Examine how Dickens uses his works to make a comment on the society in which he lived in.
Literary Tradition
Examine how Dickens uses his works to make a comment on the society in which he lived in.
In this essay I will be examining how and why Dickens chose to comment on the society in which he lived through his novels. I will be examining 'Hard Times', 'Oliver Twist', 'Nicholas Nickelby' and 'David Copperfield'.
Charles Dickens was considered to be one of the greatest English novelists during the Victorian period, and during this period, novelists had a tradition of commenting on issues affecting society through their work. They chose to express their views like this so people would realise exactly what is taking place in the town or village they are living in.
Charles Dickens had a very disturbing childhood, members of his family were sent to prison and he was sent to work at the age of twelve in a Blacking Factory; he became miserable. He escaped from this by writing fictional texts in school; he then developed his existing skills and made rapid progress. From the entire trauma he went through, he decided to express his pain through his words.
The education system was extremely poor. Only children with working parents would be educated, whereas poorer children would have to work. In the novel 'Hard Times', the education system was firm, harsh and stern;
'Quadruped. Graminivorous...Age known by marks in mouth.'
This straight-to-the-point definition of a horse suggests that the teacher spoon-feeds the young, tender, innocent children with useless facts. The word 'Graminivorous' highlights that these children are being turned into adults mentally because he 'fed' the innocent children with facts that adults will normally know. Everything is so simplified for him, the teacher doesn't realise how complicated human nature is, and it seems as if the world is black and white to him. Dickens specifically chose this adjective to illustrate how serious this matter was; he obviously had very strong negative views on this.
But in, 'Oliver Twist', there wasn't an education system,
'...because nobody had taught him...'
This quote portrays that education wasn't taken seriously. It was seen as joke. The only thing the children had to do was work for the owner which was considered slave labour. Charles Dickens did not like the idea of children working inside or outside school so he decided to share his feelings. The word 'nobody' suggests that these children were lonely most of the time, not just literally but emotionally as well.
In 'Nicholas Nickelby', there was a similar situation with children working;
'We go upon the practical mode of teaching...C-L-E-A-N...W-I-N win D-E-R der.'
As you can see clearly that this is not appropriate, all this shows us is how cruel, inhumane, harsh school teachers were. This suggests that there wasn't a decent learning system. The words 'practical mode of teaching' illustrates that the evil school teachers used the poor, innocent, young children for their own good because hey were too stingy to hire maids. This was common during the Victorian period because the poor were seen inferior ...
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In 'Nicholas Nickelby', there was a similar situation with children working;
'We go upon the practical mode of teaching...C-L-E-A-N...W-I-N win D-E-R der.'
As you can see clearly that this is not appropriate, all this shows us is how cruel, inhumane, harsh school teachers were. This suggests that there wasn't a decent learning system. The words 'practical mode of teaching' illustrates that the evil school teachers used the poor, innocent, young children for their own good because hey were too stingy to hire maids. This was common during the Victorian period because the poor were seen inferior to the rich.
However, in 'David Copperfield', the situation was completely different;
'I learnt at home. Shall I ever forget those lessons.'
This quote suggests that David was taught in a very relentless way. 'Shall I ever forget' highlights that this painful memory will always be with him, whether he likes it or not. When the time came to showing his family, he was totally speechless;
'I redden, tumble over half-a-dozen words...'
Here, all the hard work he put into learning facts disappeared because he was so nervous and intimidated by his step-father; who is obviously going to beat him. Dickens used the word 'redden' to illustrate how embarrassed he was from that encounter and 'tumble' which suggests that he was terrified of what was about to happen. From this, his confidence was shattered;
'I take a last drowning look at the page...'
Here, David feels so low that he starts to compare himself to a drowning river. This probably gives you an idea about what step-families were like back in the Victorian period.
On the whole, Dickens' main point that he wanted to get through to his readers that children weren't taught in a proper manner. In fact, they weren't seen as humans because they were treated so badly. This brings me onto my next point about children, and how they were treated. This is revealed in nearly all of the novels.
In 'Hard Times', children weren't seen as individuals but empty objects;
'Thomas Gradgrind now presented Thomas Gradgrind to the little pitchers before him.'
In this metaphor, Mr Gradgrind didn't see fun, young, bubbly children but dumb, hollow, worthless children; his job was to fill them with useless facts. Dickens used 'pitchers' to describe the children because they were so empty.
Moreover, punishment of children was essential in every Dickens' novels. This was to show how serious this matter was. Before, children had no rights, they were seen as objects. Nowadays, there are phone lines and walk-in centres for troubled youths. In the novel 'Oliver Twist', children were being suffered mentally and physically and no one was there to help;
'...suffered the tortures of slow starvation for three months...'
This quote suggests that these children were treated as if they were wild animals. The word 'torture' reminds me of the 1600's where there were horrific punishments. Imagine young boys being treated like this; only cold-blooded people could do this;
'...small quantities of oatmeal...meals of thin gruels...an onion twice a week...'
