Ms. MitchellFreshman LiteraturePeriod 4

CHARLES DICKENS PRE-READING

CHARLES DICKENS’ EARLY LIFE

Charles John Huff am Dickens was born on February 7th 1812 in Landport, Hampshire, England

Parents: John and Elizabeth Dickens Had 8 Siblings (did not specify bothers or sisters) Went to a Dame School- a private elementary school

that was usually taught by women at their houses Also attended a school run by a Dissenter- Christians

who separated from the Church of England Always thought of himself as a- "very small and not-

over-particularly-taken-care-of boy"

ABOUT CHARLES

Moved 3 diff erent times in fi rst 11 years of life Spent a lot of time outdoors and reading Read novels by: Tobias Smollett and Henry Fielding Dad was sent to Debtors’ Prison- a prison for people

who can not pay off their debt Charles had to leave school and work at a Blacking

Warehouse because his dad was in prison. This helped pay for his shelter and support his family.

Elizabeth and some of the younger children went to prison with John

EARLY YEARS

He used his childhood memories as inspiration for his writing

EX: he used the prison his dad stayed at as the setting for Little Dorrit

EX: the attic he lived in helped him describe the Garlands very well in The Old Curiosity Shop

INFLUENCES ON HIS WRITING

VICTORIAN PERIOD

BASICS OF THE VICTORIAN ERA

• Time Period: Reign of Queen Victoriao June 20, 1837- January 22, 1901

• Literary qualities: o Styles- romantic and mystical

religion social values art

Queen Victoria

LIFE DURING VICTORIAN ERA

• Daily Life:o Football o Poverty o Prostitution and Child Labor

• Population Growth:o Britain- 13.9 million (1831) to 32.5 million (1901)o Wales- 16.8 million (1851) to 30.5 million (1901)o Scotland- 2.8 million (1851) to 4.5 million (1901) o Ireland- 8.2 million (1841) to less than 4.5 million (1901)

• Entertainment:o Theater and Artso Circuso Clubso Natureo Paranormal Events

Aston Villa FC, 1890’s

Astley’s Amphithe

atre

SCIENCE AND MEDICINE

• Technological Advancementso Communication increase in idea exchangeo Transportation increase in trade exchangeo Sanitation increased lifespano Heat & Light more comfortable lifestyle

• Medical Advancementso Anaesthetics painless operationso Waterloo teeth allowance of sugaro Disinfectants increased cleanliness

Steamboats

Waterloo

Teeth

HIS WRITING

PICKWICK PAPERS

- Dickens’ fi rst novel- “Boz”- serial publication

- published separately- chronological order

- according to audience’s reactions

INFLUENCE

- Dickens = role model- writers inspired by stories- A Christmas Carol, The Pickwick Papers, A Tale of

Two Cities (best-selling)- “Dickensian” = reminiscent of Dickens

PAST AND PRESENT

- very well regarded- works are still popular- plays

DICKENS’ CHARACTERS

CHARLES DICKENS CHARACTERS

3a) How does Dickens reflect himself in his characters?

Dickens’ characters reflected his childhood and his personali ty. Dickens grew up in a poor family with a father who could not handle money well . He was then sent to work in a factory, which he hated. Dickens believed that he was an unintel l igent boy who had great potential but never got to show it because of his circumstances. As a result , his characters reflected all of the different emotions and trauma from his childhood.

He worked in a factory shortly after his father was arrested because he could not repay his debts. In addit ion, the rest of his family was put in jai l . This served as his trauma.

3b) What makes Dickens characters timeless?

His characters are t imeless because Dickens l iked to observe human nature. From these observations, Dickens created many unique characters with special aspects that appealed to his audiences.

3c) What role does human nature play in his characters? Avid observer of human nature: depict characters who have the same struggles he

had Common theme: young boys struggling for better l ives Theme very personal to Dickens- endured similar s truggles

3d) What significance does the naming of characters have? Not interested in “journey to wisdom”- instead types of people/behaviors Characters and descript ions relate to reader of people they may know Types of people- gave names reflect ing act ions/ personali ty (example: “The

Sourberrys” from Oliver Twist)

3e) How did Dickens feel about copyright laws? Copyright: legal right authors protected from others steal ing their works Dickens very interested in copyright Traveled America- saw people sell ing his books without paying for them Felt as if he had poured his l i fe into his books Thought he should be paid for books sold

PHYSIOGNOMY4a) Definit ion of physiognomy.

Physiognomy: (noun) the appearance or facial structure of a character which gives insight to their personali ty or behavior

4b) What does it mean when writers l ike Charles Dickens used physiognomy? Physiognomy was used to reveal part of the characters nature through

physical descript ion Dickens would describe his characters in a way to show the readers what their

personali t ies may be l ike

4c) Create a character using physiognomy to depict their nature.

The bi t ter old woman stood next to the house in such a rage i t was almost comical to watch. Her heavily l idded eyes were shiny and dark, and her mouth was curled into a permanent scowl with deep wrinkles running up and down her cheeks. The old woman’s stained and yel lowing teeth were completely rot ten, for they were covered in spi t t le and god knows what else. She was a terribly revolt ing hag, inside and out .

