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1、Dickenss critical realism in David CopperfieldI. Introduction Victorian literature was the literature produced during the reign of Queen Victoria (18371901) and corresponded to the Victorian era. It formed a link and transition between the writers of the romantic period and the very different litera
2、ture of the 20th century. In this period, popular works opened a market for the novel amongst a reading public. The 19th century was often regarded as a high point in British literature as well as in other countries such as France, the United States of America and Russia. Books, and novels in partic
3、ular, became ubiquitous, and the Victorian novelist created great books with continuing appeal.1.1 Charles Dickens and his worksIn the long period of domination of Queen Victoria, Charles Dickens was the most popular writer. Being the greatest representative of the English critical realism, he gave
4、us a most vivid picture of everyday life, of the ordinary people of his times. He created a large number of life characters, well known, full of life and unforgettable. He had suffered so bitterly himself as a child and had seen so much evilness. So he decided to fight with evilness. He believed tha
5、t a hard-working and honest man could achieve his little personal business under capitalism. The success of one great novelist would rely on the carrier: his works, to support himself. Charles Dickens wrote many a novel such as The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, Dombey and Son, Hard Times and A Tale
6、 of Two Cities. Charles Dickens used his pen to mould a typical figure of all strata in the Victorian age: Mr. Pickwick, the benevolent gentleman; Oliver Twist, the good lucky young man. All above novels played an important role in Charles Dickens successful career. But David Copperfield, a novel ba
7、sed on his early life experiences, was Dickens satisfied reminiscence of his life and literary reappearance of his personal history. Like Dickens, David works as a child, pasting labels onto bottles. David also becomes first a law clerk, then a reporter, and finally a successful novelist. Mr. Micawb
8、er is a satirical version of Dickenss father, a likable man who can never scrape together the money he needs. Many of the secondary characters sprang from Dickenss experiences as a young man in financial distress in London. So we could see that Dickens liked this novel very much. No wonder Dickens w
9、rote, “of all my books I like this the best; like many fond parents I have a favorite child and his name is David Copperfield”. David Copperfield, the strong-willed young man who relied on himself suffered a lot and at last became a successful novelist like Dickens. Through the description of David
10、Copperfield, Charles Dickens made a fierce and harsh attack upon the bourgeois society, and at the same time showed deep sympathy for the benevolent, the poor, the depressed and the innocent. In this book the good would surpass the evil, the truth would conquer the false and all kind-hearted people
11、would embrace the endowments of life. 1.2 The synopsis of David Copperfield The story dealt with the life of David Copperfield from childhood to maturity. David was born in England in 1820. Davids father had died six months before he was born, and seven years later, his mother married Mr. Murdstone.
12、 David was given good reasons to dislike his stepfather and had the same feelings for Mr. Murdstones sister Jane, who moved into the house soon afterwards. Mr. Murdstone thrashed David for falling behind with his studies. Following one of these thrashings, David bit him and was sent away to a boardi
13、ng school, Salem House, with a ruthless headmaster, Mr. Creakle. Here he befriends James Steerforth and Tommy Traddles, both of whom he met again later on. David returned home for the holidays to find out that his mother had had a baby boy. Soon after David went back to Salem House, his mother and h
14、er baby die and David had to return home immediately. Mr. Murdstone sent him to work in a factory in London, of which Murdstone was a joint owner. The grim reality of hand-to-mouth factory existence echoed Dickens own travails in a blacking factory. His landlord, Mr. Wilkins Micawber, was sent to a
15、debtors prison (the Kings Bench Prison) after going bankrupt, and was there for several months before being released and moving to Plymouth. David now had nobody left to care for him in London, and decides to run away. He walked all the way from London to Dover, to find his only relative, his aunt M
16、iss Betsey. The eccentric Betsey Trotwood agreed to bring him up, despite his visiting in a bid to regain custody of David. Davids aunt renamed him Trotwood Copperfield, soon shortened to Trot, and for the rest of the novel he was called by either name, depending on whether he was communicating with
17、 someone he had known for a long time, or someone he had only recently met. The story followed David as he grew to adulthood, and was enlivened by many well-known characters that entered, left and re-entered his life. These included Peggotty, his faithful former housekeeper for his mother, her famil
18、y, and their orphaned niece Little Emly who lived with them and charmed the young David. Davids romantic but self-serving school friend, Steerforth, seduced and dishonored Little Emly, triggering the novels greatest tragedy; and his landlords daughter and ideal angel in the house, Agnes Wickfield, b
19、ecame his confidante. The two most familiar characters were Davids sometime mentor, the constantly debt-ridden Mr. Wilkins Micawber, and the devious and fraudulent clerk, Uriah Heep, whose misdeeds were eventually discovered with Micawbers assistance. Micawber was painted as a sympathetic character.
20、 In typical Dickens fashion, the major characters got some measure of what they deserved, and few narrative threads were left hanging. Dan Peggotty safely transported Little Emly to a new life in Australia, accompanying these two central characters were Mrs. Gummidge and the Micawbers. Everybody inv
21、olved finally found security and happiness in their new lives in Australia. David first married the beautiful but nave Dora Spenlow, but she died after failing to recover from a miscarriage early in her marriage. David then did some soul-searching and eventually married and found true happiness with
22、 the sensible Agnes. Agnes had secretly always loved him. They had several children, including a daughter named in honor of Betsey Trotwood.1.3 Critical realism The critical realism of the 19th century flourished in the forties and early fifties. The realists first and foremost set themselves the ta
23、sk of criticizing capitalist society from a democratic viewpoint and delineated the crying characterization of bourgeois reality. As a representative of critical realism, Charles Dickens was the greatest English realist of the time. He created pictures of bourgeois civilization, describing the miser
24、y and sufferings of common people. II. The impact of critical realism Critical realism earns a high position in the literature world. It is one of the most important parts of literary genres. Critical realism has a dramatic influence on the development of literature and still has great realistic sig
25、nificance.2.1 The historical position of critical realism Critical realism was a product formed during the capitalist establishment, development and consolidation. It widely reflected peoples social life, the class relations. It revealed the nature of society at that time and significance of profoun
26、d thought.Realism was also deeply engraved with a clear print of history and was obviously limited by class and history. Critical realism which stood on the ground of common people showed the evils of the bourgeoisie so that the evils of the bourgeoisie would be known by more and more people. The wr
27、iters of critical realism showed sympathy for working class and exposed the evil of the bourgeoisie radically, critically and profoundly. So critical realism reflected life, enlightened people and deepened their thought. The influence of critical realism The impact of critical realism was dramatic.
