How Dickens creates a picture of nineteenth Century school in 'Nicholas Nickleby'.

How Dickens creates a picture of nineteenth Century school in 'Nicholas Nickleby'. This essay demonstrates how Charles Dickens, the author of the novel 'Nicholas Nickleby' creates an image of the 19th century school Dotheby's Hall School for Boys. Also I will be discussing the conditions of the school, the description of the boys and the protagonists (Mr. Squeers, Smike and Nicholas.) In the 19th century the rich students were treated pleasantly because they had the money to pay the school however the poor students were treated harshly. Also, in the 19th century there was no social service so the teachers could do as they wished to the students. When Dickens was writing this novel, conditions in schools would have been terrible because in the 19th century there would still have been corporal punishment. The divide between rich and poor people as the poor people could not afford to pay so the teachers would make them work but the rich were treated superior because they had the money to pay for the school. In the novel, Dickens shows how one man can change everything about Dothebys Hall School for Boys and help the disadvantaged children in need. However, the surroundings of the school are described to be dirty and old, for example when Dickens describes the desks in the classrooms to be 'old and rickety' this portrays that the school is poorly kept and unbearable to see.

  • Word count: 861
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Nicholas Nickleby

'Nicholas Nickleby' Coursework In my introductory comments, I would like to talk about the background of Dickens and how he attempts to influence social change in his novel "Nicholas Nickleby". Charles Dickens was born in Landport, Hampshire, during the turbulent times of the Industrial revolution. These were times of extreme wealth and poverty a huge number of people lived in terrible circumstances, while small number had great privilege it was also a period of great social and moral hypocrisy where the respectable classes where desperate to avoid scandal and disgrace. This explains why Squeers could get away with the horrible things he did to the children. Dickens himself had suffered poverty and humiliation. His father was jailed for bankruptcy and debt he was sent to Marshalea debtor's prison. Dickens worked at a 'Blacking Factory' and saw the underbelly of London life- the experience helped him populate his novels with thieves, prostitutes, pickpockets and fraudsters this allowed dickens to see how the under class were treated. And how the legal court welfare system dealt with the 'undeserving punishments' Dickens wanted to encourage social change and improvement by making his readers (i.e. the new middle class) aware of the terrible social injustices of his time i.e. the prisons, the work house, the mill, factories and mines. Dickens wrote at a time when the written

  • Word count: 1829
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How do Charles Dickens in 'Nicholas Nickelby' and Laurie Lee in 'Cider with Rosie' present school life?

How do Charles Dickens in 'Nicholas Nickelby' and Laurie Lee in 'Cider with Rosie' present school life? Nicholas Nickelby written in 1838 by Charles Dickens explores the life of a young school assistant at "Dotheboys Hall" and gradually explains how disgusted he felt. Laurie Lee later wrote an imaginary autobiography "Cider with Rosie" which is not just a factual account of the author's life but also accounts of events and incidents. This reflected school life in a different, vivid approach because you got his personal opinion. Obviously, both authors would show differences mainly due to the difference in time. Both Dickens and Lee were born in different eras therefore studied at school at different times. Not only was time a major difference, but the types of texts written; Dickens wrote a novel and Lee an autobiography and taking into consideration-originality. "Cider with Rosie" and "Nicholas Nickleby" both are diverse because they are written by different authors but Lee's diversity is shown mainly by it being first person, yet everyone has their own style of writing. Nicholas cared about the other children but Laurie just cared only about himself. He did not hate school because of schoolwork but because he did not have to do any, which was contradictory compared Laurie. School life portrayed differently considering the eras of their birth therefore having an age gap

  • Word count: 1929
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How does Charles Dickens show dislike for the education system and concerns about childhood in 'Nicholas Nickleby'?