DICKENS AND SOCIAL CRITICISM

WRITING AS A TOOL FOR SOCIAL CRITICISM

• Defi nition of Social Criticism• Dickens’ use of Social Criticism • Examples created by Dickens include:

• Criticism of abused children/orphans

• Oliver Twist

• The Old Curiosity Shop

• Criticism of the use of drugs/alcohol

• David Copperfield

• Sketches by Boz

• Criticism of prejudice and social class

• Great Expectations

• Criticism of hypocrisy

• The Pickwick PapersAlex Claman

HOW AND WHY SPECIFIC SOCIAL ISSUES INFLUENCED DICKENS

• Dickens was critical of his childhood experienceso Experienced poor working conditionso Impoverished familyo Dissatisfied with his education

• In his literature, Dickens commented on:o Child abuseo Povertyo Poor education

PRESENT-DAY WRITING AND SOCIAL CHANGE

• Social criticism still in use

• Diff erent forms of entertainment with s. criticism

• Examples of modern social criticism:o Suzanne Collinso Theodor Geisel “Dr. Seuss”

CHILD LABOR AND POVERTY

Poverty in England was caused by a huge population surge to cities due to the Industrial Revolution.

More jobs were created, reducing the wages of the workers. A slum house was a large house that was rented out by a rich

landlord to less fortunate humans, which had turned into a slum when they stopped managing these houses.

A Workhouse is a place where the poor found shelter and employment. This was on a need basis. Workhouses were eventually turned into hospitals, and then fi nally abolished in 1948.

A chimney sweep is used for clearing out soot and ash from inside a chimney to make sure that the house does not catch fi re.

Children were used as a chimney sweep because they were small and could fi t in the small space of the chimney. They began as early as the age of four.

Children could get stuck and suff ocate inside a chimney. They could also get diff erent lung problems and cancers. Their spines and feet would become twisted from being in awkward positions for a extended periods of time.

POVERTY & CHILD LABOR

Typically, the average work day for a child was 16 hours The Factory Acts were a set of laws passed by the UK

Parliament beginning in 1802 to limit the working hours of kids to 12 hours a day in factories and cotton mills

These laws were very ineff ective because there was no means of enforcement by the government

Many people were outraged and agitated with the ineff ective laws

Groups like the “Short Time Committees” fought back, leading to a Royal Commission (public inquiry) in 1833 which said that children from ages 11-18 should work a maximum of 12 hours per day, children ages 9-11 should work a maximum of 8 hours per day and children under 9 years old should not be put to work at all

This act only applied to the textile industry, so in 1847, another act was passed stating that all adults and children should be limited to 10-hour work days

WORK HOURS AND THE FACTORY ACTS

OTHER JOBS FOR CHILDREN

Children could also be Coal mine workers or factory laborers.−Coal mines: One of the worst and dirtiest jobs. Children started work at age 5 and usual died by age 25.−Factory laborers: children as young as 4 were used to go under machinery and receive small parts.

Life expectancy varied for different jobs, but most people died before the age of 30.

DICKENS’ LATER LIFE

a. -Dickens was involved in the Staplehurst Rai l Crash. -The train derai led from its track. -The writer’s health was negatively aff ected. -The crash gave him inspiration for his later work, “The Signal Man” -He never ful ly recovered.

b. -On November 9th, 1867, Dickens sai led from Britain to Boston. -He visited and dined with famous writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson,

Henry Wadsworth Longfel low, and his American publ isher James Thomas Fields.

-He kept busy travel ing between New York and Boston and making numerous readings.

-Apri l 18th, 1868, Dickens made his fi nal appearance at a banquet the American Press held in his honor. At the banquet, he promised to never wrongly accuse America of anything else again.

-Dickens saw a signifi cant change in the people and the circumstances of America.

-At the end of the tour, Dickens was in poor health and could barely keep down sol id foods.

c. The Mystery of Edwin Drood was Dickens last novel that was unfi nished when he died. I t is a murder mystery set in Cloisterham. It is about a character named John Jasper who is a choirmaster. He is in love with his pupi l Rosa Bud. However, Drood later disappears after Rosa Bud catches the eye of a hot-headed man named Nevi l le Landless.

d. - In a weak state, his last publ ic performance was to Edward VI I and Alexandra of Denmark.

-He read two of his works, A Christmas Carol and The Trial from Pickwick.

e. Dickens died on June 9 1870 of a stroke at Gad’s Hi l l P lace I t was exactly 5 years after the the Staplehurst rai l crash to the day

f. He is buried at Poets’ Corner of Westminister Abbey in London- Jane Austen - Geoff rey Chaucer- Charlotte + Emily Bronte - Robert Browning

g. 1). His works are st i l l appl icable to today’s society and l i fe 2). He created some Engl ish l i terature’s most famous

characters:Ol iver twist, Litt le Nel l 3). Provides insight into the world, especial ly about poverty and

charity