The Life of Charles Dickens Essay Example For Students

The Life of Charles Dickens Essay The Life of Charles DickensCharles Dickens was a nineteenth-century novelist who was and still isvery popular. He was born in Landport, a region of Portsmouth, on February 7,1812 (Kyle 1). Charles Dickens was the son of John Dickens and Elizabeth Barrow. JohnDickens was a minor government official who worked in the Navy Pay Office. Through his work there, he met Elizabeth and eventually married her. By 1821,when Charles was four months old, John Dickens could no longer afford the renton his house. John Dickens loved to entertain his friends with drinks andconversation. Throughout his life, he was very short of money and in debt. Heoften had to borrow money to pay off the debt and borrow more money to pay offthe people he borrowed the money from. Later on, John Dickens was transferredagain to work in the naval dockyard at Chatman. It was here that CharlesDickens earliest and clearest memories were formed (Mankowitz 9-14). We will write a custom essay on The Life of Charles Dickens specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Charles education included being taught at home by his mother,attending a Dame School at Chatman for a short time, and Wellington Academy inLondon. He was further educated by reading widely in the British Museum(Huffam). In late 1822, John was needed back at the London office, so they had tomove to London. This gave Charles opportunities to walk around the town with hisfather and take in the sights, sounds, and smells of the area. This gave himearly inspiration that he would use later on in his life when he started towrite (Mankowitz 13-14). James Lamert, the owner of a boot-blacking factory, saw the conditionsthat the Dickens family was going through. He offered Charles a job there andhe was paid six shillings a week which was reasonable at that time. Soon, hewas moved downstairs in the sweatshop-like room. Charles had been working atthe factory for less than two weeks when his father was arrested for debt. Hewas sent to debtors prison where he did work to pay off his debt. John paid forCharles lodging, but Charles had to pay for his food and everything else withthe six shillings he earned every week. The details of London and of prisonlife were imprinting themselves into Dickens memory and would one day help himin the novels he wrote. After John was in prison for three months, his motherdied leaving him enough money to get out of debtors prison (Mankowitz 20-22). Late in Charles teens, he became a court reporter. This introduced himto journalism, and he also became interested in politics. Some of his earlyshort stories and sketches, which were published in various London newspapersand magazines, were compiled in 1836 to form his first book, Sketches by Boz. This book sold well (Huffam). In 1837, he wrote another book called Posthumous Papers of the PickwickClub. It was written in monthly installments. Dickens had become the mostpopular author in England by the time the fourth installment was done. Thisperiod is now known as Dickens early period because of the interest he wasgaining for his novels. During this period, he wrote Sketches by Boz,Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, Oliver Twist (1838), The Life andAdventures of Nicholas Nickleby (1839), and The Old Curiosity Shop (1841)(Huffam). In 1842, Dickens traveled to the US hoping to gain support for hisliberal political ideas. He returned to England deeply disappointed. He wrotetwo books expressing how he felt about the US. These books mainly criticizedthe US for not having a copyright law, the acceptance of slavery, and thevulgarity of the people. These books were American Notes for GeneralCirculation (1842) and The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit (1844). .u4ec0ad1f8297e13c3cae75cb434231ee , .u4ec0ad1f8297e13c3cae75cb434231ee .postImageUrl , .u4ec0ad1f8297e13c3cae75cb434231ee .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u4ec0ad1f8297e13c3cae75cb434231ee , .u4ec0ad1f8297e13c3cae75cb434231ee:hover , .u4ec0ad1f8297e13c3cae75cb434231ee:visited , .u4ec0ad1f8297e13c3cae75cb434231ee:active { border:0!important; } .u4ec0ad1f8297e13c3cae75cb434231ee .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u4ec0ad1f8297e13c3cae75cb434231ee { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u4ec0ad1f8297e13c3cae75cb434231ee:active , .u4ec0ad1f8297e13c3cae75cb434231ee:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u4ec0ad1f8297e13c3cae75cb434231ee .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u4ec0ad1f8297e13c3cae75cb434231ee .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u4ec0ad1f8297e13c3cae75cb434231ee .