Category: Charles Dickens

The prose of Charles Dickens is an amazing phenomenon for the reader of the 21^st century. This phenomenon consists of the almost full absence of sexuality in his numerous novels. This deficiency was seamless and was not a reflection of the English custom strictness of the Victorian epoch. It is hard to imagine that Dickens is contemporary for French writers, such as Mopasan, whose prose seems to be full of eroticism. It is just as difficult to imagine Dickens as one of the continuators of Geoffrey Chaucer, who did not hesitate to portray body. Maybe, the asexuality of Dickens is explained by a hungry childhood; however, it is next to impossible that Dickens intentionally limited the thematic of his prose by the suffering of hungry boys in orphan homes. With the end of the Victorian period, the sexuality of the English society that did not find its reflection in the cultural phenomenon was striving to express itself in graphic art (Beardsley) and at the beginning of the 20^th century in literature – “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” by D. H. Lawrence, although the tabooed theme did not receive adequate expression in literature also because such well-known writers of the previous epoch as Charles Dickens avoided eroticism for some internal reasons. It seems that Dickens felt more comfortable within a male company. His first novel, “The Pickwick Papers,” already demonstrated a clear preference for a male assembly, the culture of gentlemen clubs that was dominating in Victorian Britain. The matrimonial outcome looks more like an aspect of decency rather than a reflection of the author’s preferment. A certain revealing of this unexpected side of Dickens could be considered chapter 33 of the “Old Curiosity Shop.” In this chapter, the author rudely mocks the body of a woman. Unlike his coeval Honore de Balzac, who created a sex symbol – a thirty-year-old woman, after which the women after 30 started to be called Balzac women, Dickens describes a disgusting man-like quarrelsome creature, that does not have eyebrows, his mustache, and who lives her life with clear pleasure in a stinky dirty room, rewriting court papers. This is Ms. Sally Brass. Unlike the brass-red heroines from “Lady Chatterley’s Lover,” this woman seems to be incompatible with the definition of sex and body. In her description, Dickens does not provide any kind of humoristic features that the author uses when describing men that have physical disadvantages. The machine for rewriting papers formally finds literature related to one of Nicolay Gogol’s characters from his novel called “Overcoat” – Akaky Bashmachkin. But unlike Gogol, Dickens did not award his character the ability to make the reader feel compassion one bit. It seems that Dickens can induce compassion only towards hungry orphan boys, like “Oliver Twist” or “The Hunted.” This fact will most likely elicit suspicion in the sophisticated reader of the 21^st century. A few lines in the 33^rd chapter of the “Old Curiosity Shop” are in harsh dissonance with the literature of the Victorian epoch. These lines tell about Dick’s impressions after gazing at Ms. Sally. Within this part of the text, the modern reader can find something that today is called a deviation of sexual behavior. The male character here is clearly striving towards detestability. He cannot make himself turn away from observing an ugly, repelling woman. Such aspiration for observation of disgusting is well known in sexy pathology. Furthermore, this character of Dickens is experiencing obsessive desires. He intolerably wants to rip off the woman’s hat in order to see whether she looks good bare-headed. Subliming this desire, he swings a metal ruler, imagining that he has an Indian tomahawk in his hand. Optionally one could find a relation to Dostoevsky’s Raskolnikov if “The Crime and Punishment” would be already written back then. In general, this small fragment reminds me more of prose from the beginning and middle part of the 20^th century. Such internal exertion of a character during the uprising of such unusual desires is more likely to be encountered in Norwegian writers Knut Hamsun and Johan Borgen, rather than in Charles Dickens, who is well known to be a writer for child and family reading. Kelly Hager is fairly tracing the above-mentioned anomaly of the Victorian style in her article entitled “Jasper Packlemerton, Victorian Freak.” The modern researchers of Dickens in the context of the Victorian epoch, in my opinion, did not turn sufficient attention to this fragment. Kelly Hager uses chapter 33 of the “Old Curiosity Shop” plainly for mentioning the non-interesting dialogues between Sally Brass and Sampson. I believe that, here, Dickens unintentionally demonstrated some dark sides of his personality. At least in this fragment, the common to the author sense of humor betrays him. His strained attempts to joke about Sally’s mess and her unmarried status call up doubts about this section being written by the same author who previously wrote “The Pickwick Papers.” Here it is evident that some biological intrusion of female anima into Dickens’ personal life led to the loss of literature’s quality.

While exploring the theme of voyeurism, William Cohen is addressing sex and body. He sees the aforesaid deviation as a probable sublimation of Dickens’ eroticism. Indeed, the “Old Curiosity Shop” starts off with the confessions of the narrator about his strange night walks, during which he narrowly looks into the faces of the pedestrians for long periods of time and makes guesses about their occupations. Chapter 33 of the “Old Curiosity Shop” starts off from an imaginary flight of the storyteller, bringing the reader into the house of Mr. Brass. However, it is quite difficult to account for the above as “voyeurism,” as usual, the individuals who are inclined towards this deviation strive to see something tempting, not available for regular observation, whereas the described in chapter 33 tacky house of Mr. Brass rouses no temptation, and just strengthens the disgust towards Ms. Sally Brass, her bony stature, and red her nose. There are no libidinous descriptions of bed scenes that could be used to blame the author in voyeurism – the strive towards spying on unfamiliar life. Chapter 33 of the “Old Curiosity Shop” gives reasons to suppose that sexuality, sex, eroticism – the themes tabooed in the Victorian society, at least in their most common version, in reality, were not interesting to the author, and he sincerely did not intend to fascinate his readers with these subjects. The reason for this phenomenon could be the topic of future studies, as the works of Kelly Hager and William A. Cohen trace these themes quite insufficiently. At the same time, this peculiarity of Charles Dickens’ personality that got reflected in his creative literary works did not allow him to profoundly mirror human nature, despite doubtless, and even immense literature talent. The seamless Dickens ignoring of human sexuality had seriously limited his influence on the culture of the 19^th century. Unfortunately, the writers who later attempted to supplement the sexuality breach did not possess even one-tenth of the talent of Dickens and therefore were unable to reflect this subject in English literature. The indicated gap in Dickens’ creative work allowed the later mockery of him that got mirrored, for example, in Evelyn Waugh’s novel, entitled “A Handful Of Dust,” where the protagonist is doomed to reading out loud the novels by Charles Dickens to a leader of a primitive tribe in the wilderness of the Amazon river, who forcedly hold this British aristocrat as a hostage. It is hard to imagine that the reading of Lev Tolstoy could occur under the same conditions, that is to say, that the harsh irony of Evelyn Waugh captured an innate defect of Dickens’ work that prevented the author from overcoming the few invisible inches that separated his talented literature for home reading from great literature that has the ability to alter and exalt a human mind.

