Charles Dickens Research Paper

World-renowned author Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812 in Landport, Hampshire, England. He was born at a time in which every day brought a new story of civil unrest and violent actions. The second of eight children, Dickens’ parents were John Dickens, a clerk in the Navy Pay Office, and Elizabeth Dickens. The Dickens family moved to London in 1815, and Charles spent his childhood there. These years were very important for him as they are described as “pleasant, formative boyhood years” (“The Life of Charles Dickens”). While Dickens received some schooling, he already was very interested in reading. In 1824, Dickens’ father was arrested for debt and sentenced to three months in prison. He was joined by his wife and younger children,

Reed explains in his essay, “The Gentleman in the White Waistcoat: Dickens and Metonymy” that Charles Dickens uses a sense of realism in his works and approaches that realism through metaphors and similes. Dickens tends to include “items that do not seem to have any integral function but merely extend or enhance a given situation” (Reed). When Oliver was sold to the vile chimney sweep Gamfield, it is noted that “that same evening, the gentleman in the white waistcoat most positively and decidedly affirmed, not only that Oliver would be hung, but that he would be drawn and quartered into the bargain (Dickens). The white waistcoat is a man who gives Oliver “sage advice”; advising that he hang himself quick with his pocket handkerchief. This seemingly useless detail comes into effect later in the novel when Fagin begins to appreciate all Oliver has done in stealing pocket handkerchiefs, in other words, cheating a symbol of death. This handkerchief-meaning-death symbol has a resonance known only to the narrator and could be considered “secret” metonymy. Dickens writes it this way so there is a sense of realism in the story, allowing readers to relate to Oliver’s world. The “secret” metonymy sheds a light on Dickens’ feelings toward the

Oliver spends nine horrible years in a less-than-stellar orphanage, but surprisingly keeps a positive attitude. The way Dickens describes the orphanage is hauntingly true-to-life. In this era, it was believed that paupers and criminals are born evil, and there is nothing that can change that. Oliver is the complete opposite of that description, for he has a good heart and dislikes taking part in criminal activity. When Oliver witnesses the Artful Dodger steal a man’s handkerchief for the first time, he “stood, for a moment, with the blood so tingling through all his veins from terror, that he felt as if he were in a burning fire” (Dickens 97). Although Oliver is grateful to Fagin for taking him in, he is not meant for the life Fagin intends for him to lead, of stealing innocent people’s pocketbooks and handkerchiefs. Fagin has resorted to sending his gang out stealing because poverty has hit him hard and he needs a way to stay alive. His poverty has guided him to evil, which is a harsh reality showcased to readers. A relieving notion is that not all poverty leads to evil, as Oliver