Charles Dickens ("Oliver Twist", "Bleak House", "Hard Times"), Schemi e mappe concettuali di Inglese

Scarica Charles Dickens ("Oliver Twist", "Bleak House", "Hard Times") e più Schemi e mappe concettuali in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! CHARLES DICKENS Biography - 7th Feb 1812 > born in Portsmouth - sent to school at 9 y.o -> three years later his father and most of his family were imprisoned for debts - forced to work 10 h/day in a 'blacking' factory (= shoe polish) - three years of loneliness and hardship -> material for his future work - began working as a journalist -> became parliamentary reporter for 7he Moming Chronicle in 1833 - 1833-36 -> Sketches by Boz-> published under the pseudonym 'Boz' - 1836 -> first novel => Pickwick Papers - 1836 -> married Catherine Hogart - they had ten children - he left her in 1858 for his mistress, the actress Ellen Ternan - published many novels in instalments, an autobiography and contributions to periodicals - died on 9 June 1870 Major Works and Themes - famous for his inventiveness - characters -> exaggerated but unforgettable - sympathy with the oppressed - indignation against social injustice - 1836-37 -> first novel => Pickwick Papers - series of tales about Mr Pickwick -> huge success - 1837-39 -> Oliver Twist - beginning of social criticism -> exploitation of children and cruelty of workhouses - 1843 -> A Christmas Carol -> rise of children stories - 1846 -> Dombey and Son-> attacks the greed for money and power - 1849-50 -> David Copperfield-> mostly autobiographical - 1852-53 -> Bleak House -> satire on the english administration of justice - 1854 -> Hard Times -> on education and the hardship of the working class during the industrial revolution - 1860 -> Great Expectations -> abt the influence that sudden wealth can have on a young man's moral growth DICKENS, "OLIVER TWIST" Plot - Oliver Twist -> orphan bom in a workhouse => unknown father, mother dies in childbirth - terrible conditions -> when he asks for more food the officials get angry - runs away to London -> involved with a gang of thieves led by Fagin - arrested on his first mission -> rescued and looked after by Mr Brownlow (= victim of the theft) - Fagin's gang capture him and force him to take part in a burglary with Sikes -> shot and abandoned by the gang, is rescued by Mrs Maylie and spends an idyllic summer with her and her niece, Rose - Nancy, prostitute in Fagin's gang, discovers that they want to capture Oliver bc Monks is his half-brother - sons of a wealthy father -> left his fortune to Oliver's mother, Agnes Fleming (= Rose's older sister) - Monks plots to kill Oliver to get the inheritance - Nancy gets killed bc she revealed the truth to Rose and Mr Brownlow by Sikes, who dies trying to escape arrest - Fagin -> caught and sentenced to be hanged - Monks -> dies in prison - Oliver now knows his identity, receives his share and is adopted by Mr Brownlow - Twist -> twisted around all the time by circumstances - enjoys a peaceful life in the countryside Themes - Poor Law -> workhouses - poverty was seen as a sin - bad conditions in order to discourage the poor from relying on public charity - only alternative -> crime or prostitution - Dickens describes the cruelty and hypocrisy of Victorian England - he can't change it -> Oliver's happy ending is just a result of his return to his rightful status "want some more" (p.69) - From chapter 2 -> Oliver asks for more food, which generates anger in the officials - horrible conditions -> children didn't get enough food to live and grow properly - contrast with the master -> fat, healthy man - Oliver is seen as a rebel bc he asked for more food “The enemies of the system" (classroom) - First part of chapter 3 -> description of Oliver's condition - he"Il be confined and then sold bc of what he did (= asked for more food) - first part of the text -> we see his condition - shows his emotions and how he lives - a solemn council decided that he was to be punished for his deed => he's an enemy of the system - second part of the text -> Oliver is seen as a Devil (=> enemy of the system) - description of what happens to these rebellious people -> solitary incarceration, brought everyday into the hall where the boys ate and flogged (= fustigato) as a public warning and example "Oliver is taken to the workhouse" (classroom) - From chapter 2 - Oliver was born in the workhouses and then brought to Mrs. Mann's house - he's now 9 y.o so he can't stay there anymore -> Mr Bumble comes to take him back to the workhouse - Mr Bumble behaves kindly towards Oliver -> he was rude in the other text (= fat and healty man) - wants the kid to want to go with him and not create problems - wants Mrs. Mann to think it's good for Oliver -> just for facade bc she doesn't really care (= Oliver's conditions are bad anyway) - he was often beaten by Mrs Mann -> "he took the hint at once, for the fist had been too often impressed upon his body not to be deeply impressed upon his recollection" - Oliver doesn't want Mrs Mann to come -> she beats him - he pretends to be sad but it's only bc he's leaving the other children, not bc he's leaving her "A very critical moment" (p. 72-73, - the man Oliver's supposed to be given to is a cruel man who was seen beating his donkey - whoever takes him away will get 5£ -> they would have given only 3£ to Mr Gamfield bc the job was dangerous - Oliver is saved by fortune -> the magistrate's blindness is what saves Oliver - he sees that he doesn't want to go and encourages him to speak his mind -> he would have become a chimney sweeper - Bumble pinches Oliver to make him stay quiet -> physical and psychological threats - omniscent narrator -> there's no open criticism - narrative irony -> sarcasm, it's ironic that the magistrate's blindness saves Oliver DICKENS, "BLEAK HOUSE" - Dickens describes child labour - street in London -> black, avoided by ppl (= 2 cities) - as the description progresses we get nearer to the character -> the narrator emphatizes with him - 6th line -> change of pov => we see what Jo feels and does - he can't read -> nearer to animals than humans DICKENS, "HARD TIMES" Plot - set in the fictional Coketown - Thomas Gradgrind believes in Utilitarism and brings up his children, Louisa and Tom, to only believe in 'hard facts' - makes Louisa marry Bounderby, a factory owner 30 yrs older -> she accepts to help her brother, employed by him - extremely unhappy marriage -> runs back to her family - he is cruel and doesn't consider his employees' emotions - her father understands his mistakes -> protects Louisa from him - Tom has become a dishonest and selfish man -> steals money from Bounderby's bank - Stephen, innocent and hard-working, is unjustly accused and eventually dies - Gradgrind and Louisa realize it was Tom fault and get him out of the country and away from justice - end of the story -> Gradgrind is a changed man and helps the poor - Tom repents but dies w/o seeing his family again - Bounderby, the real villain, dies alone in the streets of Coketown - Louisa never marries again and finds happiness in the love of her friends and family Themes - he criticizes more of the Victorian society - the book is divided in 3 books with 3 chapters each - 1st book -> sowing (= seminare) => teaching of children to make them ppl who work w/o asking anything - 2nd book -> reaping (= harvesting) => shows what the children get from the teachings - 3rd book -> garnering (=earn) => consequences - shows how ppl were brought up to behave - the consequence of utilitarism is unhappiness