Charles Dickens Research Paper

Charles Dickens is considered by many to be one of the, if not the greatest writer of the Victorian era, a time that ran from 1837 to 1901 (Queen Victoria’s rule). During this time, England was beginning the industrial revolution and population was increasing because of the technological advances made in this era. Dickens was mainly a novelist, but it could be argued that many of his works were editorials. The definition of an editorial according to Merriam Webster is: “a newspaper or magazine article that gives the opinions of its editors or publishers.” (Merriam Webster). Another, possibly more fitting term for his works, would be a political cartoon depicted in writing; as the definition for a political cartoon is “a drawing (often including

The doctor appeared very much of the same opinion himself.” (Dickens 88). In this quote, it is painstakingly apparent that this man is literally just re-wording everything that Oliver says, if only to make it sound like he himself came to that conclusion. It seems the only thing that can compare to this man’s level of incompetency is his ego, as seen near the end of the quote when it says, “The old lady made a respectful inclination of the head, which seemed to say she thought the doctor was a very clever man. The doctor appeared very much of the same opinion himself.” (Dickens 88). It is astounding, that even though he is merely re-wording everything he says, which he surely knows he is doing, he still believes that he is “clever,” this just shows that he can somehow bring his incompetency to a new level. However; Dickens seems to believe that not all doctors of his time are “clever” to the degree that the previous man showed. He seems to believe that a percentage of doctors, however small, are competent doctors who actually went to medical school, as seen on page 237 during Oliver’s second encounter with a doctor, “his wounded arm bound and splinted up” (Dickens 238)

Crazy wooden galleries common to the backs of half-a-dozen houses, with holes from which to look upoun the slime beneath; windows broken and patched with poles thrust out on which to dry the linen that is never there; rooms so small, so filthy, so confined, that the air would seem too tainted for the dirt and squalor which they shelter” (Dickens 417). The first thing that should really stand out is the part in which it says: “when his eye is turned to the houses themselves, his utmost astonishment will be excited by the scene before him.” (Dickens 417). This quote suggests that you were not expecting to have seen it in such disarray, this is confirmed in the “cheap edition” of Oliver Twist in which Dickens responds to some claims made by Sir Peter Laurie, a magistrate of the time, that the Jacob’s Island described in Dickens’s book, was a mere figment of his imagination. Dickens replies, and says the description was an alarmingly accurate depiction of the residence, decimated by a Cholera outbreak in 1849 in which over 10,00 people died.