Works Cited

Cohen, William A. “Interiors: Sex and the Body in Dickens” Critical Survey 17.2 (2005): 5+. Questia. Web.

Hager, Kelly. “Jasper Packlemerton, Victorian Freak.” Victorian Literature and Culture, Cambridge University Press (2006), 34:209-232

Introduction

Oliver Twist is a novel that was written by Charles Dickens and recounts the life of a young orphan faced with lots of hardship in the streets of London. Oliver Twist, born in a poor family living in Mudfog, is orphaned during his birth. Although he survives after the death of the mother, he is forced to lead a life full of hardship following an unexplained disappearance of the father. Forced to live under the care of cruel people who are keen on inflicting pain on him, he learns to endure the cruelty of the world.

He finds himself is a gang of young pickpockets in the city of London. However, his character stands out as one who cares for others and willing to sacrifice personal benefits for the sake of the friends. This novel can be classified as children’s literature. The major characters used on the novel, the author’s choice of words, the style used in the narration, and even the common jokes are all targeted to children.

As Gourlay and Grant (90) explain, this is an archetype narrative where the prophetic characters in Oliver Twist make him unique from other characters in the book. This research paper will look at the five elements that make Oliver Twist a prophetic character.

Discussion

The novel ‘Oliver Twist’ presents the life of a young boy who faces a series of life misfortunes from birth. The fact that the mother died immediately after giving birth to the young Oliver is not enough. He finds himself faced with object poverty, especially after the disappearance of the father. Dickens (7) says, “If he could have known that he was an orphan, left to the tender mercies…” This is a demonstration that he was orphaned at a very tender age.

He is forced to live in a children’s farm where life is not easy. The young lad moves from the children’s farm to live with an undertaker. Life does not get any better, especially due to the mistreatments against him by the undertaker’s wife. He then finds himself in the street life, with a gang of pickpockets under the leadership Fagin. However, Oliver’s problem seems not to go away. Inasmuch as Oliver Twist is faced with all the injustices that life can offer to such a young child, he stands out as a morally upright person.

Even when he is forced to engage in pick pocketing, he strikes as a child that is unique among the rest. His ability to understand fellow children, act in their favor, and forego personal benefits does not match the injustices and unfair treatment he has been facing since his birth. This makes him a prophetic character in this novel. The following five areas may help substantiate that Oliver Twist is a prophetic character as presented in this novel.

A Sense of Consciousness that is Different from a Regular Individual

According to Bellett (75), a prophetic character must a sense of consciousness that is different from that of regular individuals. Such a character understands what the society considers as ideal, and always tries to ensure that he or she lives by it. The character also makes a conscious effort to ensure that their actions do not offend others, but if it does by mistake, they are quick to apologize because of the desire not to harm others. This is a trait that is seen in Oliver Twist.

As a young child living in the streets, Oliver was always ahead of his peers in understanding various factors within the environment. He was keen on uniting the peers towards a common goal for the benefit of all. Even in the instances when he was forced to engage in criminal activities such as robbing, he was always compassionate about issues to do with helping his peers.

Influence Gained Through Nature Not Nurture, and High Morals within the Character

According to Dijk (64), most of the prophetic characters are always influenced by nature, not through nurturing, and they always have high moral standards. As mentioned previously, these are characters who were orphaned at a very early age. They learn life through what they experience, what nature presents to them. Nature becomes their teacher in many instances of their lives. However, instead of picking the negative lessons about life from what they get through nature, they uniquely become individuals of high morals, and ability to lead a righteous life. Oliver Twist went through the harsh realities of being a poor orphan.

Dickens (20) says, “And yet he burst into an agony of childish grief as the cottage gate closed after him.” He was finally taken in by Mr. Brownlow’s family after being released by the court. In this family, he exhibits high standards of morality and respect to the members of this family. In his entire life, he had been used to hardship and life of scavenging. What this family presented to him was very different from what nature had taught him.

However, he portrays the traits of a gentleman, a sign that he picked the best out of what nature had to offer him. He wins the trust of Mr. Brownlow who sends him for errands that requires payments (Dickens 46). Every time he was sent, he would dutifully make the payments and bring back any balances after accounting for everything. In this family, no one had any genuine complains about his character. He was a perfect boy, respectable and respecting in the eyes of Mr. Brownlow.

A Strong Sense of Self Criticism

In many cases, people tend to hurt others or act selfishly because of their inability to criticize themselves. According to Frost (21), self-criticism is very important when it comes to administering justice to others. Self-assessment of an action that one plans to take makes it possible to establish the possible outcome it may have on others.

Prophetic characters always have a strong sense of self-criticism, especially when making a decision that may have an impact on others. Whenever they realize that they have done or just about to do what is morally wrong, they would criticize such thoughts or actions and make genuine efforts to correct such mistakes.

As shown in this novel, Oliver was always quick to criticize himself whenever he felt that he had done something wrong. He was always mindful of others. His compassionate nature stirred a unique desire in him to avoid doing anything that may be considered immoral in the society. Being a human being, sometimes the desire to act in self interest would overwhelm him.

However, his conscience would never allow his an opportunity to do wrong. He would criticize himself for thoughts that he considered being too materialistic. This is seen when he makes a quick decision to share his inheritance with the strange brother who had planned to kill him. He respects Mrs. Sowerberry even though the lady mistreats her. Dickens (66) says, “Oliver lingered no longer, but meekly followed his new mistress.” He obeys his mistress.

