Charles Dickens

British writer. Born in the suburb of Portsmouth on February 7th, 2002, 18 1870 died in Gateshill near Rochester on June 9th.

When I was a teenager, I had to go to school intermittently because of the embarrassment of family life. Later, he was forced to work as a child laborer in the factory. /kloc-After 0/5 years old, he worked as an apprentice, clerk and court recorder in a law firm. At the age of 20, he began to work as a newspaper reporter, covering the House of Commons. 1836, Potts Essays was published, which is a close-up collection describing daily life in the streets and lanes of London. In the same year, the serial novel The Story of Pickwick was published one after another, which caused a sensation after several issues. This is a humorous work in the form of a vagrant novel, which reflects the real life in Britain in the form of cartoons. After the initial success of The Biography of Pickwick, Dickens married Catherine and wrote a series of novels.

He wrote 13.5 novels in his life, most of which are representative works of nearly one million words, more than 20 novellas, hundreds of short stories, one close-up collection, two long travel notes, one history of children's English, and a large number of speeches, letters, essays and miscellaneous poems. He traveled and lived in continental Europe many times and visited the United States twice. After middle age, he founded two periodicals, Household Stories and All Seasons of the Year, and discovered and trained a group of new writers.

Dickens lived and wrote in the middle of19th century and the early Victorian era. Dickens' life activities and creations always keep up with the trend of the times. He mainly exposed the hypocrisy, greed, meanness and cruelty of the upper class and the bourgeoisie with realistic brushstrokes, showed the tragic situation of the lower class, especially women, children and the elderly, with indignation and deep sympathy, and described the struggle of the awakening working people with a serious and prudent attitude. At the same time, he eulogized the truth, goodness and beauty in human nature with idealism and romanticism, and looked forward to a more reasonable society and a better life.

Dickens' early novels are magnificent, popular and fluent, humorous and full of sentimental sentiment, in which the exposure and criticism of society are generally limited to local systems and fields. Such as Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nicholby, Old Antique Shop, Martin Zhu Schulwitt, A Christmas Carol, etc.

Since Dombey and Son, Dickens' creation has become more mature. Through the relationship between Mr Dombey, his son Paul and his daughter Florence, this novel discusses the erosion of human nature by economic potential, and reflects the writer's anxiety about the future of human society. David copperfield, Dickens' important masterpiece, further explores the struggle course of life. It is autobiographical, and it is a long scroll of the middle and lower classes in England in the middle of19th century. David, the hero, is a model of middle-class youth who struggled for kindness and insisted on justice in society at that time. Bleak House, Hard Times and Little Li Du are three important works with strong political consciousness. Bleak House reveals the darkness of British legal system and judicature with complicated plots. Hard Times directly describes the strike struggle, which is a response to the British constitutional movement. Little Li Du describes the debtor's prison life in detail, and at the same time exposes the redundancy and decay of British bureaucracy and system in greater depth.

Dickens' later works clearly reflect the deepening of creative theme, the maturity of skills and the exploration in many aspects. Great Expectations can be regarded as the opposite of david copperfield, but the exploration of life path has more practical and warning significance, and the author's optimism in his early years is obviously reduced. Pip, the hero, is also an orphan, but he can't stand the temptation of the environment and loses his original simple nature. After experiencing severe hardships, he repented and started a new life, and the whole novel was more concise in structure. Our Common Friend is another critical novel that goes deep into the society, in which the exploration of human nature and philosophy of life is more profound, and the symbolism and detective novel techniques used in the work add to its artistic charm. Dickens' last novel, The Mystery of Edwin Druid, has only completed 23 chapters, from which we can see that it is elegant in writing, rigorous in conception, full of suspense and mysterious and attractive.

Among Dickens' novels, the early Barnabe Raj and the later A Tale of Two Cities are historical novels. "Barnabe Raj" is set in the Gordon riots of English Puritans against Catholic rule at the end of 18. A Tale of Two Cities is set in the French Revolution. The two novels also have obvious irony and vigilance, aiming to show that unreasonable system and rule will inevitably lead people to rise up and resist, and the rising masses (called "mobs" by Dickens) will be like a scourge, which will be out of control and form huge irrational destructive power. These two novels undoubtedly represent Dickens' reformist stance and pessimistic view of history, and Sidney Kalden in A Tale of Two Cities sacrificed her life for the happiness of the woman she loved, which is the embodiment of Dickens' highest moral ideal and the finale of noble sentiments repeatedly praised in his novels. From the vivid descriptions and gripping plots of these two novels, we can find the obvious influence of the historical novelist Scott. Especially A Tale of Two Cities has always been regarded as one of Dickens' best novels, because of its elegant and profound brushwork, simple and perfect structure, numerous suspense settings and creative exploration of life philosophy and subconscious activities of characters.