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u4ec0ad1f8297e13c3cae75cb434231ee .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u4ec0ad1f8297e13c3cae75cb434231ee:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u4ec0ad1f8297e13c3cae75cb434231ee .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u4ec0ad1f8297e13c3cae75cb434231ee .u4ec0ad1f8297e13c3cae75cb434231ee-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u4ec0ad1f8297e13c3cae75cb434231ee:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Breast Cancer EssayChuzzlewit was a big failure, but many critics believed it was a criticalturning point in his career because he realized that greed corrupted the humansoul. This is known as his middle period. During this period, he became moreconcerned with human life (Huffam). The first book that would start Dickens middle period would be AChristmas Carol (1843). During his middle period, he wrote two more Christmasbooks. They were The Chimes (1844) and The Cricket on the Hearth (1845). Dealings with the Firm of Dombey and Son (1848) was his next novel. In thisnovel, he tries to show the dehumanizing effects of wealth, pride, andcommercial values. He would write another novel during this period called ThePersonal History of David Copperfield in 1850. The Life Of Charles Dickens Essay Example For Students The Life Of Charles Dickens Essay INTRODUCTION This report will talk about the life of a famous author, Charles Dickens. It will tell you about his early, middle, and later years of his life. It will also talk about one of his great works of literature. In conclusion, this report will show a comparison of his work to his life. EARLY LIFECharles Dickens was born at Landport, in Portsea, on February 7, 1812. His father was a clerk in the Navy Pay-Office, and was temporarily on duty in the neighborhood when Charles was born. His name was John Dickens. He spent time in prison for debts. But, even when he was freehe lacked the money to support his family. Then, when Charles was two they moved to London. 1 Just before he started to toddle, he stepped into the glare of footlights. He never stepped out of it until he died. He was a good man, as men go in the bewildering world of ours, brave, transparent, tender-hearted, and honorable. Dickens was always a little too irritable because he was a little too happy. Like the over-wrought child in society, he was splendidly sociable, and in and yet sometimes quarrelsome. In all the practical relations of his life he was what the child is at a party, genuinely delighted, delightful, affectionate and happy, and in some strange way fundamentally sad and dangerously close to tears. 2 At the age of 12 Charles worked in a London factory pasting labels on bottles of shoe polish. He held the job only for a few months, but the misery of the experience remain with him all his life. 3 Dickens attended school off and on until he was 15, and then left for good. He enjoyed reading and was especially fond of adventure stories, fairy tales, and novels. He was influenced by such earlier English writers as William Shakespeare, Tobias Smollet, and Henry Fielding. However,most of the knowledge he later used as an author came from his environment around him. 4MIDDLE LIFEDickens became a newspaper writer and reporter in the late 1820s. He specialized in covering debates in Parliament, and also wrote feature articles. His work as a reporter sharpened his naturally keen ear for conversation and helped develop his skill in portraying his characters speachrealistically. It also increased his ability to observe and to write swiftly and clearly. Dickens first book, Sketches b y Boz (1836) consisted of articles he wrote for the Monthly Magazine and the London Evening Chronicles.5 On April 2, 1836 he married Catherine Hogarth. This was just a few days before the anoucement that on the 31st he would have his first work printed in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. And this was the beginning of his career. 6 Then, at 24, Dickens became famous and was so until he died. He won his first literary fame with The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Published in monthly parts in 1836 and 1837 the book describes the humorous adventure and misadventures of the English Countryside. After a slow start, The Pickwick Papers as the book was usually called gained a popularity seldom matched in the history of literature. 7 Then in 1837, Catherines sister Mary, died. Because of her death Dickens suffered a lot of grief. This led some scholars to believe that Dickens loved Mary more than Catherine. Catherine was a good woman but she lacked intelligence. Dickens a nd Catherine had 10 children. Then later in 1858, the couple seperated. 