How does Charles Dickens show dislike for the education system and concerns about childhood in 'Nicholas Nickleby'? Charles Dickens wrote many novels, many of which contained serious moral messages about life at the time. He particularly liked to focus on the treatment of children, and Nicolas Nickleby is no exception. It seems likely that the reason so many of his books were focused on the treatment of children is because of his experiences as a child. His father was put in prison when Dickens was twelve and he then had to spend a few years working in a blacking warehouse on a salary of only six shillings a week. His mother had taught him to read at a young age and his father owned many books, with these three things combined, it seems unsurprising that Dickens wrote many books and of this genre. With Nicolas Nickleby, written at a time when there were no laws protecting children and they were all but slaves to their parents or guardians, it was a moral message to the people about the poor treatment of children at the time. Dickens uses many techniques to have us feeling the same way as he had about the welfare and treatment of children. One of the key characters used in Dickens mission to pluck at the heartstrings of the reader is Mr Squeers. When we are first introduced to this character we are given strong first impressions about his personality. He seems to care

  • Word count: 1352
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Discuss the use of humour in

Kristian Shaw 11.1 York The Opposite Sex By Laurie Lee Discuss the use of humour in "The Opposite Sex". The Opposite Sex is a small story, which although diminuitive in length, fits its' purpose well as a humourous short read. The use of language, the portrayal of certain images and the dexterous use of imagery in literary terms such as similies are all well within place in the story- all contributing to the laughable effect that it has upon its' readers. I believe that 'The Opposite Sex' is set and based on the times that the writer Laurie Lee had when he was a young boy. This helps to link the story into modern age circumstances, that although it has been a few years since Lee was a young boy, as proven in my Julius Caesar essay, human nature does not change. Therefore the reader finds it easier to relate to. The story is written very informally, rather like a 'chatty' style, this helps to create a better link between the writing and the reader themselves. This is shown in the very first line of 'The Opposite Sex'. Only six words in, the word 'sex'is used. To many this would be shocking, but also a small pointer in the direction of an exciting read. When Lee describes how his life was as open as a 'cucumber frame' and that sex to him was a 'constant force like the national grid', we begin to see his imaginative use of similies, which are used well by Lee to create

  • Word count: 1256
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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What is Dickens trying to tell us about education in the 1800s in his novel Nicholas Nickleby?

Joe Bacchus/10Z What is Dickens trying to tell us about education in the 1800s in his novel Nicholas Nickleby? Mr Squeers is one of Charles Dickens' very vivid characters and one that plays an important role in the novel Nicholas Nickleby. He is owner and headmaster of Dotheboys Hall which is set in Greta Bridge in Yorkshire. Dotheboys Hall is a boarding school for disabled and illegitimate children. It is an all-boys school and Mr Squeers runs the school with extreme cruelty together with his wife, who is equally cruel. The children are sent there because they are disabled in some way and their families did not want them. Mr Squeers has very cunning ways and his only aims are to benefit himself. His main aim is to make money and he does this very well by being sneaky and taking short-cuts in the keeping of his school. He tries to put as little money as possible to Dotheboys Hall whilst getting as much money out as possible. Another of his objectives is to have the instant obedience that he desires. He wants a school where he has ultimate power over the boys so that when he asks something of them they do it immediately - with no question. He tries to obtain this instant obedience in school by regularly beating the boys with a cane. Mr Squeers sees his school more as a business than a school-learning environment. "This is our shop, Nickleby". This quote shows

  • Word count: 1822
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Evelyn Waugh's Decline and Fall - review.

Evelyn Waugh was born in 1903. He is not considered to be a distinguished novelist but his writing is notable because they satirise much that was bizarre in English society. His father was a publisher and his first novel, Decline and fall, was published in 1928. It is a satire on the preparatory school industry. It is in the style and humour of Charles Dickens. Evelyn Waugh achieves his purpose through exaggeration. He paints characters that are larger than life, just like Dickens. We also see this method used in today's television in programmes like "Spitting Image" where gargoyle like images of prominent personalities behave in an outrageous way. The descriptions of some of his characters are the larger than life ones made so popular by Dickens. Mr. Fagan could have came straight out of a cartoon by 'Mac´; "sunken eyes, and rather long white hair over jet black eyebrows, his head was very long and swayed lightly as he spoke". Just like Dickens ' characters, their names often give us clues to their personalities such as Captain Grimes. In the prelude Waugh uses a matter-of-fact tone to describe the behaviour of the Bollinger Club. Dr. Fagan is the headmaster of the school. He is not really a Doctor; he just says he is to make himself sound important. He does not openly criticise the atrocious behaviour of this particular group of grown men, who seen to have important and

