look deep into ourselves to find what we believe to be right and wrong. Throughout time, Dickensę writings have served as our conscience, and our moral values.

Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth, England on February 7, 1812 and was the second of John and Elizabeth Dickensę seven children. Young Charlesę life was filled with disaster, however, because his father was imprisoned for debt in 1823 and was later forced to work in a bottling factory. As a result, Charles was forced to live on the streets and beg for food. Luckily for Charles, the family received some money from a relative and Charles was able to attend school.

This was a turning point in Charlesę life. While Charles attended Wellington House Academy, he learned he loved to write. Unfortunately, Charles was later taken out of school because he had no money. Though this was a bad point for Charles he learned to work through it with his writing. He soon became a reporter for the True Sun and later the Mirror Parliament , until finally reporting for the Morning Chronicle in 1834, one of the largest newspapers in England. Dickens rose to such a high position because of his writing. Charles used his experiences from the streets and the oppression of the poor in his writing. Henceforth, Dickens became known as one of the best writers of his time. In 1836, Dickens published his first full-length book, Sketches by Boz, Illustrative of Everyday Life and Everyday People. Here Charles received praise, because he demonstrated the oppression of the poor, his concern for social justice, and his humor.

On April 2, 1836 Charles married Catherine Hogarth, the daughter of George Hogarth, with whom Charles worked on the Morning Chronicle. Together, they had 10 children until they separated in 1858. Though the marriage ended in separation, Catherine left Dickens with the impression of ideal womanhood because of her strong sense of morals.

In 1836, Charles published The Pickwick Papers. These papers were published as installments in the Morning Chronicle and the paper sold about 40 thousand copies every time a new installment was published. The papers depicted the atrocities going on in factories and talked about a fictional character called Mr. Pickwick and how he is effected by the corruption and vices of people he knows. Dickens then published Oliver Twist which spoke of how children were abandoned on the streets, and told the story of an orphan named Oliver who is forced to turn to a life of crime for survival. Charles speaks of how the social system has victimized Oliver. He speaks of the social evils that made this practice of turning to crime the rule rather than an option, as was shown by orphan Oliver.

Another one of Dickensę landmark books was The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickelby done in twenty installments from 1838 to 1839. Here, Dickens exposes the cruelty and exploitation of children in factories, and the serious issues of social reforms that are needed. The public responded with buying more then fifty thousand papers every month. Dickens is also known for probably his most beloved book, The Christmas Carol. Dickens exposes the cruel theory that they poor have no right to anything but little money and food. He exposes the lie that the poor do not work hard with the portrait of Bob Cratchet and man who works very hard for the little money he gets. Yet another of Dickensę well known books is David Copperfield. This primarily serves as Dickensę autobiography.He uses Copperfield as a symbolic Charles Dickens, and Copperfield endures many of the same problems Dickens experienced, as well.

In 1842, Dickens visited America. He scoffed at the American democracy and contended the government was filled with corruption. He writes American Notes about his experience in America and The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, a story which exposes greed, selfishness, hypocrisy, and corruption. Dickens about 10 years later then writes Hard Times. For These Times which depicts greed and an economy which exploits the working class. Dickens clearly shows that working in factories dehumanizes the workers. Dickens then writes A Tale of Two Cities, a story set in the French Revolution which takes an in depth look at revolutionary violence.

Around this time, the 1860ęs, Dickens separated with his wife, Catherine. As a result, he writes Great Expectations, a story about a couple discovering each otheręs love. Dickens probably wishes that those couples could be himself and his wife.

Dickens went on to write many other stories about social injustice marking his memory forever in our minds as a great social cynic. Dickens ,however, may be best remembered for a letter sent by a friend after Dickensę death on June 9, 1870, and his subsequent burial in Westminster Abbey. The letter states, –I am profoundly sorry for you and indeed for myself and for all of us. It is an event world-wide; a unique of talents suddenly extinct; and has –eclipsed.” (http://www.bibliomania.com/Fiction/dickens/DickensIntro.html) Dickens will forever be remembered as a man who spoke his mind, and also exposed many of the problems facing the world during the Industrial Revolution and beyond.

Bibliography

Dickens, Charles. The Speeches of Charles Dickens Oxford:Oxford University Press, 1960

Hibbert, Christopher. The Making of Charles Dickens New York: Harper and Row, Publishers, 1967

Chesterton,G.K. Charles Dickens New York: Schocken Books, 1965 http://www.bibliomania.com/Fiction/dickens/DickensIntro.html Search Engine: AltaVista

http://www.skittler.demon.co.uk/victorians/dickens.htm Search Engine: AltaVista

http://ftp.bbc.co.uk/dickens/ddd/dickbio.htm Search Engine: AltaVista

http://www.fidnet.com/~dap1955/dickens/timeline.html Search Engine: AltaVista