28、Critical realism became one of the most famous literary genres. Humanitarians used critical realism as an ideological weapon to criticize the sins of capitalist and feudal tyranny. Critical realism writers were full of compassion for the masses oppressed by capitalist and feudal tyranny. A lot of wr
29、iters contrasted the better quality of working people with the evil one of aristocrats. There were many writers to describe little people and the suffering of little people. Many writers also fancied social improvement with the moral force to resolve social contradictions, but the result was that th
30、e ideal could never be achieved. So they caught some pessimism. However, the value of critical realism was not the writers point in the right social path. The works of critical realism showed the enormous suffering of the people and the evil of aristocratic bourgeoisie through their works. So critic
31、al realism literature showed the evil image of capitalism, and broke the peoples optimism about capitalism, causing people to doubt the reality of permanent order. Critical realism did shake peoples old conception about capitalism. Under the critical realist writers pen, the novels creation had expe
32、rienced unprecedented prosperity. They made this literary genre develop to a mature stage. So this literary genre became a very important literature style. The colorful picture of life and a wide variety of characters ware cast in the full structure of the organic plot by critical realism, showing a
33、 deep and rich social content, both in thought and art. It had reached unprecedented height. While the leading position of critical realism literature in the history of literary trends had ended, the writings of critical realism had left a long-term impact on literature. The understanding of critica
34、l realism literature was beneficial to the study of Western literature. And it had far-reaching significance.2.3 The realistic significance of critical realism At present, with the deepening of our reform, our economy is advancing rapidly and peoples moral standards are undergoing great changes. The
35、 majority of job seekers put the level of income as a very important factor and even the primary factor to consider. They show great utilitarian when choosing their career. Thus great changes have occurred in our social life. The economic development improves the living standards of people. Obviousl
36、y, this is an important indicator of social progress. However, in the progress of social development, the development of spirit is not in accord with that of material. Many people become the slaves of money and are at the mercy of it. In order to grab the money, they are unscrupulous and even break
37、the law. The insatiable desire for money is the root of various economic crimes. This phenomenon also affected the party. Some people have been the members of the party for many years, but can not withstand the temptation of money. Many common people can fight between brothers, sisters, and even par
38、ents for money. In short, corruption is quite usual now. Of course, socialism is different from capitalism. We should see that the feudal class and the influence of bourgeois ideology can not be eliminated in the short term. Therefore, for some people who can not properly deal with money, their corr
39、uption in our authorities is inevitable. The problem is not whether there are crimes in the economic field and corruption in official circles in our society, but whether we have the confidence, determination, and ability to solve these problems and eliminate corruption. Colleges and universities are
40、 an integral part of society, therefore, students will know more about the society. Why do some students establish an unhealthy consumption conception, regardless of their own reality? Why some students begin from petty theft at an early age and end in robbery? Therefore, we should do a good job of
41、ideological and moral education to gradually establish a correct world outlook, outlook on life and values on their mind. We should implement aesthetic education, and guide them to read the healthy books that are highly ideological. There are many famous works of Critical realism. Through the approp
42、riate recommendation and introduction to students, the works of Critical realism will not only enrich their spiritual lives, cultivate character, purify the soul, but also enhance the moral education, intellectual education. The students enhance their understanding of aesthetic pleasure in their rea
43、ding and make good grades. It also reduces corrupt elements for the future, for some students will get into the management of national areas. In the society of market-oriented economy, regardless of capitalism or socialism, the money relationships between people are very important social relations.
44、To treat and handle this relationship properly will be beneficial to the construction of socialist spiritual civilization and social stability. Critical realism literature insists on starting from a true picture of life. This kind of literature is not only exposing and criticizing the evilness of fe
45、udal and capitalist classes, but also reflecting the misery that the common people suffered. To a certain extent, critical realism literature expresses deep sympathy for working people. Currently, in the literary and artistic creation, it is still necessary to learn the writing method of critical re
46、alism literature. In the process of creation, we should not only oppose the abstract, idealized, conceptual trends of creation, but also oppose the negative tendencies of naturalistic style of the description and the pursuit of box-office value. The literature that arouses the readers curiosity and
47、carefully describes the corruption and crime scene will seem to be “real” on the surface, but it is not necessarily true of art. Such real, for those inexperienced children, would have a negative impact. To reproduce the so-called real life is by no means description of the phenomena of life-style r
48、eflected in the mirror. To reflect the nature of life, we must concentrate on the phenomena of life and conclude them with our wisdom. Or we just reflect the phenomena of life and not the essence of life.Since the introduction of the translation of critical realism literature, it has produced extens
49、ive, far-reaching effects. It has educated many people, for its superb artistry and the distinctive characters. So far, it is still widely welcomed, particularly among college students. Many classics are made into movies. III. Dickenss critical realism in David Copperfield From David Copperfield, we saw that Charles Dickens used his pen to criticize many aspects of the society at that time, including the misera