  • Word count: 1066
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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“The Rainbow” DH Lawrence, & “Nicholas Nickleby” Charles Dickens - Compare what you think the writers are trying to say about education in the two texts

"The Rainbow" DH Lawrence "Nicholas Nickleby" Charles Dickens Compare what you think the writers are trying to say about education in the two texts You should write about * How the writers use the two main stories overall * The way place/setting is used * The way the teachers are presented/used Both writers in the two texts set out the school, at first to seem bad and unwelcoming. This is also the case with the education. Lawrence tries to emphasize the school to have a military theme and the pupils to have no individuality. However Dickens tries to emphasize the pupils to be rejects, not cared for by their parents. Dickens' school is in very bad condition with poor and few facilities whereas Lawrence's school is in pretty good condition and is well looked after. Both texts start by describing the appearance of the schools. Lawrence describes his school as a "prison". The word prison suggests that the school is lifeless, dull and maybe threatening. Similarly Dickens describes his school as a "barn". The word barn suggests that the school is dirty, badly constructed and only suitable for animals. Lawrence then goes on further to say the school is an "empty prison", which suggests that the school is hidden into the surroundings, isolated with no life. However, Dickens describes his school as a "crowded scene", which suggests that the school is full of life and

  • Word count: 1694
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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With close reference to chapter 13 of

With close reference to chapter 13 of "Nicholas Nickleby", show how Dickens engages the interest and emotions of the reader? Chapter 13 effectively encourages the reader to resent Squeers and see him as the villain, whereas Nicholas is portrayed as the hero and Smike and the other bays are lavished with sympathetic feelings. The chapter starts with a depressing description of the boys sleeping conditions, Dickens uses words like: feeble, ragged, and dull, to describe it, this powerful description makes the reader feel-strengthening hatred toward Squeers. Squeers is the headmaster at the boarding school "Dotheboys Hall" where Nicholas was sent to work by his uncle after his father's death. His father had only a small amount of money so he left it to his brother, and trusted him to look after his family, consisting of Nicholas's mother and Sister Kate. Nicholas's uncle is a hard remorseless man and sends Nicholas and his sister to work to earn their keep. The family are moved into a small dirty flat and given little money to live on. During Nicholas's time at Dotheboys Hall, he meets one of the boys "Smike" and befriends him. Smike has no parents to speak of so he is kept on as a servant to the family. Nearing the end of the chapter Nicholas inspires Smike to run away, unfortunately he is caught, resulting in the chapters climax. Squeers is about to beat Smike but then

  • Word count: 1527
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Examine in detail Dickens' portrayal of the flaws in the Victorian education system in his novel 'Nicholas Nickleby'. What were his aims in presenting Dotheboys Hall to his readers? To extent was he successful in achieving his aims?

Examine in detail Dickens' portrayal of the flaws in the Victorian education system in his novel 'Nicholas Nickleby'. What were his aims in presenting Dotheboys Hall to his readers? To extent was he successful in achieving his aims? Charles Dickens was one of the most popular writers in the history of literature. He was born on the 7th February 1812 in Portsmouth. Dickens spent most of his childhood in London and in Kent, both which appear frequently in his novels. As a young man he went on to write many famous novels such as 'David Copperfield', 'A Christmas Carol' and 'Nicholas Nickleby'. 'Nicholas Nickleby' was written and serialised between 1838 and 1839 it was then later published as a novel in 1839 and then again in 1848. The novel is about a man called Nicholas Nickleby who went to work as a young teacher at an all boys' boarding school in Yorkshire set in early Victorian times. All his successes were shadowed by domestic unhappiness. Dickens' relations with a young actress called Ellen Ternan led to his separation from his wife in 1858. Unfortunately a Stroke led to his death on the 9th June 1870 and he was buried in Westminster. The focus of the novel is about the adventures and mis-fortunes of Nicholas Nickleby. Dotheboys Hall is a boys' boarding school set in Yorkshire. It is thought that it may be based on another school called 'Bowes Academy' which was also

  • Word count: 1922
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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