The influential Dickens is the most outstanding representative writer in the prosperous period of English novels in the19th century. His novels are all-inclusive, appealing to both refined and popular tastes, and rich and colorful. His works and various popular, children's books and entertainment programs evolved from these works are widely spread all over the world. In China, as early as the early 20th century, Lin Shu and others translated Dickens' novels, and many outstanding masterpieces were translated into Chinese.

[Literary Works] Oliver Twist

[Literary Works] Oliver Twist

First, the masterpiece of British writer Dickens.

I have had some thoughts about Dickens and his novel art for a long time. I wrote this preface, and I said it for Dickens fans.

Oliver Twist is Dickens' second novel. The 25-year-old novelist is determined to pay tribute to the British realist painter William? William hogarth (1697- 1764) set an example and bravely faced life, which truly showed the miserable life in the slums of London at that time. He has a lofty moral intention: to protest against social injustice, arouse public opinion, carry out reforms and help the poor in dire straits. Because of this, Dickens has been defined by scholars in China and the former Soviet Union as "the founder and the greatest representative of critical realism in English literature". In this regard, I have some different opinions: literature and art is a special social ideology, and it must be a reflection of social existence. However, we must not regard all the literature that reflects reality as realistic literature, and expand the extension of "realism" indefinitely. In fact, the creative methods used by writers vary from person to person, which is closely related to the writer's special temperament and personality characteristics. Dickens' creative imagination is rich and full of poetic passion. He deliberately exaggerates his moral ideal, breaks through the faithful imitation of nature everywhere, and borrows a sentence from Goethe: higher than nature. This is related to Thackeray, Trollope and others' insistence on objectivity. There is a significant difference between calm and strict realism.

Take Oliver Twist as an example. (1) Personalized language is an excellent means used by Dickens in characterization. The language of hooligans, thieves and prostitutes in the book is commensurate with their status, and even uses industrial slang. However, Dickens never copied naturalism, but processed, refined and selected it to avoid using dirty and obscene words. Oliver, the hero, has a standard language and elegant speech. He doesn't even know what stealing is. He is an orphan who grew up in a poor school. He has no good education, and he is in contact with evil and degenerate people. How can he speak such good English? This can't be explained by the viewpoint of historical materialism that man is the sum of all social relations. It can be seen that Dickens focused on his own moral ideals rather than pursuing complete realism. (2) In excellent realistic novels, the storyline is often the development history of the character's character under the influence of the environment, that is, Gorky said "the history of a certain character, typical growth and composition". However, Dickens did not stick to any model, and arranged as many coincidences as he wanted. Oliver went shopping with thieves for the first time. The first person who was robbed happened to be Brown Rowe, a good friend of his dead father. The second time was robbed by the gangster Sikes, and it happened that his menstrual Ruth was stolen? Meles' home. This is unreasonable in any case. But Dickens has his own genius. His detailed description is full of life breath and passion, which makes people breathless, so they have to believe this far-fetched and unnatural plot. This is the charm of Dickens' art world. (3) When Dickens wrote, he always had a "sympathetic imagination", even for the heinous characters. The trial of Fagin, the thief leader and the old Jew in the book, always starts from Fagin's psychological point of view. He saw the floor from the ceiling and his eyes were fixed on him. He heard the statement of his crime, and he turned his pleading eyes to the lawyer, hoping to defend him. Some people in the crowd are eating, some are fanning with handkerchiefs, and a young painter is sketching him. He thought, I wonder if it looks like it. I really want to cran my neck to have a look ... a gentleman went out and came in again. I must have gone to dinner, he thought. What did I eat? Seeing the spike on the iron railing, he thought, it is easy to break. From then on, he thought of the gallows. At this time, he heard that he had been hanged. He just mumbled that he was getting older, and then he couldn't make any noise. Here, Dickens carefully chose a series of details, which not only described the objective things, but also cut into the inner world of the characters, showing his extremely rich imagination. The artistic method he adopted cannot be generalized by "critical realism". I worship George Dickens, an English writer. George Gith -ing (1857- 1903) called Dickens' creative method "romantic realism". I think this statement is accurate enough and conforms to the reality of Dickens' novel art.

abstract:

"Trouble!" Oliver said loudly, "Oh! Dear miss, I hope I can work for you. As long as it makes you happy, water your flowers or watch your birds, or run up and down all day to make you happy, whatever. "

"Nothing," said Miss Mele with a smile. "I told you before, we have a lot of things for you to do. Even if you can only do half of what you promised, you really make me happy. "

"Happy, Miss." Oliver cried, "it's very kind of you to say so."

