THE LIFE AND WORKS OF CHARLES DICKENS essays

THE LIFE AND WORKS OF CHARLES DICKENS essays According to Edgar Johnson, in the novels of British writer Charles Dickens (1817-1870) "there is evidence that his troubled childhood left its mark upon the man and his works. The sense of power and the self-assertion, combined with an inadequacy for self-criticism, were perhaps compensations for the frustrations of his early years" (26). Generally considered as one of the greatest writers of the Victorian era, Charles Dickens' novels "are characterized by attacks on social evils, injustice and hypocrisy" (Books and Writers, Internet) which may be a reflection of his lower middle-class upbringing. In addition, Dickens is "probably the best known and most popular of British 19th century novelists," due to not only "the quality of his writing. . . but also to the widespread adaptation of his work for the stage and screen" (Catharton Authors, Internet). Though born on the South coast of England, Dickens was quite young when his parents brought him to live on the outskirts of London. His father was an ineffectual person with much debt that landed him in prison; his mother Elizabeth taught him to read early in life and some of the popular novels which he read were Tom Jones, The Vicar of Wakefield, Don Quixote and Gil Blas, some of which inspired him to write his first tale "Misnar" that was loosely based on the "Tales of the Genii" (Golden Books, Internet). At nine years of age, Dickens was apprenticed in a warehouse which was a very humiliating experience for such a sensitive, intelligent boy. After two years, better family fortunes enabled him to continue his schooling, but his real education came from his readings and wanderings in London along the Thames River. In 1827, Dickens was placed to a solicitor (a lawyer) and mastered shorthand and attended various sessions of the English court. He later became a re...