Charles Dickens is an influential author for all ages. He has written many books that children know very well, including A Christmas Carol, with the character, Ebenezer Scrooge, finding his love for Christmas again. Dickens has also written some more mature books with topics that relate to our world today, such as Great Expectations, were the young boy, Pip, deals with an abusive family. In Charles Dickens books, we read many different themes that all have one thing in common: good v.s. evil.
Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812 in Portsmouth, England, United Kingdom to his parents John and Elizabeth Dickens, and was their second child, they would go on to have eight children. John Dickens was a naval clerk and his mother had always dreamed of being a teacher so she helped as much as she could for her children to succeed. In 1824 his father was sent to prison for debt. Charles decided to leave school and try to help the family as much as he could. Later on, his father would be released from prison, and Charles would go back to school only to be pulled back out at the age of 15 to once again help with the family income (Biography). The Victorian Era was a time that the government was not seen as much because of the changing laws as well as no longer being able to sentence people to cruel and unusual punishments. This played a role in getting Dickens’s father out of debtor’s prison in England. Dickens wrote a piece on the five Points neighborhood in New York City.