A Personality that is Compassionate and Understanding towards Others

A prophetic character is compassionate and very understanding towards others. According to Carroll (32), these characters are always keen on ensuring that people around them are not subjected to pain and suffering when they have the capacity to assist in order to overcome the situation. Sometimes their sense of compassion is used against them, but this does not stop them from offering assistance to those who need it. Oliver Twist is such a character, a selfless young lad who is keen on making the life of people around him better whenever he has an opportunity. His compassionate and understanding nature to the plight of others is seen when he decides to assist Nancy. Oliver has been released by the cost following his arrest when stealing under the command of Fagin.

Upon his release, he went to stay with the Brownlow’s who cares for him (Carroll 76). However, Fagin was keen on ensuring that he is back to his criminal gang, fearing that Oliver could betray him to the authorities, having been part of the gang before. Fagin uses Nancy, who pretends to request for Oliver’s assistance, to trap him and bring him back to the group. So Nancy approaches Oliver, against her own wish, and asks for his help.

As directed by Fagin, she directs her to a hideout where Fagin’s boys can kidnap him and take him back to their master. Oliver knew that those hideouts were dangerous. However, the desire to help Nancy surpassed the need to avoid the dangers posed by these hideouts. Unfortunately for him, he is kidnapped and taken back to Fagin (Watts and House 84). What is strange is that fact that he does not hold personal grudge against Nancy, the young girl who lured him back to the gang.

A High Sense of Awareness and Self-Decorum

According to Petersen (42), another important trait of the prophetic characters is the high sense of awareness and self-decorum. As Pilcher (31) says, to earn respect, one must start by respecting self. This way, he or she will learn the importance of respecting others. Oliver Twist was a man of decorum. His modest behavior earned him respect among many people. The family of Mr. Brownlow loved Oliver because of his modesty.

He respected everyone in the family, irrespective of their age or gender. He knew how important this was as a way of holding the family fabric together. When he was taken in the second time by Rose Maylie’s, a family he was supposed to rob, Ellis and Ravelli (83) says in their analysis, “Oliver demonstrated the same self-decorum that earned him love and admiration in the family.”

One may argue that Oliver was modest in these two families because of the benefits he got. However, an analysis of this book demonstrates he was modest throughout his life. Even when he was forced into pick pocketing, he was always conscious of the evil nature of such acts, only that he never had an option. He respected his peers and this explains why Nacy, a friend who once betrayed him, dies trying to defend him.

Conclusion

In the book ‘Oliver Twist’, Oliver comes out as a prophetic character. An orphan forced through difficulties in life at a tender age, grows up to become an honest young man, very understanding and concerned of the well-being of the people around him. He comes out as a prophetic character, an individual who is willing to sacrifice personal benefits for the well-being of others.

Works Cited

Bellett, J G. Short Meditations on the Psalms: Chiefly in Their Prophetic Character. London: A.S. Rouse, 1902. Print.

Carroll, Michael. Quantum Prophecy: The Awakening. New York: Philomel Books, 2007. Print.

Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist. Surrey: Nelson, 1998. Print.

Dijk, Teun. Discourse and Literature. Amsterdam: J. Benjamins Pub. Co, 1985. Print.

Ellis, Robert A, and LouiseJ Ravelli. Analysing Academic Writing: Contextualized Frameworks. London: Continuum, 2005. Print.

Frost, Mark. Understanding the Themes in Oliver Twist. New York: Cengage, 2014. Print.

Gourlay, Alexander, and John Grant. Prophetic Character: Essays on William Blake in Honor of John E. Grant. West Cornwall: Locust Hill Press, 2002. Print.

Petersen, David L. The Prophetic Literature: An Introduction. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002. Print.

Pilcher, Carmel T. The Prophetic Character of Eucharist. New Jesrsey: Wiley & Sons, 2001. Print.

Watts, James, and Paul House. Forming Prophetic Literature: Essays on Isaiah and the Twelve in Honor of John D.w. Watts. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1996. Internet resource.

The story ‘The Tale of two Cities’ written by Charles Dickens is considered to be dedicated to the disclosure of French Revolution period; it is the classic work representing the archetypal characters through the concepts of good and evil interaction, physical and moral courage. The paper will be concentrated on the analysis of the story central heroes, Charles Darnay, Sydney Carton, Lucie Mannette and Madame Defarge, combining the elements of violence and horror with the romanticism and realism style portrayed by Dickens.

Charles Darnay is depicted by Dickens as a French aristocrat, living in England through his inability to accept the injustice and cruelty of French social system. The character is the embodiment of moral values and greatest virtues by his rejection of uncle Marquis Evremonde’s snobbism. Darnay, who is presented as the protagonist of the story, is the expression of nobility and morality. Moving to London, he marries Lucie Manette and they have a little daughter Lucie.

‘He had loved Lucie Manette from the hour of his danger. He had never heard a sound so sweet and deer as the sound of her compassionate voice; he had never seen a face so tenderly beautiful, as hers when it was confronted with his own on the edge of the grave that had been dug for him.’ (Dickens 131)

The events surrounding the character are filled with envy, evilness and hatred; nevertheless, the power of love and deep moral values make the character remain just and faithful. Dickens depicts Darnay as a flat character; despite this fact, he undergoes only minor changes in the flow of the novel. It is interesting to note that the story beginning shows Darnay as a noble character with aristocratic behavior and fleeing to England.

But gradually then character is turned into a loving husband and devoted father, who is a generous and kind son-in-law and a considerate friend at the same time. His attempts to help the servant can be characterized as naïve and noble gesture making him returning to France at the period of revolution oppression. Being imprisoned and helpless, Darnay has no opportunities to help anyone and himself either. Only the character’s faithfulness and devotion, as well as honors and appreciation, expressed in the world perception and attitude to close people and society saved him through actions of Carton and Dr. Manette. (Chisick, 2000)

Sydney Carton is presented as an unrecognized lawyer and heavy drinker; physically the character resembles Darnay, nevertheless, he is quite different. Carton is shown as worthless human being having no high social position and loving family to who he can devote his life. The loneliness was the only friend of his accompanying the character’s thoughts and actions.

