Charles Dickins Essay, Research Paper
CHARLES DICKENS Charles Dickens is a famous British novelist, born on Friday, February 7, 1812, in Portsea England, to John Dickens, a clerk in the navy pay office, and Elizabeth Dickens. Charles Dickens was the second of eight children. As a child Dickens attended school in Chatham, London. Dickens found many of his inspirations in his own fathers library. Dickens was the author of many great works including books such as David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, Little Dorrit, and many others. Dickens was most often known as a well acclaimed novelist. Dickens married Catherine Hogarth and had ten children. Dickens had notable success with novels such as Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities. However, Dickens suffered setbacks and disappointment upon his fathers two arrests for debt and his parents death, among other things. Dickens received world-wide acclaim with his public reading of his works in Paris and London. Dickens style was influenced by the guidance of his father in his early years. Dickens was also influenced by wandering the streets of London, being exposed to the dockyards, convicts, and the drab sections of the city that were inhabited by the poor. Dickens was born at 387 Mile End Road, in Portsea, England, on February 7, 1812. Dickens is the son of John Dickens, a clerk in the navy pay office, and Elizabeth Dickens (Hardwick 191). Dickens was the second of eight children (Cournos 42). Frances Elizabeth Dickens, born in 1810 and died in 1848, is Dickens eldest sister. Alfred Dickens, born in 1813, is Dickens first brother. Alfred Dickens died in infancy. Dickens second sister, Letita Mary Dickens, was born in 1816 and died in 1893. Harriet Ellen Dickens, born in August of 1819, is Dickens third sister. Harriet Ellen Dickens died in infancy. Frederick William Dickens, born in 1820 and died in 1868, is Dickens second brother. Alfred Lambert Dickens, Charles Dickens third brother, was born in 1822 and died in 1860. Augustus Dickens, the last of John and Elizabeth Dickens children, was born in 1820 and died in 1868. Augustus Dickens is Dickens fourth brother (Hardwick 191-219). Dickens attended school in Chatham, London as a child (Cournos 42). Dickens began his education at William Giles?s School, in Chatham (Hardwick 194). Dickens mother, Elizabeth Dickens, taught him to read and gave him a grounding in Latin. As Dickens got older she was not able to do much for him because between 1810 and 1822 she had seven children, and an eighth in 1822 (Cournos 42). Dickens?s mother, Elizabeth Dickens, tried to open a school for the children of parents living in India, but not a single pupil came. Because of this, debts were piling up, Dickens had to sell his books to help pay for the debts. By age twelve, Dickens had a job in a blacking factory. Dickens left school at fifteen, he stepped into a job as an errand boy in a lawyers office at fifteen shillings a week (Cournos 42-43). Dickens found many of his inspirations in books such as henry fieldings Tom Jones, Tobias G. Smollett?s Roderick Random and Peregrine Pickle, Oliver Goldsmith?s The Vicar of Wakefield, LeSage?s Gil Blas, Daniel Defoe?s Robinson Crusoe, and Cervantes? Don Quixote. Dickens read all of these novels avidly. These books left an indelible impression on Dickens and influenced him greatly in writing his own books. Dickens found most of these inspirations in his own fathers library (Cournos 42). Dickens used his hardships during his life as inspirations also. As a child Dickens had many hardships and he used many of his hardships as examples in his own books (Magill 297). Dickens wrote many novels in which most were well acclaimed. All of Dickens?s novels are great literary accomplishments, some of Dickens most famous novels are Sketched by Boz, 1836; Oliver Twist, 1838; Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, 1839; A Christmas Carol, 1843; The Personal History of David Copperfield, 1850; Little Dorrit, 1857; A Tale of Two Cities, 1859; Great Expectations, 1861; The Mystery of Edwin Drood, 1870; plus many more (Kunitz 184). Dickens is primarily known as a novelist. Dickens has had many other jobs besides being a novelist but he is not known for the other jobs he has had. By age twenty Dickens was a competant parliamentary reporter in the House of Commons (Cournos 44). In 1826 Charles Dickens wrote for the British Press, but the paper failed at the end of the year. In 1827 Dickens joined Ellis & Blackmore as a solicitor?s clerk. By 1829 Dickens had learnt shorthand and had become a freelance reporter at Doctors? Commons, sharing Thomas Charlton?s box to report legal proceedings. In 1831 Dickens was working for John Henry Barrow, his uncle, reporting for the Mirror of Parliament. By 1832 Dickens had become a reporter for an evening paper, the True Sun. In 1833 Dickens became a reporter for the Monthly Magazine. In 1835 Dickens became a reporter on the Morning Chronicle. After 1836 Dickens primarily worked on his books and sold them, Dickens did not do much work for others after 1836 (Hardwick 196-197). Around age twenty, Dickens fell in love with Maria Beadnell, his first love, Dickens met Beadnell in 1830. Dickens and Beadnell stayed together until May, 1833. In 1834 Dickens met Catherine Hogarth, his future wife, whom was born in 1815. In May 1835 Dickens and Hogarth became engaged. On April 2, 1836 Dickens married Catherine Hogarth at St. Luke?s Church, Chelsea. In February, 1824 John Dickens, Charles Dickens?s father, was arrested for debt. John Dickens was imprisoned in Marshalsea. In November of 1834 John Dickens was arrested for debt yet another time. John Dickens was detained at a sponging-house (Hardwick 194-195). In 1837 Charles Culliford Boz Dickens, Dickens?s first child, is born. Charles Culliford Boz Dickens died in 1896. In 1838 Dickens eldest daughter, Mary Angela Dickens, is born. Mary Angela Dickens died in 1896. Dickens?s third child, Kate Macready Dickens, is born, in 1839, and died in 1929. Dickens?s fourth child, Walter Landor Dickens, is born, in 1841, and died in 1863. Dickens?s fifth child, Francis Jeffrey Dickens is born, in 1844, and died in 1886. Dickens?s sixth child, Alfred D?Orsay Tennyson Dickens, is born, in 1845, and died in 1912. Dickens?s seventh child, Sydney Smith Haldimand Dickens, is born, in 1847, and died in 1872. Dickens?s eighth child, Henry Fielding Dickens, is born, in 1849, and died in 1933. Dickens?s ninth child, Dora Annie Dickens, is born, in 1850, but died in 1851 from convulsions during infancy. Dicens?s tenth and last child, Edward Bulwer Lytton Dickens, was born, in 1852, and died in 1902. In 1858 Charles and Catherine Dickens separated. Catherine Dickens died, after Charles Dickens?s death on June 9, 1870, from cancer (Hardwick 226-228). Dickens had much success with many of his novels. Dickens got world-wide acclaim with his public readings of his works in Paris and London. Dickens also had success just from peoples good reviews of his works. Dickens also had disappointments when people criticized his works or when people judge did not like the novels that he wrote (Vinson 327). Dickens had much literary acclaim. Dickens was asked to speak at many different dinners and read his own works at the dinners because they were so well liked (Kunitz 183). In many of Dickens?s works he used his fathers character to show examples of irresponsible characters. Dickens used his fathers personality to act as Little Dorrit?s father, an irresponsible man, in Little Dorrit. Dickens also used his fathers personality to show an irresponsible character in David Copperfield. Dickens used many of the memories of his childhood, growing up poor and living in many different areas, in his works. Dickens also used things that he saw in Paris and London to set themes for many of his works (Abrams 293).
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WORKS SITED Abrams, M.H., etal., eds. The Norton Anthology of English Literaure. Vol. 2. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1962. Cournos, John, and Sybil Norton. Famous British Novelists. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1966. Hardwick, Michael., ed. The Charles Dickens Encyclopedia. Berkshire: Osprey Publishing Limited, 1973. Kunitz, Stanley J., ed. British Authors of the Nineteenth Century. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1936. Magill, Frank N., ed. Masterpieces of World Literature. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1989. Siepmann, Katherine Baker., ed. Benet?s Reader?s Encyclopedia. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1987. Vinson, James., ed. Novelists. New York: St. Martins Press, 1979.