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Charles Dickens is one of the greatest writers in English. There are many reasons I have for saying this. I love his settings, from the streets of 19th Century London to debtor's prison to courtrooms to locations of the French Revolution to old mansions to eerie cemeteries to orphanages, he paints an accurate and often disturbing picture of England (and other places) of the time. His language, though now old-fashioned, is strong and picturesque and filled with vivid imagery. His social criticism and themes are timely and proved effective in his lifetime in terms of improving lives. Most of all, I love his characters. From his novel Great Expectations, we have simple but honest Joe Gargery; innocent but learning Pip (the protagonist); wealthy Miss Havisham --- living in a mansion that has not changed in decades --- wearing her wedding dress for those same decades; beautiful but mean Estella, being raised to break men's hearts; unique Herbert Pocket; mysterious Abel Magwitch; attorney Mr. Jaggers; Pumblechook and ever-loyal Biddy; from A Tale of Two Cities, we have the look-alikes (Englishman Sidney Carton and Frenchman Charles Darnay); their mutual love interest (Lucie Manette) and her father, Dr. Manette, recently freed from the Bastille prison just prior to the start of the French Revolution; Madame De Farge (knitting the names of those who are the targets of her eventual revenge); and attorney Jarvis Lorry; in Oliver Twist, we meet Oliver, of course, and accompany him through his various challenges to his eventual hope-filled future; Fagin --- who cares for the orphans that society has failed to protect, and who turns them into street thieves; the evil Bill Sikes; the clever Artful Dodger and the ever-faithful Nancy; from A Christmas Carol, we meet the physically challenged Tiny Tim, with his undefeated spirit; mean miser Ebenezer Scrooge (Bah! Humbug!); the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come; Jacob Marley (who learned his lesson much too late, but who --- like Coleridge's Ancient Mariner --- feels the need to teach others not to repeat his errors); and faithful, hard-working Bob Cratchit. ArchivesNo Archives Categories |
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