‘I care for no man on earth, and no man on earth cares for me.’ (Dickens, 99)

Nevertheless, it is necessary to stress that Carton never harmed anybody and even strived to provide some help he could. He helped in Darnay’s prosecution for treason allowing his colleague Stryver (a friend, who lacks ambitions and gets success due to Carton’s efforts) to reveal him. Carton’s assistance to people positioned the character as a positive personage; despite Carton’s slight hatred to Darnay through their mutual love with Lucie, he wished to become a friend of his, which characterizes carton as a kind-hearted person.

It is necessary to stress that Dickens managed to demonstrate Carton’s gradual changes in his attitude and position in the world; the novel events underline the idea that carton has got the real sense of life being ready to help others and even sacrifice his life. The depiction of Sydney Carton contributed to the central theme of the novel, underlining the symbolism of moral and physical courage. The readers gave an opportunity to see how people can sacrifice all they have for the only love of their love. Carton’s love for Lucie appeared to be the embodiment of happiness and greatest virtue. (Sims, 2009)

‘Think now and then that there is a man who would give his life, to keep a life you love beside you’ (Dickens, 184)

The fact that Carton gave his life for Darnay, Lucie’s husband, depicted him as a noble, generous, warm-hearted person who believed in the power of love and came to the self conclusion that his life sense was Lucie’s happiness, the only person he lived for. (Stout, 2007)

Lucie Manette seems to be an angel in the world of evilness and hatred; blue eyes and golden hair made the image of this character marvelous attracting attention of all men. Lucie, who is physically and spiritually beautiful, is considered to be ‘lesser developed’ character in the story possessing the best qualities and virtues. The readers have an opportunity to judge Lucie analyzing her actions and attitude to surrounding people, rather than words. She is the inspiration of loyalty and love; her character managed to connect the lives of Darnay, her husband, and Carton, who gave his life for his love to her, in the power of love.

‘I think, Charles, poor Mr. Carton deserves more consideration and respect than you expressed for him to-night… I fear he is not to be reclaimed; there is scarcely a hope that anything in his character or fortunes is reparable now… remember how strong we are in our happiness, and how weak he is in his misery?’ (Dickens 207)

The flatness of Lucie character does not push her to indifferent position in the story; she is an important figure who indirectly symbolizes unconditional compassion and love. It is necessary to stress that dickens uses this character to underline the power of love and spiritual wealth in the atmosphere of hatred and violence. Her rare dialogues in the novel do not make her actions transparent to the readers; the author managed to depict successfully the symbol of kindness and justice, which is also transferred to Lucia’ and Darnay’s daughter.

The character of Madame Defarge is considered to be unrelievedly horrible; she is illustrated as cruel revolutionary combining the features of aristocracy hatred with evilness expressed to everyone interacting with her interests.

‘Madame Defarge was a stout woman…, with a watchful eye that seldom seemed to look at anything, a large hand heavily ringed, a steady face, strong features, and great composure of manner.’ (Dickens 35)

It is necessary to stress that throughout the novel Madame Defarge is busy with making a list of those, who are to die for revolution. The character is depicted as blood-thirsty with the unbounded lust for vengeance. Dickens underlined the fact that Madame Defarge and her family used to suffer cruel oppression, influencing her worldview and attitude to the society.

‘…imbued from her childhood with a brooding sense of wrong, and an inveterate hatred of a class, opportunity had developed her into a tigress.’ (Dickens, 369)

It is necessary to stress that the flow of story events shows Madame Defarge as less than human, characterized by the features of Greek tragedy moral world. The early life experience resulted in the woman moral oppression and internal evilness expressed to people.

The author lets the readers to understand how people, who suffered deprivation and old regime oppression from the very childhood, change their perception of the surrounding environment and react violently to the opportunities they get. Reading ‘The Tale of Two Cities’ provides a clear connection between the people making the Revolution and those, who suffered its conditions. It is necessary to stress that Dickens success fully illustrated a memorable, powerful and chilling character through Madame Defarge depiction, who was concerned about the Revolution flow in England. (Patterson, 2009)

The analysis of four different lives in the story ‘The Tale of two Cities’ written by Charles Dickens gave an opportunity to the reader evaluate the features of the characters living in the same era. The characteristics presented above demonstrate the idea that Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton can be perceived as the dynamic characters, while Lucie Manette and Mrs. Defarge as static ones. Such a position underlines the fact that the author strived to depict female characters for the novel events and mood background, symbolizing the contrast of evil and good, hatred and justice. Dickens managed to centralize these characters even through their rare communicative roles and dialogues, making special stress on dynamism of Darnay and Carton in the play.

The novel ‘The Tale of two Cities’ appeared to be a valuable contribution to the world literature. This masterpiece is generally recognized on the international level, through the author’s successful description of the most important virtues of humanity.

The description of four different lives in one epoch, living under the pressure of old regime and French revolution, disclosed the way in which people can change through weak willed nature and lack of resistance to internal interference. Despite the focus on evil and cruelty promotion, Dickens brightly illustrated the victory of good and justice. The author managed to underline the importance of love, showing how his characters were ready to sacrifice everything they had for human virtues and this great feeling.

Works Cited

Chisick, Harvey “Dickens’ Portrayal of the People in A Tale of Two Cities.” European Legacy 5.5 (2000): 645. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web.

Dickens, Ch. “A Tale of Two Cities: Easyread Edition”. ReadHowYouWant. 584p. 2009.

Patterson, Frank M. “Dickens’s A tale of Two Cities” Explicator 47.4 (1989): 30. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web.

Stout, Daniel “Nothing Personal: The Decapitation of Character in A Tale of Two Cities.” Novel: A Forum on Fiction 41.1 (2007): 29. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web.

Sims, Jennifer S. “Dickens’s A TALE OF TWO CITIES.” Explicator 63.4 (2005): 219. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web.

Charles Dickens is a famous English writer-realist, the classic of world literature. His homeland was the town of Lendport located near Portsmouth, where he was born on February 7, 1812. In 1822, the Dickens family moved to London, where they happened to live in poverty, regularly selling household belongings. A 12-year-old Charles had to work hard for the pennies at the factory, although he was a gifted child.

