Why Did Charles Dickens Write Bleak House

Biographical Summary: Charles Dickens was born February 7, 1812 in Portsmouth and spent most of his childhood on the south coast of England. Here he attended good schools and had a relatively carefree and enjoyable life style. However, this soon changed with the families move to London. In London, Dickens’ father was imprisoned for debts and Dickens was forced to take up a job in a blacking warehouse. During this time, Dickens lived in “cheap lodgings,” and was “nearly starving” (Ford 2). Though this seems like minor trouble in the life of young Dickens, this became an instrumental force in Dickens’ writing. While working in the blacking warehouse, Dickens also felt “willfully abandoned by his parents,” which led to Dickens making most of

He continued his education into his adult life in the British Musueum in London, where he was exposed to a literature. Many critics often blame Dickens informal education for his “crude” writings. However others argue that this informal education allowed Dickens to write Bleak House, a “great masterpiece” in the minds of critics (Ford 3). After finishing his education, Dickens began to work as a clerk in lawyers’ offices. Here he learned how to write with speed and accuracy, which was instrumental in his publication of novels as monthly editions in local newspapers. His early exposure to law and politics allowed him to believe that the government is extremely inept in dealing with social concerns. This is seen in novels such as “The House” where Dickens called the House of Commons “strong in clowns” (Ford 3). Also, Dickens shows his exposure to lawyers in several novels as comical relief. For example, in The Tale of Two Cities, the scene between Sydney Carton and Stryver, two lawyers, is meant to draw laughter as Carton is drunk yet still able to recall certain laws and their meanings. Dickens later decided to become an actor, however he missed his audition due to a severe cold. Dickens references the importance of one event and its effects in most of his novels. For example, in Great Expectations, Pip constantly remembers when he met

It was regarded as a “sensational triumph” in the minds of the people who read the book through its monthly publications (Ford 7). After the Pickwick Papers were published, Dickens wrote several books with various degrees of fame. As he published new novels, Dickens also began to gain more criticisms of his style and topics of his books. Many called attention to his “clumsy construction” and described his characters as “lifeless bores” (Ford 12). Due to the numerous criticisms of his work, Dickens went to America in order to meet his fans across the Atlantic. Dickens deeply desired a visit to America as it was a self-made country and he was a “self-made man” (Ford 16). However, Dickens was shocked to find that the American allowed slavery and the vicious attacks on himself by American newspapers. His experience with the Americans allowed for him to create satire works, which mocked the Americans. This was seen most prominently in his novel, Martin Chuzzlewit. After returning to England, Dickens wrote novels such as David Copperfield and Bleak House, which drew praise from the audience and critics. During this time, Dickens was also an advocate for “sewage disposal” and “juvenile illiteracy” (Ford 18). He used his journalism and poilitical experience from his younger, clerk days to help make London a better place. Dickens later went on to experiment with