David Copperfield

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David Copperfield

‘David Copperfield’ is a heart warming, Victorian novel that is partly based on the life of Charles Dickens.

David’s naïve mother, a dear surrogate parent called Peggotty and no Father unfortunately, let David experience the wonders of early childhood until the Mr Murdstone and his sister came along to wreck any known happiness.  The time in London was cruelly spent with the help of a private school but all worked out in the end thanks to Mr Micawber and David’s feminist Aunt, Betsey Trotwood.  The dirty, filthy life that the young lad followed was washed away and never returned again.

Charles Dickens chose to write about children as it created pathos and drama for his readers.  Also, I think the other reason that children are used as a focus is because it reflects on Dickens’ life as a child.  It is all very similar to his life and the way that he grew up.  The lives of children were extremely hard back in Victorian times and the fact that Dickens was a journalist made him realise the hardship that children went through day by day, hour by hour.

All of this, I imagine, he wanted to bring to the attention of his readers.

Poor young David Copperfield grew up with no shadow figure to give him guidance into life.  All this young boy had was a, “white gravestone in the churchyard” which is the remains of his kind-hearted father who sadly left before David entered the world.  Although he had no second parent to look up to, never for a moment was David bitter or angry that he was left.  We can sense melancholy in his feeling or sadness and despair.  As Mr Murdstone begins to welcome himself into David’s life, he soon realises that the only Father he wants is his own blood Father, who would have cared and nurtured him until his dying day.

The young Mr Copperfield missed out on many things such as father and son talks.  That’s why I believe that David is just a bit overly sensitive, because he spent most of his days with Maid Peggotty and Mother Clara.  A new experience like Mr Murdstone bullied ‘Davey’ into leaving his friendly and warming home in which many memories, including his deceased Father, lay.

Clara was David’s young Mother who gave birth to him at a very young age.  She is inexperienced, immature, feeling abandoned and vulnerable because of her loss.  That is why she falls into the arms of Mr ‘Evil’ Murdstone, who provides money and good health, but also strict rules and upsetting consequences.

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A posthumous David had a remarkable relationship with his young Mother that only they could share.  The deal of her husband months before David was born brought an immense connection between the two and nothing could tear them apart.

Clara and her young treasure had great fun together.  They would play together for hours on end. Although Clara was fun, she could also be indulgent at times which left Peggotty in charge. When David was naughty or irresponsible his Mother doesn’t approve of reprimanding him, so when Mr Murdstone arrives David gets quite a shock at the strict rules. ...

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