Charles Dickens

Oliver Twist, David Copperfield and A Christmas Carol

Charles Dickens is looked up to by many because of his in depth realism in his work, his extremely memorable characters and his unique technique. I agree with most but I think he was over the top too often and for a long stretch and I couldn't find any way to appreciate it. I don't know why. Perhaps it is because he attempted to be humorous? Anyway, I will go on to back up my gut and say that it is a flaw of the greatest Victorian novelist. Another thing I want to mention is his failed attempt to make the rich donate to the poor which was his primary motive in writing A Christmas Carol.


If an author is looking for ways to start a significant movement, he/she has to have the audience in mind. An author fails when he/she tries to convert his/her audience into a religion, go vegan, or motivate them to eat healthy because a true fatty at heart, like myself, will never pick up a diet or exercise book. Likewise, there is not an atheist I know that will pick up an inspirational or spiritual book unless they themselves make the choice to participate in the experiment. The intentions of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens were to motivate people to give. Throughout the story, Scrooge was a jerk to everyone. In the ending paragraphs of stave four, he says, "I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach. Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!" Through the events that occurred throughout Scrooge's life, a reason why he wants to change is because he feels guilt - transforming him to a new "christmas giving spirit" Scrooge. If Dickens wished for people to change, guilt isn't a correct reason to. If one's heart isn't willing it means nothing. You can only give out of guilt for so long. At the end of the day, philanthropists will be the only ones jumping on board with Dickens. Charles Dickens's is still great though I just want to point out that if anything, he just informed people about the real world and he conveyed it perfectly in A Christmas Carol. I don't believe it influenced anyone to give all it did was make Dickens himself prosper.


In Oliver Twist, I think Dickens went way overboard with Oliver's fate in the opening chapters. I believe the beginning ten chapters are filled with nothing but complaining. I don't want to say that I don't care about orphans but there's was just something that I couldn't connect with in Oliver's story. I'm going to blame it on the way it was written because I think one of the reasons was that I was just so sickly overwhelmed reading about this heartbreaking orphan for so damn long. 


David Copperfield made me appreciate Dickens for what he did. I like that it was Dickens's most autobiographical novel because he constructed everything for what it was, or it seemed. I know there are many unparalleled scenes but I liked that I didn't feel pressured (unlike Oliver Twist) to like David. I liked how hard he worked. 


If I was writing my own novel, I could steal many things from Dickens... even though I didn't like Oliver, I'm sure I will remember him forever... just like Scrooge and Marley.