The Themes Essay, Research Paper

Charles Dickens was a very popular British writer. In his years of writing he wrote many novels. Most of his novels are different from each other, but there are a few that have the same theme. His background affected his writing a great deal. One of his novels called Great Expectations was a very popular novel that dealt with love, loneliness, and human relationships. Another one of his novels The Christmas Carol dealt with greed, love, and a hard working man. As a novice writer he wrote many novels, but as the mature writer he wrote many more novels, and plays.

Dickens had a very rough life growing up. Charles Dickens was born on February 7th 1812 in Landport England. As a child he worked in a blacking warehouse where he had to cover pots of paste blacking with a piece of oil and paper, and then next he had to cover it with blue paper. Working there was very hard and it was a terrible experience for him. (Commire 64) He had little education and he was the second of eight children. In 1836 he married Catherine Hograth and they had ten children. Charles Dickens died on June 8th 1870 in Gadshill England from a stroke. (Commire 55) Dickens had a very busy life before writing. At age twelve he began working first at the blacking warehouse, then at age fifteen he was an attorneys clerk. Next he was a reporter for the True Sun, and then to the Morning Chronicle, and many more newspapers. (Commire 55)

As the novice writer all of his novels, and plays first appeared in periodicals such as the Monthly Magazine. He almost had a stage career while he was working as a court reporter. In 1836 his novel Pickwick Paper was a huge success. (Commire 79) He and his wife traveled to America in January of 1842 and returned to England in June. In October of 1842 American Notes was published. (Commire 82) Dickens children influenced many of his writings. Some of the characters in his novels were created from his children, wife, and sister. (Commire 85) In 1860-61 Great Expectations was published. On June 8th 1870 he had a stroke and died. (Commire 62) Many of his books are very much alike. A few of his books deal with love, and pain. In 1829 he fell in love with a woman named Maria Beadnell, and later she became a model for Dora in the novel David Copperfield. (Commire 77) Two of *censored*ens writings are very different the two novels that will be talked about are Great Expectations and Christmas Carol. (Commire 79)

As the mature writer Dickens began to write better and his books were more human like. Great Expectations was published in 1860-61. There are two major themes discussed in this novel. First, love in the context of human relationships, and isolation, which brings loneliness. (Dickens 10) In isolation the greatest sin we commit against others and ourselves is to shun human companionship as Miss Haversham did. By hardening her heart she committed a crime against herself. Miss Haversham adopted Estella, but not as a loving action, but a move to turn the child into a heartless person against men. (Dickens 52) Estella is very isolated which is part responsible for Pip’s snobbery from Joe and Biddy. (Dickens 54) Estella enters into a loveless marriage to Drummle, who is very cruel to her. This shows that no matter how heartless one is there is always someone more heartless. (Dickens 107) Magwitch is also isolated. He becomes very grateful for Pips actions toward him. Pip gave him food, and that makes Magwitch develop a fatherly action toward Pip. Love in the context of human relationships is best shown through Pip. (Dickens 417)

In the novel Christmas Carol there were two major themes. First, greed is a major action in this story. The second theme in this story is love. (Hardy 51) The main character in the story is Scrooge, who is the greediest man alive. He owns a business and a man named Bob works for him. Greed affects Scrooges life and also Bob’s family. Bob is not paid very much and therefore he can’t support his family. Scrooge hates Christmas and he never goes to any family dinners. (Hardy 57)

On Christmas Eve Scrooge receives a visit from the ghost of Christmas past, present, and future. In the visit he sees all the things in the past, present, and future. He never realized how greedy he was until then. When he went to Bob’s house and saw the meal that the family is eating and how sick Tiny Tim is he realizes how wrong he was. (Dickens 20) Everyone in the town saw a major change in him the next morning he bought a turkey and visited Bob. (Dickens 50) When Bob goes to work the next day Scrooge says,

“Now I’ll tell you what, my friend, I am not going to stand this sort of thing any longer, and therefore he continued leaping from his stool and giving Bob such a dig in the waist the he staggered back into the tank again, and therefore I am going to raise your salary.” (Dickens 75)

Second, love is a major theme in this story. At first Scrooge doesn’t show love at all, but in the end he is a very loving person. Bob loves his family very much and he wants them to have all they need to survive. (Dickens 46) Scrooge’s nephews love him very much and want him to be a part of the family. (Dickens 10) Love plays a very big role in this story because at the end if there weren’t love then Scrooge would still be the same greedy man that he was before.

Both of these novels are very good novels. Love is a theme that takes place in both of these books. (Smith 925) In the book Great Expectations the two major themes were love and isolation, and in the book Christmas Carol the two major themes were greed and love. (Smith 927) Love is a very important theme in both of these books they both show how a little bit of love can change a person forever. (Smith 928) Greed and isolation could resemble each other, because if someone is isolated for a long time they may become greedy toward others. (Smith 930)

Dickens feels very strong about love and it reflects his life. Dickens once said,

“It is wonderful to me how I could have been so easily cast away at such an age?.. My father and Mother were quite satisfied?My whole nature was so penetrated with grief and humiliation of such considerations, that even now famous, caressed, and happy. I often forget in my dreams that I have a dear wife and children; even that I am a man and wander desolately back to that time of my life.” (Dickens 538)

Dickens loved his children and wife very much. In most of his books his children were models for characters. (Smith 933) Many people feel that some of his books are misleading. (Hardy 50)

Charles John Huffman Dickens was his full name. I feel that he was a very successful writer in his time and also many of his books are popular today. I think that most of his books deal with real life situations and they are not some fairy tale. Most writers today write about things that will never happen in a person’s life, for example in Great Expectations it is a real life thing. A child can be an orphan and feel isolated and lonely. Also in Christmas Carol greed is a real life thing. There are a lot of people in the world that are greedy with money. Many people don’t celebrate Christmas for the right reason and money is a big issue in the world today. I feel that many people could be influenced by Dickens work. There are many children that are lonely or isolated today due to money and crazy things that have been brought into this world. I had only read two of Charles Dickens books before I done this report, but now that I have studied him and found more interesting things about him I plan to read more of his work. Many of his books are mysteries, but many people like to read them. I feel that his work has or could make a major influence on the world. If people would just take the time to sit down and read then maybe they would learn how important their children are. Many people in the world are too busy to spend time with their children, or they are worrying about making money. Greed and love are two emotions that can’t be put together. If you are greedy it is very hard for you to love.