Concetti Chiave
- Charles Dickens overcame a difficult childhood, working in a factory at 12 due to his father's imprisonment for debt, before later attending school in London.
- He started his career as a newspaper reporter and adopted the pen name "Boz" to publish his early works, gaining popularity with "The Pickwick Papers".
- His novels often center on lower-class characters, using caricature and stereotype to engage readers, and children frequently serve as moral guides.
- Through his writing, Dickens aimed to raise awareness of social issues affecting the poor, achieving this without alienating middle-class readers.
- Renowned for his vivid and effective use of language, Dickens is celebrated as one of the greatest novelists in English literature.
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth in 1812. He had a sad childhood, since his father was imprisoned for debt and he was put to work in a factory at the age of 12. As his father was released and the family's economic situation improved, he was sent to school in London. At the age of 15 he started working as an office boy and studied at night. By 1833 he had become a successful newspaper reporter of parliamentary debates in the House of Commons.
In order to write in newspapers he adopted a pen name “Boz” and wrote “Sketches by Boz”, in which he described London's people and scenes for a periodical, immediately followed by “The Pickwick Papers”, which was published in instalments, and after its success Dickens started a full career as a novelist, even if he continued his journalistic and editorial activities. The most known work of his is “Oliver Twist”, which was begun in 1837 and continued in monthly instalments, that's why it lacked organity in the plot and many characters were left over on the way if the readers didn't like them.His most important works are Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, which are about children exploitation, and Hard Times, about the condition of the poor and the working class in general. He then died in 1870 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
In Dickens' novels the hero doesn't belong to middle class no more, on the contrary lower classes are now in the middle of the story. Dickens creates caricatures in order to arouse the reader's interest, but in this way he creates stereotypes. He was always on the side of the poor, the outcast and the working class, moreover children are always the most important characters of his novels, indeed their wisdom is opposed to their parents' worthlessness, they become moral teachers, who show how people should behave to one another.
Dicken's aim was to spread knowledge about the poor's condition without offending the middle class reader, which was achieved, indeed the ruling classes became aware of the social problems.
Dickens employed the most effective language and accomplished the most powerful and graphic descriptions of life and character ever attempted. This was achieved through a careful choice of adjectives, repetitions, juxtapositions of images, and hyperbolic and ironic remarks. Therefore he is considered the greatest novelist in the English literature.
Domande da interrogazione
- Qual era l'obiettivo principale di Charles Dickens nei suoi romanzi?
- Quali sono alcune delle opere più importanti di Charles Dickens e di cosa trattano?
- Come Dickens riusciva a coinvolgere i lettori nei suoi romanzi?
L'obiettivo principale di Dickens era diffondere la conoscenza delle condizioni dei poveri senza offendere i lettori della classe media, sensibilizzando le classi dominanti sui problemi sociali.
Alcune delle opere più importanti di Dickens includono "Oliver Twist" e "David Copperfield", che trattano dello sfruttamento dei bambini, e "Hard Times", che affronta le condizioni dei poveri e della classe lavoratrice in generale.
Dickens coinvolgeva i lettori creando caricature per suscitare interesse, utilizzando un linguaggio efficace e descrizioni potenti e grafiche della vita e dei personaggi, attraverso una scelta accurata di aggettivi, ripetizioni, giustapposizioni di immagini e osservazioni iperboliche e ironiche.
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