charles Dickens.docx

charles DickensCharles Dickens was born in Portsmouth, England, on February 7, 1812, to John and Elizabeth Dickens. He was the second of eight children. John Dickens was imprisoned for debt when Charles was young. Charles Dickens went to work at a blacking warehouse, managed by a relative of his mother, when he was twelve, and his brush with hard times and poverty affected him deeply. He later recounted these experiences in the semi-autobiographical novel David Copperfield. Major Works 18361841, first period, Period of youthful optimist: fun, high spirit, naive optimism At this stage Dickens believed that all the evils of the capitalist world would be remedied if only men treated each other with kindliness, justice, and sympathetic understanding. Dickens thought that the whole social question would be solved if only every employer reformed himself according to the model set by the benevolent gentlemen in his novels. This naive optimism is characteristic of the petty-bourgeois humanitarians of his time. 1) Sketches by Boz «博兹特写集», the first book 2) The Pickwick Papers «匹克威克外传» 3. Oliver Twist «奥克佛·特维斯特»，雾都孤儿 4. Nichols Nickleby «尼古拉斯·尼克尔贝» 5. The Old Curiosity Shop «老古玩店» 6. Barnaby Rudge 巴纳比·拉奇 1842-1850, The second period- Period of excitement, irritation and frustration: exposing the corrupting influence of wealth and power, optimism turned into dissatisfaction and irritation n Dickens ' s second period began from 1842, the year after his first visit to America. Before the visit, Dickens thought of the United States as a world in which there were no class divisions and human relations were humanitarian. But what impressed him most during his visit there was the rule of the dollar and the enormously corruptive influence of wealth and power. Dickens ' s naive optimism toward the capitalist society was profoundly shaken. 1) American Notes «美国札记» 2) Martin Chuzzlewit «马丁·朱述尔维特» 3) A Christmas Carol圣诞颂歌 4) The Chimes教堂钟声 5) The Cricket on the Hearth灶上蟋蟀 (以圣诞为题材, 具有浓郁宗教色彩。) n 6) Dombey and Son n «董贝父子» n 7) David Copperfield n «大卫·科波菲尔», the most autobiographical, one of the greatest English novels n The third period, a Period of steadily intensifying pessimism, showing underlying tone of bitterness, loss of hope for English bourgeois society n In his novels of this period, Dickens, consciously and subconsciously, shows himself more and more at odds with bourgeois society . n 1) Bleak House «荒凉山庄» n 2) Hard Times «艰难时世» n 3) Little Dorrit «小杜丽» n 4) A Tale of Two Cities «双城记» n 5) Great Expectations «远大前程» n 6) Our Mutual Friend n «我们的共同朋友» n 7) Edwin Drood (unfinished) n «艾德温·德鲁德之迷». His Literary Creation & Literary Achievements n His later works show a highly conscious modern artist. The settings are more complicated; the stories are better structured. Most novels of this period present a sharper criticism of social evils & morals of the Victorian England, for example, Bleak House, Hard Times, Great Expectations & so on. The early optimism could no more be found. Analysis of Some Major Novels n Oliver Twist n David Cooperfield n A Tale of Two Cities Oliver Twist n A powerful exposure of bourgeois society n One of the best works of Dickens n Its publication brought about some bettering of conditions in the English workhouses during the authors day Plot of Oliver Twist Oliver himself is born in a workhouse and treated cruelly there as was the norm at the time for pauper children, in particular by Bumble, a parish council official or eadle The story follows Oliver as he escapes the workhouse and runs away to London. Here he receives an education in villainy from the criminal gang of Fagin that includes the brutal thief Bill Sikes, the famous artful Dodger and Nancy, Bill whore. Oliver is rescued by the intervention of a benefactor - Mr Brownlow - but the mysterious Monks gets the gang to kidnap the boy again. David Copperfield “David Copperfield” is one of Dickens's best works. It was his own favorite. It is written in the first person and is the most autobiographical of all his books. In writing the novel, Dickens threw into it deep feelings and much of his own experience in his younger days. In the story of David ' s miserable boyhood Dickens depicts his own sufferings as a child-laborer in a blacking factory. The novel was written at a time when his creative powers had reached their height. Plot of David Cooperfield 1. Davids miserable childhood 2. Life as a child-laborer in a blacking factory 3. Adopted by his great-aunt, Betsy Trotwood, goes to school 4. meeting Steerforth, who induces Little Emly to run away with him and ends up drowning himself 5. Falling in love with and marrying Dora who dies soon, then marrying Agnes 6. A happy ending of his adventures Features of David Cooperfield The most autobiographical of all Dickenss books Exposes the social evils of his day A personal record and a broad picture of the society of the authors day Dickens has lost his old naïve optimism about bourgeois society Democratic viewpoint shows itself in the class-orientation of the novel. The lower petty-bourgeois and proletarian characters win the love and sympathy of the readers. The book has a combination of verisimilitude (逼真), sense of familiarity and artistic maturity A Tale of Two Cities . In 1859, A Tale of Two Cities premiered in parts in this journal. Its popularity was based not only on the fame of its author, but also on its short length and radical (for Dickens' time) subject matter. In “ A Tale of Two Cities ” Dickens takes the French Revolution as the background of his novel, and the “two cities” are Paris and London in the time of that revolution. Plot 1. Two aristocrats ask Dr. Manette to visit a patient 2. Dr. Manette writes an account of the atrocity and delivers it to the Minister of State 3. Dr. Manette is seized by the two aristocrats and imprisoned in the Bastille 4. Dr. Manette is released after 18 years 5. Darnay is brought to trial and released after a year 6. He is charged and re-arrested and sentenced to death within 24 hours 7. A man named Sidney Carton saves Darnay with his own life A Tale of Two Cities Subject: the French Revolution Theme: Where there is oppression, there is revolution. The fate of Dr. Manette is typical of the bourgeois intellectuals who had hoped for a revolution, but retreated before the excesses of the French Revolution The novel shows that the peoples lust for vengeance is but the direct product of the ruling classes monstrous atrocities The novel takes the side of the common people against that of the privileged classes. It adds a warning of an Avenging Fate. His Literary Creation & Literary Achievements Charles Dickens is one of the greatest critical realistic writers of the Victorian Age. It is his serious intention to expose & criticize in his works all the poverty, injustice, hypocrisy & corruptness he saw all around him. In his works, Dickens sets a full map & a large-scale criticism of the 19th-century England, particularly London. A combination of optimism about people & realism about society is obvious in these works. His representative works in the early period include Oliver Twist, David Copperfield & so on. Charles Dickens is a master story-teller. His language could, in a way, be compared with Shakespeare's. His humor & wit seem inexhaustible. Character-portrayal is the most outstanding feature of his works. His characterizations of child (Oliver Twist, etc.), some grotesque people (Fagin, etc.) & some comical people (Mr. Micawber, etc.) are superb. Dickens also employs exaggeration in his works. Dickens's works are also characterized by a mixture of humor & pathos.