The Victorians

1. The Victorians 1830 – 1880

2. Queen Victoria was crowned at age 18. This era marked the climax of England’s rise to economic and military supremacy. Queen Victoria had very high moral values. • 2. Great extremes existed wit h English society at this time. Charles Dickens’ novels point out the great contrasts between the rich and the poor.

3. 3. The Industrial Revolution caused great unrest for the lower classes, but many writers of the time believed that through this revolution “the ordering and creating God” had caused the English to become “the greatest and most highly civilized people the world ever saw.” • 4. At this time in England, reading (not theatre or music) was the most popular form of entertainment, as well as the primary venue for information gathering.

4. 5. The dominant literary form of this era was the novel, which dealt with the middle-class world; financial struggles; social acceptance; and love and marriage. Authoring a literary work had finally become financially rewarding (i.e. there was no longer a need for patrons to sponsor a writer’s work).

5. Charles Dickens1812 – 1870 • 1. After Shakespeare, Dickens is the most popular English writer. During his lifetime, he completed 14 novels. • 2. His boyhood was a struggle for survival.

6. Charles Dickens1812 – 1870 • 3. His father was charming, but irresponsible about money matters, and his family suffered for it. By the time he was ten, the family was penniless. He had to go to work at twelve years old. His family was living in a slum. • 4. His parents found him a job at a warehouse. He called this experience, “the secret agony of my soul.”

7. Charles Dickens1812 – 1870 • 5. After about a year and a half, kind relatives rescued his family from poverty and Dickens went back to school filled with hope. • 6. At fifteen he began a career as a law clerk; he used his stenography skills to record speeches in Parliament. By the age of twenty he had become a successful newspaper reporter.

8. Charles Dickens1812 – 1870 • 7. He first became famous for his short and comical, fictional sketches known as Pickwick Papers, which appeared in a monthly London magazine. • 8. He wrote all his novels for serial publication. Each new novel brought him a wider readership.

9. Charles Dickens1812 – 1870 • 9. Dickens’ work always combines the comic and the tragic; and he has a comprehensive view of human life. His writing provided him a vehicle to raise his voice against the injustice and suffering of his era.

10. Charles Dickens1812 – 1870 • 10. His plots are rich with incident, complex, and full of suspense. His characters live and stay clearly imprinted on the memories of his readers. The excerpt from his novel David Copperfield is an excellent example of Dickens’ ability to create wonderfully memorable characters.

11. FromDavid Copperfield 1. Who is the narrator of the story? David Copperfield • 2. What does the narrator mean when he says, “I was a posthumous child”? He means that his father died before he was born

12. FromDavid Copperfield • 3. Of whom are David’s earliest memories? His mother and Peggotty • 4. What three items does David recall being in his backyard? • A pigeon house, a dog kennel, and a “quantity of fowls”

13. FromDavid Copperfield • 5. Why does the best parlor seem doleful to David? • He has been told the story of his father’s funeral in that room • 6. What memories does David have about the churchyard? He remembers it as green, shady and quiet

14. FromDavid Copperfield • 7. What happens to David in the church? He falls asleep and falls out of the pew. • 8. David says that the fruit on the trees in his yard were “riper and richer than fruit has even been since, in any other garden.” What does this reveal about his view of those early years? • It reveals that David’s memories of his childhood have become romanticized

15. FromDavid Copperfield • 9. What is David’s reaction to the gentleman with “beautiful black hair and whiskers” who walked his mother home? • He is jealous of the man touching his mother’s hand and he has an instinctive dislike for him

16. FromDavid Copperfield • 10. What causes the argument between David’s mother and Peggotty after David has fallen asleep? Peggotty and David’s mother argue over the suitability of this man for David’s mom • 11. What proposal does Mr. Murdstone make regarding David? He proposed to take David with him to Lowestoft to see a yacht.

17. FromDavid Copperfield • 12. List three characteristics of Murdstone’s face that David sees upon close scrutiny. “shallow black eye,” square jaw, ,”dotted indication of the strong black beard,”“regular eyebrows” • 13. What joke did Murdstone, Quinion, and Pasnidge make at David’s expense? • They referred to him as “Brooks of Sheffield” so they could laugh at him without his being aware of it

18. FromDavid Copperfield • 14. What is David’s mother’s reaction when David tells her what the men had said about her? • She was pleased, and asked him to repeat the conversation for her benefit • 15. In the same passage, what does David’s mother caution him not to do? • She cautioned him not to tell Peggotty about what the man had said

19. FromDavid Copperfield • 16. What plan does Peggotty talk of with David? She tells him that they will go to visit her brother at Yarmouth • 17. What is revealed about David’s future? • David says that he “little suspected what I did leave forever.” His way of life is to be permanently changed

20. FromDavid Copperfield • 18. What does Mr. Murdstone do, as David’s mother stands in the road watching the cart carrying David away? He chided her for being so moved by David’s departure • 19. What surprises David about his reception when he arrives home? • Not his mother, but a strange servant meets him at the door

21. FromDavid Copperfield • 20. Who informs David that he has a new father? When is he told? Peggotty tells David that he has a new father after the marriage has already taken place • 21. What does Mr. Murdstone tell David’s mother to remember about her behavior? • He tells her to remember “to control yourself, always control yourself.”

22. FromDavid Copperfield • 22. What has happened to David’s bedroom while he was away? • His room has been moved to the farthest part of the house • 23. Who does David’s mother blame for David’s attitude toward the marriage? • Peggotty

23. FromDavid Copperfield • 24. What implied threat does Mr. Murdstone make to David in an attempt to force him to succumb to his authority? He implies that he will beat David into submission, like a stubborn horse or dog • 25. What happens to make a bad situation worse for David? • Miss Jane Murdstone, Mr. Murdstone’s sister, comes to live with the family

24. FromDavid Copperfield • 26. What purpose does David feel his imposed lessons really served? • He feels they were used as occasions for teaching his mother firmness • 27. What does Mr. Murdstone do when David is not able to recite his lesson correctly? • He boxes David’s ears with a book or throws the book at him.

25. FromDavid Copperfield • 28. In what way does David believe he has changed by the end of six months with his new father? • He has seen himself grow “sullen, dull, and dogged.” • 29. What keeps David from becoming “almost stupefied”? • he reads books that his father had left in the house

26. FromDavid Copperfield • 30. According to David, what do the books do for him? • The books feed his imagination and “kept alive…hope of something beyond that place and time.” 31. What does David do when Mr. Murstone beats him? • David bites Murdstone’s hand

27. FromDavid Copperfield • 32. How is he punished for his action? • He is imprisoned in his room for five days. • 33. What plan for David’s future does Peggotty reveal to him? How does she communicate with David? • Peggotty tells him that he will be sent away to school the next day. She communicates with him through the keyhole in his door.

28. FromDavid Copperfield • 34. What promise does Peggotty make to David? • She promises to watch over and care for his mother as she has him

29. FromDavid Copperfield • 35. To what source does David attribute his mother’s tears when he sees her just before leaving for school? • He believes she is crying because she has been convinced that he is wicked, rather than because he is leaving.

30. FromDavid Copperfield • 36. What does that comment of David’s indicate about his attitude toward and understating of life? • David’s comment about the reason for his mother’s sorrow indicates that he has become cynical and less naïve.

31. FromDavid Copperfield • 37. How well do you think Dickens succeeds in telling things from a child’s point of view? Explain. • Very well. Many times he shows things from a child’s visual perspective or limited understanding of events.