StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Charles Dickens: An Influence of Reform in Victorian England - Research Paper Example

Cite this document
Summary
The main objective of the research "Charles Dickens: An Influence of Reform in Victorian England" is to investigate the contribution of Charles Dickens to the Victorian age society in Britain. Specifically, the paper explores the effect of Dickens major literary works…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER92.7% of users find it useful
Charles Dickens: An Influence of Reform in Victorian England
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Charles Dickens: An Influence of Reform in Victorian England"

CHARLES DICKENS: An Influence of Reform in Victorian England Due INTRODUCTION When most of us think of Charles Dickens we immediately recall the tale of Ebenezer Scrooge in the “Christmas Carol” or the sound of a small, British, orphan, in “Oliver Twist,” asking. “... please sir can I have some more?” However, Dickens wrote many novels the majority of which were all written in the time that he lived. He was known to be a strong critic of the Victorian era that surrounded him. Dickens reflected his strongest social criticisms into the characters in his many novels. A prime example of this is seen in his 1854 novel “Hard Times,” which worked to show the failings of Victorian society, which he saw as, “…dominated by materialism, acquisitiveness, and ruthlessly competitive capitalist economics.” (Kailish 1). The novel, “Hard Times (1854), focused on the British working class of the era, it, also, drew attention to two areas that Dickens felt were in need of serious reform, the nature of traditional Victorian education and the condition of factories and the people, both adults and children, who work there (De Laureal 1). He may not have directly reformed British society but his works had a tangible effect upon its readers that inspired greater change than even Dickens’s himself might have ever hoped. HISTORY Charles Dickens (1812-1870) grew up in the world that he wrote about. He saw storytelling as a means to share his dissatisfaction with economic and the social condition of Britain in the Victorian Age. All the same Dickens himself remains something of an enigma politically. Many call him a Marxist, an extreme socialist, and even a Catholic conservative (Teachout 1-76). However, regardless of the title he was given this gifted writer and classic author used words, scenarios, and characters to inspire the minds of people to make change. “Hard Times” tells the tale of a number of characters living in the Victorian era industrial world. Gradgrinder is a wealthy politician and has two children. His children are raised to do what they are expected to do and gave little consideration to their concerns or feelings. He essentially “sells” his daughter Louisa into marriage to a man she finds repulsive and his son goes awry. If they had had their way their lives might have been different, but their utilitarian upbringing left no room for their personal opinions (Dickens). The city of Coketown is not described by Dickens in a favorable light. In Chapter 28 he describes the city as ugly, dark, dark smoke in the sky, and stark brick buildings it is not at all particularly welcoming. It is described as loud and smelled bad. It was everything that an industrialized city does not wish to be. However, this is how Dickens perceived the word he lived in. He even males references to the serpentine and snake-like qualities of city elements; this, of course, to the religious minds of the time, is a direct reference to the Christian Devil often represented by a snake (Diniejko1). In other words Coketown is a city corrupted by literally “evil” DISCUSSION One of the greatest issues that Dickens had with Victorian society that plays an essential part in the story of the characters in “Hard Times” is the need for educational reform. Tom and Louisa, the children of Gradgrinder, were raised in the robotic, emotionless mentality of utilitarian education, where facts and cold realties are relevant, while creativity and imagination has no place. Dickens used “Hard Times” as a means to reflect the consequences of children raised in this ideology. The ultimate outcome leaves Louisa sad, unmarried, and childless. Tom goes down a dark path and essentially leaves and never returns. Neither knew how to metabolize their feelings or have any understanding of how to tackle emotional issues, and their lives conclude in the novel not on a high-point. While Dickens was a strong critic of education he did not necessarily have any specific suggestions as what reforms should be made. In the year of his death, 1870, Britain passed the Elementary Education Act, which would strengthen enforcement for teacher training and enacted legislation that requires children a certain level of public education (Litvak 1). The second specific area that Dickens focuses upon in “Hard Times,” that he felt was in need of reform, was the condition of Victorian factories and the environment that worker, both adult workers and child labor, was forced to endure. This negative impression of the factory owners through Josiah Bounderby, the arrogant, pompous, self-proclaimed “self made man,” not to mention the husband that Louisa finds repulsive. He does not treat his workers well and mistreats and takes advantage of the workers. He proves to be fraud, a liar, a man who gained his wealth through family inheritances from cousins. Dishonesty, deception, and fraudulent fakes, is what can be expected from factory owners and other wealthy elite. That is a serious statement and criticism upon society. The poor, factory worker, Stephen Blackpool, who comes to the bleak reality that society benefits and laws are designed to favor the wealthy, not in the interests of real justice (De Laureal 1). This provided epiphany says a great deal about the negative perspectives that Dickens held about Victorian factories. “Hard Times” tells a tale that is difficult for many modern readers to really comprehend. Forced marriages, archaic educational practices, and labor conditions no one today for ever tolerate. However, Victorian England was a very different place; a place where workers were mistreated and disadvantaged and education was limited and utilitarian, leaving little room for the individual, the creative, or imaginative. (De Laureal 1).While Dickens, and his contemporaries that made similar efforts, may not have directly affected the needed reforms in Victorian England they did speak out and bring attention to the problems of others, those who the middle-classes and the wealthy often forgot. “Hard Times” allows a microscope and forced perspective on the darker vision of the world experienced by those who do not sit at the top of it. It is through the, albeit, indirect criticism and commentaries of Charles Dickens that helped to create reforms in the areas of education and labor industries and helped developed England into the progressive country it became and is today. CONCLUSION Charles Dickens made incredible contributions to literature, but also to the history of his homeland of Britain through endorsing the needed social, educational, economic, and legal reforms through his characters and the Victorian era that they are living. Again, when most people think of Charles Dickens they think of the whimsical characters like Scrooge and his 3 visiting ghosts and the orphan tale of “Oliver Twist.” However, Dickens work served more than just purpose of entertainment, but as a window to the flaws and failings of the society around him. He effectively lent to incredible change, through his works, like “Hard Times,” that regardless of whether directly or indirectly, contributed to literature, but, also, to the fabric of his society. WORK CITED De Laurel, Martin. “Hard Times (1854).” Washington and Lee university. (2001) 1. Web 30 May 2014. . Dickens , Charles. Hard Times. Page by Page Books, 1854. eBook. . Diniejko, Andrzej. "Charles Dickens as Social Commentator and Critic." Victorian Web Warsaw University. (2012): 1. Web. 30 May. 2014. . Kailish, S. "Charles Dickens as a Social Critic." International Journal of Research in Earth and Environmental Sciences. 2.8 (2012): 1-6. Web. 30 May. 2014. . Litvak, Leon. “Charles Dickens and Victorian Education.” The Oxford Readers Guide to Dickens. (2012). 1. Web. 30 May 2014. . Teachout, Jeffrey Frank. "The Importance of Charles Dickens in Victorian Social Reform." Wichita State University. (2006): 1-76. Web. 30 May. 2014. . Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(Charles Dickens: An Influence of Reform in Victorian England Research Paper, n.d.)
Charles Dickens: An Influence of Reform in Victorian England Research Paper. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/history/1647210-research-essay
(Charles Dickens: An Influence of Reform in Victorian England Research Paper)
Charles Dickens: An Influence of Reform in Victorian England Research Paper. https://studentshare.org/history/1647210-research-essay.
“Charles Dickens: An Influence of Reform in Victorian England Research Paper”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/history/1647210-research-essay.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Charles Dickens: An Influence of Reform in Victorian England

