Charles John Huffam Dickens, aka Charles Dickens, was born on 7th February 1812. He was English novelist, writer, and social critic. He is considered as the most celebrated novelist of the Victorian era. He has created some fictional characters that are regarded as the world’s best characters. His work was celebrated and received unparalleled popularity, both during his lifetime and even after his death. Critics and scholars, by the end of the 20th century, acknowledged him as a literary genius. Even in the 21st century, his works are widely read and included as a part of academic studies. He died on 9th June 1870.
Charles Dickens Biography
He was born at Landport, on the southern coast of England to John and Elizabeth Dickens. He was the second child among the eight poor siblings. His father, though supposed to be the original of Mr. Micawber, was a clerk in the office of the navy. Due to the poor financial conditions, his father was always struggling with debts. When Dickens was nine years old, they moved and settled in a poor neighborhood in London. Even in London, his father was still pursued by the debts, and after two years of bombastic misfortune, he was sent to the debtor’s prison. His mother set up the Boarding Establishment of Young Ladies to meet their finances. However, no young lady visited it except for creditors.
When Dickens was eleven years old, he was taken out of the school and put in work with the working-class men and boys in the blacking factory. At the age of twelve, while his father was still in prison, the rest of the family shifted to a place near the prison. Charles Dickens was left alone in London. It was these experiences of lonely hardships that proved to be very important in the literary career of Dickens. These experiences shaped his view of the world and thus described them in his famous and celebrated novels and short stories.
At the age of thirteen, Charles Dickens started his schooling again when his father received the inheritance and paid all his debts. However, at the age of fifteen, in 1827, he was again made to stop schooling and started working as an office boy. He then used his shorthand to write documents and became a stenographer and freelance reporter. In 1832, he became a news reporter for two newspapers in London. He then started publishing his sketches and impression in the other magazines with the sign of “Boz.” He published the images based on the life of London, which went far enough to make his reputation and were collectively published as his first book in 1836 as Sketches by Boz. He married Catherine Hogarth, daughter of George Hogarth, in April 1836. Soon after his marriage, he published his first most successful novel, The Pickwick Papers. Catherine and Charles Dickens had ten children together. In 1858, he became separated from Catherine. However, he continued his relationship with Ellen Tenan, his mistress and actress.
Literary Style of Charles Dickens
Dickens has been greatly inspired by a variety of things when he started writing. The major influences he has was the picaresque tradition in novel writing, novel of sensibility, and melodrama. Other than these, the fables of The Arabian Nights have been the most significant literary inspiration for him. In the picaresque novel tradition, satire and irony are the most important elements.
Similarly, in British picaresque novels, Henry Fielding, Laurence Sterne, and Tobias Smollett used the aspect of comedy as well. Tom Jones, by Henry Fielding, has not only influenced Charles Dickens but also the other novelist of the Victorian Era as well. Melodrama is also a great aspect of Dickens’ novels as it strongly appeals to the emotions of the readers.
The writing style of Charles Dickens is unique. His manner of writing is poetic, with a lot of satire and humor. Most of his novels and stories are episodic as his literary career started with working and writing for a newspaper. He is the master of using the element of suspense or cliffhanger ending to engage the readers, thus establishing their interest. Though Dickens’ literary works contain idealized characters, he does not make them appear perfect. Idealized characters appear to be a bad choice as it does not provide room for personal growth during the course of the story, however, uses his idealized characters to portray the horrible and ugly side of life and society. One of the best examples of idealized characters is Oliver Twist. Oliver is put in many trials, including a preparation center for thieves and malevolent orphanages during the course of the novel; however, he remains to be innocent and never compromising his values at all. Despite showing the ugly side of human society, Dickens creates the character of Oliver, an idealized character that the readers chose to love. Had Dickens not chosen to idealize the character, the book would have been gloomy and dark, with nothing to take pleasure in it.
Dickens’ works also contain unbelievable circumstances, thus adding the element of melodrama. For example, in the novel Oliver Twist, Oliver is rescued by a rich wealthy family from the gang thieves; the family then turns out to be his relatives. Authors or writers of the Victorian era would use such unbelievable circumstances to add a twist to the plot of the story. However, Dickens uses it in an entirely different way. The other writers would use it to extend their plot in their picaresque stories; Dickens used this method to portray the idea that good is always superior to evil, and even in unexpected cases, goodwill wins over evil.
The writing style of Charles Dickens is also marked by prolific linguistic creativity. He uses satire in his work to criticize the follies of society. His satire flourishes with his misrepresentation of situations. He has been compared to Hogarth for his use of satire and a real sense of the foolish and ridiculous side of life. He has the much-admired mastery of various classes of idioms, which reflects the traditions of the theatre of the Victorian era. To name his characters, Dickens worked arduously. He wanted his characters to appeal to the readers, and their names are suggestive of their personalities.
Moreover, he also wants these arresting names to contribute to the development of motifs in the plot, thereby providing an “allegorical impetus” to the overall meaning of the novel. One of the examples is the name of Mr. Murderstone from the novel David Copperfield. The name refers to two things: murder and coldness and harness as stone. Moreover, the literary cycle of Charles Dickens is also a blend of realism and fantasy. He satirizes the British aristocratic class and is very famous for it. To criticize the noble, he calls one of his characters, “the Noble Refrigerator.” In his literary works, he compares the orphans as shares and stocks of a business, people with tug boats, and party guests to furniture; these are some of his best examples of fancy.