8 LATER LIFEHis later years was basically consisting of two main additions to his previous activites. The first was a series of public readings and lectures which he began giving it systematically. And second, he was a successive editor. Dickens had been many things in his life; he was a reporter , an actor, a conjurer, a poet, a lecturer, and a editor and he enjoyed all of those things. 9 Dickens had a remarkable mental and physical energy. He recorded all his activites in thousands of letter, many of which made delightful readings. He spent much of his later life with crowded social friends from arts and literature. He also went to the theater as often as he could, cause heloved drama. Dickens also produced and acted in small theaters to give public readings of hiswork.10 Besides doing all this after his retirement he got involved in various charities . These charities included schools for poor children and a loan society to enable the poor to prove to Australia. 11 Then about 1865 his health started to decline and he died of a stroke on June 9, 1870. 12Dickens Work The Great Expectations This story talks about a guy who is in love with a girl. It is the theme of a youths discovery of the realities of life. An unknown person provides the young hero, Pip, with money so that he can live as a gentleman. Pips pride is shattered when he learns that he loses Estella forever, the source ofhis great expectation. Only by painfully revising his values does Pip reestablish his life on a foundation of sympathy, rather than on vanity, possesions, and social position. .u8d362b414abbb16a0643df0b8d3f4850 , .u8d362b414abbb16a0643df0b8d3f4850 .postImageUrl , .u8d362b414abbb16a0643df0b8d3f4850 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u8d362b414abbb16a0643df0b8d3f4850 , .u8d362b414abbb16a0643df0b8d3f4850:hover , .u8d362b414abbb16a0643df0b8d3f4850:visited , .u8d362b414abbb16a0643df0b8d3f4850:active { border:0!important; } .u8d362b414abbb16a0643df0b8d3f4850 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u8d362b414abbb16a0643df0b8d3f4850 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u8d362b414abbb16a0643df0b8d3f4850:active , .u8d362b414abbb16a0643df0b8d3f4850:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u8d362b414abbb16a0643df0b8d3f4850 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u8d362b414abbb16a0643df0b8d3f4850 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u8d362b414abbb16a0643df0b8d3f4850 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u8d362b414abbb16a0643df0b8d3f4850 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u8d362b414abbb16a0643df0b8d3f4850:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u8d362b414abbb16a0643df0b8d3f4850 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u8d362b414abbb16a0643df0b8d3f4850 .u8d362b414abbb16a0643df0b8d3f4850-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u8d362b414abbb16a0643df0b8d3f4850:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: What Brought Our Ancestors To America? Essay We will write a custom essay on The Life Of Charles Dickens specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Conclusion His work of Great Expectation is very related with his life. It deals with the same problems he faced when he lost Catherine and how his life was before he became rich and famous. He also created scenes and descriptions of places that have longed delighted readers. Dickens was a keenobserver of life and had a great underezding of humanity, especially of young people. The warmth and humor of his personality appeared in all of his works. Perhaps in no other large body of fiction does the reader receive so strong and agreeable impression of the person behind thestory. Endnotes1. G. K. Chesterton, Charles Dickens The Last of The Great Men, American Book-Stratford Press, NY., 1942 pg.192. Ibid, pg. 21-22 3. Johnson, Edgar, His Tragedy and Triumph. Rev. ed. Viking, 1977, pg. 204. Ibid, pg. 275. World Book Encyclopedia, Random House, NY., 1990 pg. 1936. G. K. Chesterton, Charles Dickens The Last of the Great Men, American Book-Stratford Press, NY., 1942 pg. 507. World Book Encyclopedia, Random House, NY., 1990 pg. 1938. Johnson, Edgar, His Tragedy and Triumph. Rev. ed. Viking, 1977, pg. 539. G. K. Chesterton, Charles Dickens The Last of the Great Men, American Book-Stratford Press, NY., 1942 pg. 16710. World Book Encyclopedia, Random House, NY., 1990 pg.195BIBLIOGRAPHYChesterton, G.K., The Last of the Great Men American Book-Stratford Press, NY., 1942. Johnson, Edgar, His Tragedy and Triumph Rev. ed. Viking, 1977. World Book Encyclopedia, Random House, NY., 1990