The poverty of the family, in which six children grew up, influenced Dickens’ childhood. When his father was taken under arrest because of debts, Charles left his school and had a job as a copyist in a lawyer’s office. Later Dickens took the place of an independent reporter who worked in a court. A 24-year-old Dickens published his first collection of essays entitled “Sketches by Boz” (his pseudonym). In 1837, he made his debut as a novelist and released “The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club.” When married in 1836, Dickens and his wife sailed to Boston, where people greeted him as a very famous man in American cities.

In the 1850s, the author scored a triumph: Dickens achieved fame, influence, wealth. Since 1858, he regularly arranged public readings of his books. However, everything was not smooth in the writer’s family. Constant quarrels with his wife and illnesses of his eight children led to the fact that he fell in love with a young actress. A difficult personal life was combined with intensive writing work: during this period of the biography the novels that made a significant contribution to his literary glory appeared. A troubled life did not have a good impact on his health, but Dickens worked without paying attention to numerous diseases. His latest novel, “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” left unfinished: the writer died on June 9, 1870, in his estate as a result of a stroke. This English prose writer influenced the development of the genre of realism in the literature strongly, and his characters are known to the whole world today.

George Cruikshank drew 25 plates for Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist, the last of which had to be altered due to the author’s wishes. The final plate, known as the hearth plate was exchanged for another, depicting Rose and Oliver in a church. I believe that the last plate was changed because of its explicitly idyllic imagery. The last chapters of the novel were filled with dramatic and striking events, such as Monk’s death in prison and the accidental death of Sikes running from the police. These events gave the novel a dark and brooding tone, even though they served to punish the villains of the novel. Therefore, the somewhat pensive figures of Rose and Oliver on the new plate provided the novel with a wistful yet hopeful ending.

It is likely that Cruikshank’s hearth plate was slightly too sentimental and, therefore, incongruous with the general tone and atmosphere of the novel to be preserved. The plate depicted Oliver with Mr. Brownlow and the Maylies sitting before a fire in a comfortably furnished room. There is a sense of completion and a feeling of ease that is at odds with the novel’s grim and foreboding mood. Since Dickens reflected the dark realities of Victorian England, he would likely have preferred a final illustration that was more open to interpretation. The plate with Rose and Oliver in church captures the goodness and righteousness of Oliver’s new life without greater subtlety.

On the other hand, each of these visual endings provides a unique reflection of the written word. While the hearth plate captures the joys that Oliver must have experienced in finding a new family, the plate with the church provides a metaphor for the significant change in Oliver’s life. Accordingly, Oliver not only finds a family but renounces his criminal ways at the end of the novel. Moreover, Oliver starts to live a peaceful and morally virtuous life. The “church plate” is a suitable parallel to this change in lifestyle and outlook. Finally, this plate reflects the theme of lawful justice and God’s mercy, with the latter aptly symbolized by the church.

Introduction

It is quite a common technique for writers to make some elements in their literary works have complex natures and ambiguous meanings. For example, characters may receive some gifts that, on the one hand, are intended to help them but, on the other hand, can provoke negative consequences. Thus, in Charles Dickens’s 1860 novel Great Expectations, money that Pip receives as a goodwill gesture appears to be chains that forever bind him to an unwanted profession.

A Gift for Pip

Having great hopes and plans for the future, Pip wishes to follow his uncle-in-law’s lead and pursue a blacksmith career. Miss Havisham, focusing on her own objectives and motives, decides to reward Pip for his recent services and for being “a good boy here” (Dickens, Chapter 13). She gives him an amount of twenty-five guineas so that Pip can be sworn in at the court and become an official blacksmith’s apprentice, even though this money is not a necessity.

The Complex Nature of the Gift

Overall, this monetary reward has a double meaning and affects the plot differently. First, this gift proves the value and gumption of Pip, slightly improving his dignity in the eyes of his relatives. This money is what Pip earned fairly, and this is the goodwill gesture of Miss Havisham, so one may expect that the nature of the gift is entirely positive (Dickens, Chapter 13). However, the money causes Pip’s bond to the deal official and unbreakable, becoming his first disappointment and making the great expectations seem unreachable. The way that this gift contributes to the meaning of the novel as a whole is that it shows how money can trap people and promise them easy social mobility. The latter is actually another trap and leads to broken dreams and unachieved expectations.

Conclusion

To draw a conclusion, one may say that the dual nature of the gift Pip receives from Miss Havisham is evident. While money may seem like the best tool on one’s way to their goal, it often makes people do numerous unwanted things or become bound by a sense of duty. This is why Dickens needs this gift in the novel and gives such a role to money.

Work Cited

Dickens, Charles. “Great Expectations.” Gutenberg, 1998, Web.

Wilde portrays Victorian community as insincere, snooty and constricted. People are valued by their wealth and the communal position of their families. For instance Lady Bracknell is not too passionate about Algernon getting married Cicely until she attends to how rich Cicely is: Then she instantly portrays her as a rather “attractive young lady.” Wilde’s community, though apparently very customary and firm, is essentially quite worried about being destabilized by strangers: Lady Bracknell even evaluates Jack’s being found in a purse with “the worst immoderation of the French Revolution”

Oscar Wilde was simply the most infamous homosexual of the Puritanical Victorian era. His directness and ensuing trials pictured the conventional community to extreme examination. Despite the unconstructive conversations, the confusion made by Wilde assisted to fuel a later association towards acceptance of which Wilde could only have dreamed. His recommence entails the titles of performer, poet, novelist and convicted criminal.

The Victorian epoch was about technological growth. It was an effort aimed at cleaning up the community and establishing a moral standard. The Victorian era was a period of comparative peace and financial steadiness (Marshall 783). Victorians did not desire anything “unclean” or “improper” to obstruct with their notion of faultlessness. Therefore, this citation, taken from Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, rimming with homosexual suggestions, was regarded unfortunate.

