Son of the poor; father of the rich; novelist; journalist; editor; illustrator; social commentator; Charles Dickens. Charles John Huffam Dickens lived from February 7, 1812 to June 9, 1870 and was a profound Victorian English author who wrote many acclaimed pieces, such as A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, and Oliver Twist, to mention but a few. During Dickens’ early years, his family was impoverished, and his father, John Dickens, was arrested and put into debtor's prison, along with his family. Charles was then forced to leave school and go to a boot blacking factory in order to support his family with the meagre income he earned. The working conditions were deplorable with rats scurrying everywhere in the dilapidated factory where Dickens …show more content…
Some of his accomplishments are the books that he published. One of his most astounding achievements is that he came from nothing and became someone remembered for centuries. He was a poor boy who became very wealthy through his books. Most of his novels had some connection to his childhood and early years. Some of his most eulogized books are Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities, A Christmas Carol , and David Copperfield. In these, he influenced the status, treatment, and life of the Victorian English poor, and made a great difference to the lives of children by informing the world through his books about the arduous work they were forced to do. After reading his book, Oliver Twist , the rich decided to help the poor by improving their general treatment and greatly improving their lives. In support of his cause, he also donated money to the …show more content…
His mother dies shortly after giving birth to Oliver who is then brought up at a "child farm" in the country until he is about eight years old. At this point, the parish officials running the child farm decide it’s time for him to start working, and they send him back to the workhouse. However, Oliver commits the inexcusable offence (at that time) of asking for more food after eating his ration, so the parish officials offer five pounds to anyone who’s willing to take Oliver on as an apprentice. A coffin-maker purchases Oliver whom he takes off with him. Oliver gets into trouble there and after being abused some more, he decides to set out for London on foot. He falls into the wrong hands by joining a group of child thieves organized by an adult called Fagin who trains the boys to steal and bring the loot to him. One day, he is wrongfully accused of stealing from a gentleman, named Mr. Brownlow, who later feels empathy for him and fosters him for a while. However, the thieves manage to abduct Oliver again while he is running some errands for Mr. Brownlow and they try to make criminal of him. On one of his assignments to steal, Oliver chooses to warn the family instead that they were going to be robbed. Fortunately, Oliver is picked up by the people who accidentally shot him, a family that turns out to be as nice as Mr. Brownlow. While Fagin and the