English literature: Charles Dickens and his attack against the materialism and the mechanization of the man

brought by the progress

Charles Dickens is one of the most popular novelists of all times. He was born in Portsmouth in ! ". His mother educated him at home# so the reading became his favourite activity# in fact he read some greatest books of the !th century# such as $obinson Crusoe%# &om 'ones and a lot of fantastic tales. &hese book will influence his artistic production. (hen he was about ten his father was imprisoned for debt and the boy had to work in a blaking factory to help his parents. )or this reason the writer*s childhood was unhappy+ Dickens himself remembered this period as the worse of his life. (hen his father was released Charles was sent to school but# after two years# he went to work as a clerk in a lawyer*s office. ,n his spare he learnt shorthand and become a parliamentary reporter. ,n !-. he married Catherine Hogart# who bore him ten children but the marriage ended in a separation. ,n !/ he visited 0merica. During this period he decided to live abroad# in 1enoa and in Paris. ,n his last years he was deeply involved in philanthropic activities and so he took part in public readings to raise money for charities. )rom !.2 to !.! the writer made a triumphant return to 0merica but after two years he died of a stroke.

Dickens* production
Dickens# in his works# deals with the conditions of life of the society of his time# but he shifted the social frontiers of the novel: !th century realistic upper middle3class world was replaced by that of the lower middle class. His first work was 45ketches by 6oz% 76oz became his nickname8 # a series of sketches which were caricatures of the life and manners of his time. 5ubse9uently he wrote 4&he Pickwick Papers%. &he novel is comic and episodic in structure and deals with a club of sportsmen who goes to the last places of England which are still unspoilt by the ,ndustrial $evolution. Dickens* ne:t novel was 4;liver &wist%# the story of a foundling who lived different painful adventures. ,t was followed by a series of novels# between which# we remember 4&he ;ld Curiosity 5hop <ickleby% that spoke about the ill treatment of children in industrial towns 7his starting point was his real e:perience8. &he only historical novel that he wrote was 40 &ale of two Cities%. ,t was set in =ondon and Paris at the time of )rench revolution. (hen he went to 0merica in !/ he wrote 4>artin Chuzzlewit%# a satire on the vulgarity and materialism of 0merica life. (hen he went to ,taly# instead# he published 4,mpressions from ,taly%# an account of his stay in this country. ,n the same year 7 !/.8 he started 4Dombey and 5on%# a strong attack against the hypocrisy of ?ictorian 0ge and its greed for money. ,n !/@ he began to publish his most read work 4David Copperfield%. &his novel can be considered a 6ildungsroman because it presents the growth from childhood to manhood. 6etween !.A and !. he published another 6ildungsroman 41reat E:pectations% considered by some critics to be his best work. ,t spoke about a child who becomes a young man attracted by money and the town life with the incorrect values# but in the end he returns to his town home# to his innocence. 0nother important work is 4Hard &imes%# in which he deals with the suffering of the factory and in which attacks the lack of creativity brought by the machines# that avoid the development of emotions and imaginations# making men the rollers of a gear.

Characters
Dickens was a great entertainer who created lively unforgettable characters# especially eccentrics# vagabonds# criminals# orphans. He created caricatures trying to arouse the reader*s interest by describing the characters. He freely ridiculed rich people*s vanity# ambition# greed for money. He was always on the side of the poor.

Dickens* style
Dickens is a great master of the English language. He is also very good at mi:ing social criticism with lively portraits of universal characters# combining the pathetic with the comic.

5etting of his novels

Dickens* most typical setting is =ondon+ he seen it as a vast# crowded city where different classes and social groups live ne:t to each other and yet don*t communicate. He described the material corruption of present3day reality under the impact of industrialism+ the result was an increasingly critical attitude towards his society. He draw popular attention to public abuses# evil and wrongs by terrible descriptions of =ondon misery and crime.

Hard &imes
4Hard &imes% is Dickens* tenth novel# first published in !B-. &he novel is set in an imaginary
industrial town named Coketown. &homas 1radgrind# an educator who believes in 4facts% and statistics# has founded a school where his educational theories are put in practice# and he educated his own children# =ouise and &om# in the same way# repressing their imagination and feelings. =ouisa and &om are caught by their father when they try to see 5leary*s Circus# where the clown 'upe works. 'upe has a daughter# 5issy# and he leaves the circus and 5issy to give her a better future+ so 1radgrind invites her to come and live with his family. &he time pass and 'osian 6ounderby# a rich owner and banker of the Coketown factory# asked >r 1radgrind for =ouisa*s hand and she reluctantly agrees to marry him in the hope of helping &om. He is thirty years older than she is and he gives to &om a Cob in 6ounderby*s bank. &he marriage proves to be unhappy. &he bank is robbed by &om who hides himself in 5leary*s Circus# disguised as a clown. His escape abroad is stopped by 6itzer# a clark in the bank but his horse and his trained dog effects &om*s escape nevertheless. 5issy is the moral winner of the story# she gives birth children and she is the only character who leds a happy life. ,n the end 1radgrind understands the damage caused by his narrow3minded and materialistic philosophy. 5o he lives into old age reCecting his facts and figures and faith# charity# hope became his leading principles. &he novel is built around two issues much debated at the time: the inhumanity of the factory system# and the application to school programmes of the principles of the utilitarian philosophy. &he Dtilitarianism is the idea that the moral worth of an action is determined solely by his utility in providing happiness or pleasure. &he form of Dtilitarianism which Dickens attacks in the novel is plain materialism that denies all other values than material ones# or 4)acts%# as they are called. 4Hard &imes% focuses on the difference# e:isting at Dickens* time between the rich and the poor# or factory owners and workers# who were forced to work long hours for low pay in dirty# loud and dangerous factories. &his novel uses its pathetic characters to criticize the materialism and narrow3 mindedness of Dtilitarianism which was the basic ?ictorian attitude to economics. Dickens wanted to convince readers that machines were killing man*s soul and to move them not only to tears but also to social reform. 4Hard times% suggests that @th century England was turning human beings into machines by avoiding the development of their emotions and imaginations. &his suggestion comes largely through the actions of 1radgrind+ he believes that human nature can be measured# 9uantified# and governed entirely by rational rules. ,ndeed# his school tries to turn children into little machines that behave according to such rules. Dickens* primary aim is to illustrate the dangers of allowing humans to become like machines# suggesting that without compassion and imagination# life would be unbearable.

Characters
&homas 1radgrind represents the stringency of facts# statistics and other materialistic pursuit. He is a 4s9uare% person and this can be seen not only through the description of his personality but also through the description of his physical appearance. 'osian 6ounderby represent the greed for money. He is a 4bully of humility% as he tells everyone that he is a 4self mad man%. =ouisa 1radgrind represents the incapacity to show emotions. &his fact makes her depressed 5issy 'upe is the embodiment of imagination# hope# faith# spontaneity and simplicity.

5tyle
5atire is the literary techni9ue of e:posing someone or something ridicule trying to arouse contempt in the reader. &he narrator is third person# omniscient and intrusive and tend to establish a close relationship with the readers through accurate descriptions# comments and characters* dialogues. &he style is clear# vivid and effective.