Due to the time epoch’s standards, Oscar Wilde was made to hide behind a thin sheet of inference and parallel. Wilde was preoccupied with the perfect representation. Although he dressed more ostentatiously than the modern dress, it was to make an representation of himself. Wilde was frightened of illuminating his homosexuality as he knew that he would be disaffected and excluded from the community. Through his works, Oscar Wilde unreservedly reproduced his homosexual way of life as he feared the consequences from the conventional Victorian era in which he lived.

Dickens, nevertheless writing earlier than Wilde, essentially depicts a community in much more confusion. This is because he is narrating on the matters of Industrial Revolution, and his protagonists are mainly middle and working class unlike Wilde’s members of the aristocracy. In Hard Times “the self-made man” keeps all the force, and more “upper-class” people like Mrs Sparsit are made to live as scroungers. However, Dickens’ community is just as duplicitous as Wilde’s, as we see when Bounderby is debunked. Reader could contrast his condition with Jack’s.

The nineteenth-century Victorian novel series was a way for audience and writers to make a narrative last years and be talked about continuously like the day by day soap opera of this epoch. The serial is an constant story that is told over time by the means of repayments with disruptions or stops. Its history will give great realizing to just how significant Charles Dickens was to sequential newspaper and how significant serial publication was to nineteenth-century booklovers.

Nevertheless, the sequence was not just a matter of writing for mere amusement. It was more occupied in the way of life of the nineteenth-century people than it was thought to be. The pictures of life in the nineteenth-century were concentrated on increase, length, and wealth, and the serial demonstrated this. As the serial was a apparition and an angle on narrations about life in the Victorian times and society, it enlightened people of all social stratum, but particularly the middle class.

These people, like the temperaments in the narratives, were looking for betterment. The evaluations of serial novels depended on how well the narrations represented and imagined the life that subsisted in the Victorian times.

The sequence originally started as a way to evade an English tax. Newspapers were anticipating to pay a higher charge than they were originally paying on the manuscript they used to issue their work; they evaded the extra tax by using larger pages of paper and calling their newspapers brochures. However, these larger sheets had more space for text, and series filled up this unfilled space. The “London Spy,” the first series, was published in 1698. When the paper tax was lastly canceled, series continued as readers benefited from it so much. Newspapers and magazines alike entailed serials in their issuing in order to gain more purchasers; “a popular series could double readership”.

Publications of all categories, entailing serials, were decreased because of to the higher paper charges. Serial novels made a response in the Victorian era with Charles Dickens and his Pickwick Papers in 1836. It was publishers Chapman and Hall who offered Dickens the possibility to reveal his talent as a serial writer. They made a decision to issue a sequence of sporting pictures in installments with text describing each picture.

Thus, the audience selected its writer for itself, as Dickens’ narrations were close to reality and working class, who was reading those novels.

References

Foster, David. “Oscar Wilde, De Profundis and the Rhetoric of Agency.” Papers on Language & Literature 37.1 (2001): 85.

Gillespie, Michael Patrick. Oscar Wilde and the Poetics of Ambiguity. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 1996.

Nayder, Lillian. Unequal Partners: Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, and Victorian Authorship. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2002.

The first volume of Oliver Twist features one of the most famous Cruikshank’s plates. It depicts a scene from chapter two when Oliver asks for more food. Cruikshank portrays this scene vividly, in a manner that highlights the rebellious nature of Oliver’s action. Oliver is at the center of the picture, skinny and with a plate in his hand, whereas the master looks down at him with a mixture of anger and disbelief. In the background, we see the astonishment on the rest of the boys’ faces and the turmoil caused by Oliver’s plea.

The primary difference between the pictorial and the textual world here is that Dickens provides a somewhat humorous portrayal of the events, something we do not expect after seeing the picture. The author describes Oliver’s action as so bizarre that it attracts the attention of every person in the orphanage. Cruikshank, on the other hand, focuses on Oliver’s misery; he reflects the power that the master has over Oliver by emphasizing their size difference. Thus, Cruikshank represents the reality behind Dickens’ story, removing the humor and irony that are central to Dickens’ narrative.

A similar trend can be observed in chapter twenty-eight when a wounded Oliver is found at the front door of Mrs. Maylie’s house. Cruikshank’s picture depicts Giles, Brittles, and the rest of the servants opening the front door and seeing weak Oliver sitting on the porch. In the pictorial world, their figures look large and threatening compared to Oliver, who is skinny and small, so we expect to see a similar portrayal of characters in the text. Dickens, however, reveals the irony behind their aggressive appearance: “By the advice of Mr. Giles, they all talked very loud, to warn any evil-disposed person outside that they were strong in numbers […] the dogs’ tails were well pinched in the hall to make them bark savagely”. Dickens, therefore, provides us with an objective portrayal of the event, whereas Cruikshank concentrates on Oliver’s point of view to emphasize the threat.

Hard Times is one of Dickens explicit novels that majors on the story that turns to the workers of Coke town. This is a group of employees known as “The Hands” with a decent man by the name Stephen Balckbool living among them. The novel focuses on the mechanization of humans which suggests that 19^th century-England’s overzealous assumption of global industrialization has threatened to convert human beings into machines by frustrating the advancement of their emotions and imaginations (Dickens, 2016). The novel touches on the theme of opposition between fact and fancy and lastly, it dwells on the importance of femininity. The characters include Thomas Gradgrind, a school superintendent who advocates for an education system that believes purely on facts. Mr. Gradgrind is the main character in the novel whose trait is bold as depicted in the way he espouses rationalism, self interests and hard facts. He is typical to his trait by insisting on practicality in his family as indicated by how he raises his kids. Josiah Bounderby is a factory owner who is arrogant and pompous and always brags for being a self-made entrepreneur who could not settle for less with any one. He has hired persons such as Stephen who is ever poor despite working. Some of the reasons linked to such situations include poor remuneration and unpleasant working environment. Therefore, the novel addresses the woes encountered by humans for being turned machines in working places with regards to the rise of industrialization, a concept that has emerged with a lot of drawbacks than advantages. This has attracted a lot of conflicts and oppositions between fancy and facts in the contemporary society.