"I don't know how happy I am," the girl replied. "I have an indescribable joy at the thought that my dear aunt helped save a person from the tragic experience you described to us. You really can't imagine how happy I am to know that the people she cares about and sympathizes with are sincerely grateful. Do you understand what I mean? " She looked at Oliver's thoughtful face and asked.

"Well, yes, miss, I understand." Oliver replied eagerly, "but I was thinking, I'm a little ungrateful."

"To whom?" The girl asked.

"The kind gentleman and the dear old lady used to be very kind to me," Oliver replied. "If they know how happy I am now, they will be very happy, I can assure you."

"They will be happy," said Oliver's mistress. "Mr rosebery is really a good man. He promised to take you to see them once you are well enough to travel. "

"Really, miss?" Oliver was overjoyed and couldn't help but let out a cry. "When I see their kind faces again, I really don't know what I will be happy about."

Oliver's health recovered quickly, and he could bear the long journey. Sure enough, one morning, he and Mr. rosebery set off in Mrs. Melly's small carriage. When the car reached Gatsby Bridge, Oliver turned pale and let out a cry.

"What happened to the child?" As usual, the doctor became nervous again and asked loudly, "Did you see anything-hear anything-feel anything-oh?"

"There, sir," Oliver shouted, pointing out of the window. "That house."

"Yes, what does that have to do? Stop the car. Stop here, "shouted the doctor. "Honey, what happened to that house, huh?"

"Those thieves-that's the house they took me to." Oliver whispered.

"Go to hell!" The doctor shouted, "Aha, there it is! I want to get off! "

However, before the driver jumped off the seat, the doctor managed to climb out of the car. He ran to the abandoned house and began to kick the door like a madman.

"hello?" An ugly hunchbacked man suddenly opened the door and said. The doctor almost fell down in the aisle because his last foot was too hard. "What's the matter?"

"What is it!" The man shouted and grabbed the man by the collar without thinking. "There are many things. Robbery. "

"There will be another murder," the hunchback replied coldly. "If you don't lose your hand. Did you hear that? "

"Ask me if I heard you," said the doctor, shaking the prisoner hard. "Where-what's that damn guy's name again-Sykes, by the way, where is Sykes, you thief?"

The hunchback man's eyes widened as if he were extremely surprised and indignant. Then he deftly broke away from the doctor's hand, growled a terrible curse and retreated to the room. However, before he could close the door, the doctor broke into a room without saying anything. He looked around anxiously: not a piece of furniture, not a thing, whether living or inanimate, can meet Oliver's description, and even the cabinet is in the wrong position.

"Hey," said the hunchback who had been keeping a close eye on the doctor, "what do you want to do by breaking into my house so rudely? Do you want to rob me or kill me? What kind is it? "

"Have you ever seen a man go out in a double carriage to kill and rob things, you ridiculous old vampire?" The impatient doctor said.

"Then what do you want to do?" Humpback whale asked, "If you don't go out, don't blame me for being rude!" " Fuck you! "

I'll leave when I think it's right,' said Mr. rosebery, looking at another room, which is the same as the one in front, and completely different from what Oliver said. "I will find you one day, my friend."

"Can you do that?" The ugly camel smiled coldly. "Whenever you want to see me, I am here. I have lived in this place for 25 years. I'm not crazy, and I'm not the only one who is afraid of you. You will pay the price, you will pay the price. " At some point, the clown gave a howl and jumped up and down on the ground as if he had lost his normal state.

"That's stupid, too," he said to himself. "The child must be mistaken. Here, put this in your pocket and lock yourself up. " With these words, he threw a bill to the hunchback and returned to the carriage.

Humpback man followed him to the front of the car door, giving out countless most savage curses and curses all the way. However, just as Mr. rosebery turned to talk to the coachman, he looked into the carriage with his probe, and suddenly he took a look at Oliver. His eyes are so sharp and aggressive, and at the same time so fierce and hostile that Oliver will never forget them in the next few months, whether he is awake or asleep. Until the driver returned to his seat, the man kept swearing. They set foot on the journey again, and then they can see him stamping his feet and pulling his hair behind him. Whether it is true or not, he is very angry.

"I'm such an idiot," said the doctor after a long silence. "Did you know before, Oliver?"

I don't know, sir.

"Don't forget next time."

"Fool," the doctor fell silent again. After a few minutes, he added, "Even if I find the right place and it's those guys, what can I do alone? Even if it helps, I can't see any results, I will only make a fool of myself and have to give up the story I covered up in the past. I really deserve it anyway. I always get up on impulse and put myself in a dilemma. This should teach me a lesson. "

In fact, this excellent doctor has been acting on impulse all his life. Here, he can say a harmless compliment to all the impulses that dominate him. He didn't get involved in anything particularly troublesome or unlucky, but he got extremely sincere admiration and respect from all who knew him. To be realistic, he is a little angry at the moment, and he has been disappointed for a minute or two. He really wanted to get definite evidence about Oliver's life, but the first opportunity he met fell through. However, he soon returned to his normal state and found that Oliver was still honest and consistent in answering his cross-examination, obviously as sincere and frank as ever. He made up his mind to believe his words completely from now on.

