Assignment 104 Life of Charles Dickens
Assignment 104 Life of Charles Dickens
Table of content :
Personal Information
Introduction
Personal life of Charles Dickens
Professional carrier
First Novel
Writing style and Major Themes
Works of Charles Dickens
Work Cited
Personal Information
Name: Kusum J. Saravaiya
Batch: M. A. Sem 1 (2023-25)
Enrollment N. :5108230041
Roll N. :21
Paper :104 Literature of victorian period
Submitted to: smt. S. B. Gardi Department of English, M. K. University Bhavnagar
E mail: Kusumsarvaiya2304@gamil.com
Introduction :
Charles Dickens was a renowned 19th-century English novelist, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers of the Victorian era. Born on February 7, 1812, his works, including "Oliver Twist," "A Christmas Carol," "Great Expectations," and "David Copperfield," often depicted social injustices and the struggles of the lower classes. Dickens' writing style, vivid characters, and powerful storytelling continue to captivate readers worldwide. His legacy extends beyond literature, influencing social reform and leaving an indelible mark on English literature.
Charles Dickens is considered a quintessential Victorian novelist due to various reasons. His works vividly captured the essence of Victorian society, portraying its social, economic, and moral complexities. Dickens wrote during the Victorian era, a period marked by industrialization, social change, and a burgeoning middle class.
His novels often highlighted the struggles of the poor, child labor, class disparities, and the harsh conditions of the time. His characters were richly developed, representing different classes and societal roles. Dickens's narratives also reflected the moral and ethical dilemmas prevalent in Victorian society.
Dickens' serialized novels, published in magazines, made literature more accessible to a broader audience, engaging readers from various social strata. Through his writings, Dickens not only entertained but also advocated for social reform, reflecting the concerns and issues of the Victorian age. His ability to capture the spirit of the times and depict the societal changes made him a definitive Victorian novelist.
Personal Life of Charles Dickens :
Dickens was born on February 7, 1812 to John and Elizabeth Barrow Dickens. John Dickens was a clerk in the naval pay office, a job that took him and his family to London in 1814, to Chatham in 1817, and back to London in 1822. In Chatham the young Charles Dickens spent the happiest years of his childhood. He loved the sights and sounds of the busy shipbuilding center, and both his parents encouraged his early devotion to such 18th-century prose masters as Henry Fielding, Oliver Goldsmith, and Tobias Smollett. But his father’s inability to live within his means, coupled with the growth of the Dickens household (Charles Dickens had four brothers and sisters by 1822), brought an early end to this happiness that coincided with the family’s second move to London. Just two days past his 12th birthday, Dickens was sent to work in a warehouse pasting labels on shoe-blacking pots to supplement the family income; 11 days later his father was arrested for debt and taken to the Marshalsea debtor’s prison.
Dickens was enrolled as a day student at the Wellington House Academy in London. Here, between the ages of 12 and 15, he was already trying his hand at the kind of writing that would launch him on his professional career.
Professional carrier of Charles Dickens :
In his 20th year, Dickens secured a job as a parliamentary reporter for the Mirror of Parliament, founded by his uncle John Henry Barrow. He worked there from 1832 to 1834. The reputation he made for himself would be the envy of any aspiring journalist. A contemporary of Dickens, James Grant of the Morning Advertiser, claimed that Dickens “occupied the very highest rank, not merely for accuracy in reporting, but for marvelous quickness in transcript.” Despite his youth, he quickly won the respect of his older colleagues. “There never was such a shorthand writer!” declared one of them.
Dickens’s observations of parliament during and after the heady days of the Reform Bill debates constituted the liberal education neither he nor his parents could afford to finance. It also committed him to reform while making him suspicious of many reformers. The only problem with the Mirror of Parliament was that it did not pay its staff members when parliament was not in session, which forced Dickens back to free-lance court reporting. Thus when the liberal daily newspaper the Morning Chronicle was reorganized and expanded, Dickens jumped at the chance of becoming one of its regular staff member.
Dickens’s reputation as a reporter was soon eclipsed, however, by his growing fame as “Boz,” the name under which he wrote a series of tales and sketches published in the Monthly Magazine, Bell’s Weekly Magazine, the Morning Chronicle, the Evening Chronicle, and Bell’s Life in London and Sporting Chronicle.
First Novel :
The Pickwick Papers, also known as The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, was the first novel of Charles Dickens.
Chapman & Hall published it in monthly installments from March of 1836 until November 1837.Dickens worked a very serious subject into comedic Pickwick Papers, that of the injustice of the justice system.
Writing Style :
Charles Dickens is the icon of his age, and even in this modern era, his work continues to captivate readers worldwide. His own unique style comprised his original word choice, figurative language, fresh and crispy sentence structure, socially relevant thematic strands, and also relatable to readers.
Charles Dickens’ Sentence Structure and Syntax
Not only in Great Expectations but also in several other novels, Charles Dickens has demonstrated his mastery in jotting down unique and interesting extraordinary sentences that jolt the minds of the readers. For Example, in Great Expectation, he has given the description of a man in such a way that anaphoric usage of “and with” makes sentences interesting and readable. In some other places, however, he has used repetitions in that they seem exotic such as in the first passage of A Tale of Two Cities.
Charles Dickens’ Themes
Although it seems that Dickens chooses themes carefully, yet they are ordinary themes prevalent in the social fabric of England at that time. For example, he presents child labor in Hard Times and poverty in Great Expectations. This social criticism makes his readers aware of the injustice and bad education as shown through the character of Miss Havisham, Pip, and Magwitch.
Dickens' Figurative language
Dickens is also the master of descriptive writing besides narrative writing. The simple passage taken from Great Expectations shows how he wields figures of speech to describe things, persons, and places.
Works of Charles Dickens :
Oliver Twist – 1837
The second novel of Charles Dickens was Oliver Twist. The first edition had a longer title, Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy’s Progress.
Nicholas Nickleby – 1838
The first installment of Nicholas Nickleby was published on March 31, 1838 and the last installment was published on October 1, 1839.
The Old Curiosity Shop – 1840
The Old Curiosity Shop was published in installments in the periodical, Master Humphrey’s Clock. The first installment was printed in April of 1840 and the last was printed in February of 1841.
Barnaby Rudge – 1841
Barnaby Rudge was published in installments from February to November of 1841. It appeared in the magazine Master Humphrey’s Clock.
The historical novel is set during the Gordon Riots of 1780.
Dombey and Son-1846
It was first published in installments that began in 1846 and ran through 1848.
Dickens gave a reading of the first installment of Dombey to some of his friends. It went very well and gave Dickens the idea of doing public readings.
David Copperfield – 1849
David Copperfield, Dickens’s eighth novel, was first published as a serial. The first installment was published in May of 1849. The last installment was issued in November of 1850.
Hard Times – 1854
The novel first appeared in Dickens’s weekly periodical, Household Words. Hard Times was published in installments that began in April of 1854 and ran through August of 1854.
Work Cited :
“Charles Dickens.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation,https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/charles-dickens Accessed 25 Nov. 2023.
“Charles Dickens Books and Novels.” Charles Dickens Info, 4 Sept. 2023,https://www.charlesdickensinfo.com/novels/complete-works/ Accessed 25 Nov. 2023.
“Literary Writing Style of Charles Dickens.” Literary Devices, 21 Sept. 2022, literarydevices.net/literary-writing-style-of-charles-dickens/.https://literarydevices.net/literary-writing-style-of-charles-dickens/ Accessed 25 Nov. 2023
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