Sowing is the first book of Hard Times. It depicts events such as Dickens sowing plant seeds of the novel. In this regard, Dickens is intensively showcasing the important difference existing between fact and fancy. Therefore, he suggests that in whatsoever case, humans get forced to accomplish the same monotonous tasks concurrently, in an uninteresting, unremittingly deafening, and messy environment; and they will automatically end up becoming bored and unproductive (Dickens, 2016). Mr. Grandgrind strongly believes in facts and always works under this principle. He is bold in embracing it especially by teaching children nothing else, but the hard truth. He corrects all the unbecoming behavior of the people that are around him regardless of being his child or an ordinary employee. He condemns the virtue of fancy, and no one should embrace it at a lot (Makhloof, 2020). Sowing leaves one of the best messages that success is achieved through making sacrifices instead of depending on other people. This is true because overdependence is a sign of fancy and should be despised so that to avoid severe consequences like the one encountered by Mr. Grandgrind that ended up costing his life.

Reaping, being the second book of Hard Times, dwells more on the harvest of what has been sown by the characters into their lives. Most of the seeds sown by the characters have been associated with grief and sadness. They include dishonest, fact of fancy and unhappiness. Like in every life situation, there is different harvest for different seeds sown (Makhloof, 2020). The fact that people in every community pose different levels of wealth is responsible for the rise of social stratification, hence, high, middle and the poor classes. Some of the harvests depicted in the Reaping are events of amorality (Makhloof, 2020). It is evidenced by the fact that upon James’ arrival, he immediately shows the desire to seduce Louisa. This ended up forming a union meeting, with the expulsion that was served to Stephen’s by the company as a result of his hands.

Garnering is the last book of Hard Times and depicts the behaviors and whereabouts of the characters after Reaping and assembling all the pieces that scattered around them. On a light note, Garnering validates the end of the story by creating an avenue of accepting the fate of decisions made, be it bad or good (Makhloof, 2020). Sissy Jupe, for instance, is seen putting a lot of efforts in helping them address and cope up with the harvests they made in life. However, the coldness showcased by Tom and Louisa’s character traits had already been planted. Therefore, it is evident that little can be done to rectify such outcomes, especially when it is discovered that the two uneducated figures were seeking happiness. All the dehumanizing experiences have been accumulated, hence, depicted to the encounters of Tom Gradgrind such as robbing a bank, a heinous act that led to the false conviction of Stephen Blackbool (Dickens, 2016). It was a clear calculation and setup that was initiated by Tom to make Stephen, a poor and uneducated man loiter around Bounderby’s bank a night before the heinous act, hence, holding the first suspect.

In summary, all the books in the Hard Times address or rather describe how life looked like in the 19^th century in England. Typically, all the four books show that in England, at the stated century, life was full of logic and conformity. For instance, Sowing depicts what it takes to build a new life, the same way a new plant can be sown. All the characters in the books have been labeled different traits and the eventual outcome emerged as surprise because not all expectations were met. This is confirmed during Reaping that whatever an individual sown was definitely reaped and the reverse is certain. However, Garnering talks about how to handle the consequences of the outcomes of reaping what was sown. Considering the fact that not all that is sown will yield the expected outcomes, preparing people on the right ways of collecting themselves, assemble the broken pieces and accept that they are responsible for the decisions they made is what keeps them going.

References

Dickens, C. (2016) Hard times. Jewish Library & University National 3Jerusalem. Web.

Makhloof, S. (2020). Factual mentality vs. emotional make-up: A lexical featural analysis of characters’ dialogue in Charles Dickens’s Hard Times. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 9(4), 49-54.

A Visit to Newgate is a short story, a part of the Sketches by Boz collection. In this short story, Dickens portrays his life and his time, values of the society and its traditions. A Visit to Newgate suggests that where Dickens rejected earlier sketches it was not merely for lack of space; though it may of course have been thought advisable to attract readers by the inclusion of some unpublished material.

On the whole, it seems fair to regard work published by the beginning of November and omitted from the First Series of Sketches by Boz as deliberately rejected; though sketches published later might be left out simply for lack of space, since the new ones were by then already written. One published as late as 27 December 1835 was in fact included, but probably as an afterthought–‘Christmas Festivities’ (Fielding 44). There is no juxtaposition of sketches alike in subject matter; if there is any principle at work it is rather the emphasizing of variety. The second volume is slightly less miscellaneous in character, since ‘tales’ predominate (five old and two new), the other contents being two ‘Street Sketches’, four ‘Sketches of London’, and one ‘Scenes and Characters’.

A Visit to Newgate vividly portrays the social life and mores of people. A democratic tendency in education, politics, and economics resulted in a growing range of readers in the Victorian period. This growth, both in a number of readers and in a range of social, educational, and economic backgrounds they represented, propelled the variety of forms and prices for fiction as much as did develop technology and reforms in taxation on paper and print. The chapter begins as ‘THE force of habit’ is a trite phrase in everybody’s mouth” (Dickens 191).

Dickens portrays that with education reforms, increases in population, better and cheaper forms of printing, and economies of scale came to an increase in the amount of printed fiction that became available (the number of titles, the number of copies, and the range of literary quality) and in the variety of forms and prices that fiction took. Given the fraught condition of definition with which one is faced, it may equally be tempting to suggest that all novels are political, though all are not equally so. It might be said that some novels are born political, some become political, others have the political thrust upon them (Fielding 49).

An added footnote in ‘A Visit to Newgate’ explains that conditions have changed since the sketch was first published; on the other hand, another footnote complimenting Ainsworth on his portrayal of Dick Turpin in Rookwood, introduced since the first edition, is removed. The hinted prospect of further stories about Newgate’s goes out since the tally of Dickens’s early stories was now complete, and the collection would not be further enlarged.

This account of Dickens’s revisions is by no means exhaustive, and has been almost confined to points of substance; but it is enough to show that the suppression of the original versions in modern editions brings some loss of understanding, both of Dickens’s methods and of the very nature of the original sketches, which critics have followed Dickens rather than Forster in underrating (Newlin 132). The establishment of a critical text of the Sketches by Boz is surely a prerequisite for a true estimate of these ‘first sprightly runnings of his genius’. Dickens writes: The girl belonged to a class–unhappily but too extensive” (Dickens 195).