Because Oliver knows the name of the street where Mr. Brown lives, they can drive there directly. The carriage turned into the street, and his heart was beating so violently that he could hardly breathe.

"Come on, my child, which house is it?" Mr rosebery asked.

"That one. That. " Oliver replied, pointing eagerly out of the window. "The White House. Uh, let's go. Drive faster. I feel that I am going to die, and I have been shaking. "

"Here we are, here we are." The kind doctor patted him on the shoulder and said, "You will see them soon. They will be overjoyed to see that you are safe. "

"well! I hope so! " Oliver said loudly, "They are so good to me, very, very good."

The carriage moved forward and stopped. No, not this house, but next door. The car drove a few more steps and stopped again. Oliver looked up at the window, tears streaming down his cheeks, expecting with joy.

God, the white house is empty, and there is a poster on the window sash: "Rent".

"Knock on the neighbor's door." Mr. rosebery grabbed Oliver's arm and shouted. "Do you know where Mr. Brownlow, who used to live next door, went?"

The maid next door doesn't know, but she is willing to go back and ask. She came back soon and said that Mr. Brown had sold his goods and went to the West Indies six weeks ago. Oliver crossed his fingers, leaned back and collapsed to the ground.

"His housekeeper is gone, too?" Mr rosebery hesitated and asked.

"Yes, sir," replied the maid. "The old man, the housekeeper and a gentleman are friends of Mr. Brown. They left together."

"Then turn around and go home," Mr. rosebery said to the coachman. "Don't stop to feed the horses before we leave this damn city of London."

"Go to the bookstore, will you, sir?" Oliver said, "I know the way there. Go and meet him, sir. Go and meet him. "

"My poor child, this day has been disappointing enough," said the doctor. "We've both had enough. If we go to the bookseller, we will find him dead, or we will set fire to our house or run away. No, go home. " Driven by the doctor, they went home.

This disappointing search happened at a moment when Oliver was filled with joy, which made him very sorry and sad. During his illness, he happily thought for countless times about what Mr. Brown Rowe and Mrs. Bedwin were going to tell him, and he would tell them himself. How many long days and nights, he is remembering what they have done for him, regretting being separated from them and telling them how comfortable it should be. One day, I can wash the dirt off myself in front of them and explain how I was kidnapped. This hope inspired him and supported him to survive the tests again and again recently. Now, they have come so far and left with the belief that he is a liar and a robber-their belief may not be justified until the day he dies-and he can hardly stand the idea.

However, this situation has not changed the attitude of several of his benefactors at all. Two weeks later, the warm and sunny weather began to stabilize, and flowers and trees grew green leaves and bright flowers. At this time, they are ready to leave the house where they have lived in Jetz for several months. They sent the tableware that Fagin once coveted to the bank for safekeeping, leaving Kelsey and another servant to look after the house, and took Oliver to a country house in the distance.

The sickly child came to the countryside in the mainland, breathing the fragrant air and being in the dense forest of green hills. Who can describe the happiness, joy, peace and tranquility he feels? Who can tell clearly how this peaceful and quiet scenery is reflected in the hearts of people who stick to the downtown area, and how to deeply inject their vitality into their tired hearts! People live in crowded and narrow streets and have worked hard all their lives. They never want to change their environment-habit has indeed become their second nature, and they almost fall in love with every brick and stone that constitutes the narrow world where they walk every day-even when death reaches out to them, they will finally wake up and long to see the face of nature. Once they broke away from the old joys and sorrows, it seems that they immediately entered a brand-new world. Day after day, they slowly walked towards the sunny green grassland. When they saw the sky, hills, plains, lakes and Shui Ying, they awakened their memories. They only need to taste the taste of heaven in advance, and they can heal the pain of rapid decline. They entered the grave quietly like the sunset in the west. A few hours ago, they were alone in the bedroom window, watching the afterglow of the sunset slowly disappear in their dim eyes. The memory evoked by the quiet mountain village does not belong to this world, nor to the will and hope of this world. These memories will gently infect us and teach us how to weave bright wreaths and put them on the graves of our loved ones; It can purify our hearts and overwhelm old resentments. However, under all this, even the most numb mind in every heart, a vague and not yet fully formed consciousness, had this feeling consciousness a long time ago, which always lingers, enlightening people to pay serious attention to the distant future and put pride and vulgar thoughts under it. (Chapter 32)

Online reading of novels: /wai Guo 2005/d/ Dickens/wdge/index.html.