Ruskins Influence on Victorian Architecture

rdquo;3 Ruskin saw an england that had sacrificed, and ignored the love of man, and had embraced the love of wealth and progress, which was honesty to self-interests.... Ruskin aim was to transform the society in england through his deep moral teachings, and love for nature that represented coexistence and harmony.... An essay "Ruskin's Influence on victorian Architecture" claims that Ruskin was a geologist, mythologist, botanist and an environmentalist....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay

The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens

?? This passage from Chapter IX of charles dickens' “The Old Curiosity Shop” is a typical example of the great author's writing.... The passage illustrates dickens' mastery over the use of setting as a means of communication, illuminates different facets of Nell's character and shows dickens' complex characterization of Quilp.... dickens' uses the setting communicate Nell's emotions to the reader.... ?? Here again, the room's setting is used by dickens to communicate the unchanging routine and boredom of the little girl's days....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Nice Work by David Lodge

Realism in France was , as Victorian literature in england , to a great extent the product of a whole range of scientific , social , political and economical transformations that took place in the nineteenth century.... In his Nice Work David Lodge describes the novelist as " a capitalist of the imagination " , who "invents a product which consumers didn't know they wanted until it is made available " (Lodge ,39) , describing thus the connection he finds between mass culture , whose roots are to be found in the transformations that took place in the nineteenth century ,and the development of the novel as a literary genre at the same epoch : " The novel was the first mass -produced cultural artefact ....
13 Pages (3250 words) Essay

Defences to Homicide Project

The Victorian Law Reform Commission was established under the Victorian Law Reform Commission Act 2000 as the central agency for developing law reform in Victoria.... When law reform bodies have reviewed defences and partial defences to homicide, they have frequently reached different conclusions on how factors which affect the culpability of the accused should be taken into account by the criminal law....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Oliver's Moral Life: As a little boy suffering under institutional cruelty and the uncaring attitudes of victorian society, leading a moral life was a big challenge for Oliver.... Character Sketch: Oliver was a child deprived of basic human rights, beaten and abused by the people who should have cared for orphaned children at that time....
4 Pages (1000 words) Book Report/Review

Literature Questions

These can be the texts that comprise the ideals of a nation, such as the Constitution of the United States, Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, the Bible, and any other number of volumes… They could also include texts that cover a single subject, such as Gawain and the Green Knight, Le Morte d'Arthur and the modern film Camelot which all deal in some close relationship with the Arthurian As is indicated in the last example, not all of these texts need necessarily remain within the realm of written text to be considered a part of the literary collection....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay

The Secret of England's Greatness

It would have inspired British citizens to feel pride, but might have intimidated a minority living in victorian Britain concerning the British Empire.... Both types of people living in victorian Britain would never imagine the switching of the positions of the two central figures.... Thomas Jones Barker's painting The Secret of Englands Greatness would have inspired British citizens to feel pride, but might have intimi d a minority living in victorian Britain concerning the British Empire....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Victorian life

The intricate stipulations for what to dress in and for what time were in past popular journals or home handbooks such as the Task: victorian life Victoria's case, it became habitual for families to observe intricate rites to venerate their deceased.... The intricate stipulations for what to dress in and for what time were in past popular journals or home handbooks such as the Cassell's, which were extremely popular with victorian housewives (Angelpig).... n conclusion, it is overtly clear that mourning practices in the victorian epoch were pertinent, and everyone had to revere them....
2 Pages (500 words) Research Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us