The mood of amusement in A Visit to Newgate is controlled by the principle that the fascination of everyday scenes has only to be recognized to be enjoyed. Pleasure is thus dependent on the disposition of the beholder; whether he be participant, spectator, or entertainer himself, a person’s enjoyment arises from his own readiness to respond to the abundance and variety of stimuli available. From this perspective, nothing is more ridiculous and self-defeating than willful taciturnity.

Conversely, the truest delight is to be gained by looking about in a spirit of cheerful speculation. Nowhere is this more evident than in ‘Meditations on Monmouth Street’, in which imagination magically transforms a somnolent scene, as Dickens conjures up a fanciful pantomime of living characters while staring at second-hand clothing hung up for sale (Fielding 65).

The source of interest was, he believed, inherent in the scenes themselves; as he said in the preface to the first series, A Visit to Newgate consisted of ‘little pictures of life and manners as they really are. Certainly, much of the appeal of the sketches resides in this evocation of reality; again and again, Dickens’s first readers praised his writing for the vividness and accuracy with which he animated familiar sights. As one early reviewer put it, ‘His excellence appears to lie in describing just what everybody sees every day. “Worn with watching and excitement, he sleeps, and the same unsettled state of mind pursues him in his dreams. (Dickens 204).

As a consequence of these attitudes, it follows that in ‘A Visit to Newgate’ entertainment is seen as an integral part of everyday life. It offers an extension of the fascination found in more mundane activity, differing only in that it caters specifically to amusement, whereas the pleasure derived elsewhere is generally incidental to the purported rationale of buying, selling, or getting from one place to another. Observing people going to the circus, theatre, or fair, and the people who do the entertaining in those places, Dickens finds bustle, noise, and absurdity, just as in more workaday situations. What he does not see to any significant extent is entertainment divorced from or in conflict with the social patterns he presents (Fielding 81).

So the nineteenth century was set off from earlier eras by the complex of social changes associated with the Industrial Revolution: the unprecedented urban development, the transformation of the English economy from a rural to an industrial base, and the breakdown of old relationships between employer and employee.. And, looking back over the cultural production of the nineteenth century, we can see that the dominant mode in which to engage in such explorations became the novel, primarily because of its capacity to integrate imaginative accounts of many diverse characters and events, to create an imagined community that spanned the dividing constructs of class in a manner relatively accessible to an ever-increasing literate audience. Dickens goes on to further establish the principle of connection that he has evoked to call for reform of social problems specific to urban society (Fielding 76).

Critics admit that one form of revision was simply mechanical: the removal of the original ‘series’ heading, and where necessary, as in the ‘Parish’ sketches, the provision of a new title. Almost equally formal was the re-paragraphing; the newspaper column was usually broken into only a few paragraphs. It is possible that this affected the original calculation of material to be included, and dictated some of the cuts (Newlin 132).

The material omitted from the sketches and tales would almost make a small volume on its own, and it is extraordinary that no attempt has been made to recover it for modern readers. It is not of course all of the equal interest; but no one who has read it would willingly lose the first half of the sketch of ‘The Prisoners’ Van’, a passage not only exceptionally racy and vivid but providing the best early example of Dickens’s trick of dealing with low life in a detached and whimsical style. Setting this besides other changes, one is tempted to wonder whether discretion sometimes dictated the omission of a closing paragraph (Fielding 71).

And lest his interest appears merely frivolous Dickens leavened the volume with a few sketches which examined scenes decidedly not entertaining. These were tales of degradation, abandonment, and death, and Dickens’s letters show that he set great store by them. Two, ‘A Visit to Newgate’ and ‘The Black Veil’, were composed specifically for the first collected edition, and a third, ‘The Drunkard’s Death’, was written with ‘great pains’ for the second series, to appear in the final position in the sequence (Fielding 46).

Although privately he wrote to Catherine Hogarth that visiting the prisons had supplied him with ‘lots of anecdotes…some of them rather amusing, in the essays themselves he was explicit in rejecting amusement as an appropriate response. They were evidently quite gratified at being thought worth the trouble of looking at; their idea appeared to be” (Dickens 207). Like the majority of the sketches, the dark essays were based on observation and inspired by ‘curiosity (199), but in disclaiming entertainment they stand in sharp contrast to the dominant mood of the book and serve thereby to discriminate the morally acceptable range of experience conducive to pleasure (Newlin 152).

The air of reality depends crucially, of course, on the quality of Dickens’s prose style and on his mediating presence as narrator in the sketches, genially guiding our attention to scenes of interest and pointing out colorful and amusing details.

Modern commentators have insisted upon the artifice with which this impression of reality is created. t ‘A Visit to Newgate’ is distinctive in the ‘rhetorical relationship’ which Dickens establishes with the reader in order to distill the ‘essence’ of a scene; The dynamic interrelation of spectator and spectacle means that the quality of the experience is to be found, as Wordsworth proclaimed in ‘Tintern Abbey’, in ‘what they half create,/And what perceive’ (Newlin 132).

In sum, Newgate shows readers what is missing from Saintsbury’s account of the novel, and from the “entire possible ground” of a normative, middle-class kind of novel: radical, demotic, disruptive, even pathological styles and energies of narration, surfacing in these new, unrespectable genres from urban popular culture. It is no reflection on the intrinsic quality of a genre or individual work, meanwhile, that it did not perpetuate itself in a tradition.

The didactic version of domestic fiction would remain a strong tradition well into the Victorian period, especially in association with the dissenting and radical journalism that flourished after the 1832 Reform Act. New periodicals, aimed at middle-class and even working-class readers, carried fiction in aid of social-reformist causes, and they proved especially hospitable to women writers, who were able to engage in public debate under the cloak of journalistic anonymity.

Works Cited

1. Dickens, Ch. Sketches by Boz. Books, Inc., 1868.
2. Fielding, K. J.; Charles Dickens: A Critical Introduction. Green, 1958.
3. Newlin, G. Every Thing in Dickens: Ideas and Subjects Discussed by Charles Dickens in His Complete Works. Greenwood Press, 1996.