Most children died because of their health conditions which were appalling at that time. This was due to the lack of food which was supplied. Dickens has used adjectives such as 'small quantities' and 'thin gruels' to show the reader how little the boys were being fed at their boarding school and that if this was to be continued, there wouldn't be any boys in the boarding school because they would be dead, this was a serious matter through Dickens eyes and he proved this to us by writing about this issue more than once in his novels.
Dickens chose to use words such as 'suffered', 'tortures' and 'starvation' so the readers would sympathise for them.
In the novel, 'Nicholas Nickelby', Children in the boarding school were fed as if they were animals;
'...poured a brown composition which looked like diluted pincushions without the covers and was called porridge. A minute wedge of brown bread was inserted in each bowl...'
This quote suggests that the boys were extremely unhealthy and were leading towards an early grave. Dickens uses strong adjectives to describe how badly they were being treated. The word 'brown' reminds me of farms, sewage and filthy animals which means the boys were being ill-treated. He has used 'diluted' to describe the porridge being served, this illustrates that the porridge is watery, like slime. 'Minute' is also used to show how evil Mr and Mrs Squeers are because they aren't feeding the boys properly. This boy's look as if they aren't human;
'...half a dozen scarecrows...'
This metaphor suggests that the young, tender, innocent children were badly treated. The word 'scarecrows' is used to describe their physical description which means they are lifeless. This is a very powerful adjective and the reader would feel incredibly sympathetic towards them. Dickens portrays exactly how bad this situation was by using these words.
In the novel, 'David Copperfield', David was being treated in a more horrific way;
'...like the fascination of two snakes on a wretched young bird.'
This simile suggests Mr and Miss Murdstone are out to get David. Before they pounce on him, they watch him, they're name sounds like murder, stone and blood that's why we aren't surprised at this. Dickens has used 'fascination' to show us they they get a thrill out of doing this. Dickens has described them as 'two snakes' to express that they have similar features, they're evil, vicious and jealous of David's close relationship with his mother. They're properly did this because they didn't have a close relationship with their mother. He has also used 'wretched young bird' to describe how David feels compared to Mr and Mrs Murdstone. This suggests that he feel vulnerable, weak and innocent.
Children were seen lower than adults, before they weren't seen as people with rights and richer people felt very superior to poorer children, which gave them a lot of power. They then used his power to take advantage of others. They suffered from a lot of abuse and we could clearly see that from how Dickens portrayed this.
During the Victorian period, there was a lot of sexism. Women were seen much lower than men. This happens nowadays but it was a lot worse then.
In the novel 'David Copperfield', David's mother was treated inadequately;
'...but she does not dare, she says softly...'
At this point, she is trembling with fear for David. Dickens used the word 'softly' to describe his mother, she sweet, caring and also extremely scared of hey new husband. She realises the pain he is going through but cannot say anything because she might be abused as well.
On the other hand, in the novel 'Nicholas Nickelby', Mrs Squeers is not your average woman. She is strict, confident and mean;
'...retorted Mrs Squeers sharply...'
From this quote we can see that she is rude towards her husband and the others. Dickens used the word 'retorted' suggests that she is quick, sharp and angry. She is a confident woman, and confident women were hard to find in the Victorian period because they were normally put down by men.
On the other hand, the condition of workhouses and schools were a total mess. There weren't any decent ones. In the novel 'Hard Times', the school was extremely dull;
'...intensely whitewashed room...'
This room reflects the teacher, his personality and how he teaches. It also reflects the children because they have been brainwashed by Mr Gradgrind. Dickens chose to use 'intensely' to show the readers how they have lost their personalities.
Also, in the novel 'Nicholas Nickelby', the boarding school was in terrible condition;
'...a bare and dirty room...couple of old rickety desks...damaged in every possible way...the walls were so stained and discoloured...'
This quote portrays that the condition of the school was disgusting and in a terrible condition. Dickens used lots of powerful adjectives to describe it. The word 'bare' suggests that the school is empty, even the teachers and students because all their happiness was sucked out Mr and Mrs Squeers. The word 'dirty' describes the room and the children in a way because their isn't any water to bathe in. 'Old', 'rickety' and 'damaged' is used to show the lack of education received by the boys and how stingy Mr and Mrs Squeers are because they aren't paying for the pupils needs. The words 'stained' and 'discoloured' could describe the young, lifeless boys because their live have been shattered by these people.
However, in 'David Copperfield', the place was the opposite;
'...second-best parlour...'
This is quite unusual because David was receiving a really harsh lesson in a luxurious home. This was irony that Dickens used here: the word 'parlour' suggests that it is a pleasant home but what's going on inside is totally the opposite.
In conclusion, Dickens has used his works successfully to comment on society because all of the issues that were affecting all classes of people, he included them so we could really understand what went on during the Victorian times. I have learnt a lot from this, about how people lived and how they were treated. I have learnt that these two periods of time were totally different to each other. The novel that had the most impact on me was Nicholas Nickelby; this is because Dickens made us feel sympathetic for the characters, he made me feel as if I was there as one of the characters because this novel was so convincing. I really felt a lot of sympathy for the children who had to suffer from this inhumane cruelty.
Smita Bhatia 10s Sarah Bonnell School