Charles Dickens
1812-70
1 Write down the significance
of the following dates
in Dickens’s life.
1812: Dickens’s birth
1824:
1827:
1868:
1870:
2 Answer.
1 What effect did poverty have
on his work?
2 Was Dickens a revolutionary?
3 What was Dickens’s attitude
towards the Victorian Age?
MAIN WORKS
• The Pickwick Papers (1836-37)
• Oliver Twist (1837-38)
• A Christmas Carol (1843)
• David Copperfield (1849-50)
• Hard Times (1854)
• Great Expectations (1860-61)
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APPROACHING THE WRITER
Dickens is not only the creator of extraordinary and unforgettable
characters. He also paints detailed descriptions of places and in particular
of London. When you read a novel do you appreciate descriptions of places,
cities or landscapes? Do you remember any description from a novel or
a poem that you found particularly impressive? Discuss in class.
B orn in Hampshire, in the south of England, the young Charles
Dickens moved with his family to London where Charles, at the age
of 12 (in 1824), was sent to work 12 hours a day in a factory. His education
up to this moment had been scarce but the factory owner, a friend of
his father’s, took pity on him and gave him some private tuition. His
father’s financial situation, however, was so bad that the whole family
was committed to debtors’ prison. Fortunately the family’s situation
improved slightly when Dickens’s grandmother died and left the family
a small amount of money which helped clear their debts and release
them from prison.
Dickens obtained a formal education, and in 1827 began to work, first
as a solicitor’s clerk and then as a freelance journalist. He also began
to write various papers anonymously.
The success of his first works led him to publish, in instalment form, his
first novels. He then went on to produce work relentlessly until his death,
also giving public readings of his works not only in England but also
in America. It was after a reading tour of the US in 1868 that he became
ill and died in 1870.
Charles Dickens is one of the most prolific writers in English literature.
His works are also amongst the most popular, being adapted for radio,
theatre, cinema and television still today. His childhood poverty had a
profound effect on him and his writing and also seems to have given him
an acute sensitivity towards his environment, his age and those who
peopled it. It also provided him with first-hand knowledge of the other,
darker face of the Victorian Age which he then transformed into material
for his works, producing unforgettable characters and situations which
blatantly exposed the inhumanities of his day. Yet, despite his social
criticism, Dickens did not propose revolutionary changes for his period as
he was, after all, a true Victorian. Rather, he advocated a moral solution as,
more often than not, in his tales good would overcome evil.
 The Victorian Age
5
Dickens’s most famous novels
Dickens’ most popular works include the following.
A Christmas Carol, which is the story of a cold-hearted and mean man,
Ebenezer Scrooge. After being visited by ghosts who reveal his selfish
character to him, he is transformed by the end of the novel into a generous
and kind being.
Oliver Twist tells the story of the orphan Oliver who becomes the victim
of a gang of boy thieves in London led by one of Dickens’s most famous
villains, Fagin. The most important themes of this novel
are the exploitation of children and
the deplorable conditions of the
Screenshot from the film Oliver
workhouses. Twist by Roman Polanski (2005).
Hard Times takes place in a fictitious
industrial northern town called
Coketown, coke being a form of
coal. It focuses on the oppressive
effect that factory-life has on the
characters in the novel and the
unscrupulous factory owner, Mr
Bounderby. VIDEO
Great Expectations tells the story of the
orphan Pip and it is a book combining

FLIPPED CLASSROOM
intrigue and unexpected twists. Dickens
himself stated that it is his best work.

Features of Dickens’s novels

It is true that Dickens’s novels are full of pathos, sentimentality and
melodrama, which would have appealed to Victorians but less so
to the modern reader. It is his humour, wit, brilliant dialogues and Charles Dickens
the vast array of characters in his novels, representing almost every Watch the video about
human characteristic, however, which still attract readers today. His Charles Dickens.
characterisation can be compared to that of Shakespeare, but unlike
Shakespeare’s characters those we find in the works of Dickens are
caricatures, deliberately accentuating one specific human feature, be it
avidity (Scrooge in A Christmas Carol), pride (Mr Bounderby in Hard Times),
evil (Bill Sikes in Oliver Twist) or good (Little Nell in The Old Curiosity Shop).
They are consequently ‘flat’ characters (Unit 3, p. 233), often either all good
or all bad but nevertheless they still remain unforgettable, due to Dickens’s
animated and vibrant writing. 3 List the titles of the most
famous of Dickens’s novels.
Dickens’s popularity
As a writer Dickens also exploited, and indeed became the champion of, 4 Answer.
the popular medium of the time, which was the novel in instalments. 1 What are the main ingredients
Families would gather together in the evenings to read the latest episodes of Dickens’s novels?
and discuss the possible outcome of events before next week’s issue, a 2 What are flat characters?
popularity similar to the TV soap operas of today. This made these works 3 Is there any product today
a potentially powerful tool for social and political propaganda and one, that can be considered similar
as we have already mentioned, Dickens used repeatedly. to the novel in instalments?

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 Charles Dickens Oliver Twist (1837-38)
BEFORE READING

1 Comment on this image from the film Oliver Twist. The place where the
action takes place is London. What can you see in the image? How does
London differ from the London of today? What is happening?

Screenshot from the film Oliver Twist
by Roman Polanski (2005) starring
Barney Clark as Oliver Twist and
Harry Eden as Artful Dodger.
Oliver Twist is one of the first novels in the English language to focus on a
child protagonist. Set in the backstreets and slums of London, this novel
exposes the appalling situation of the workhouses (Unit 4, p. 274) and
the exploitation of children as a cheap form of labour and as criminals.
Extreme poverty, hunger, murder and blackmail are all major elements
in this tale and, combined with the fear that accompanies Oliver right
to the end, make it a gripping story highlighted with moments of
comic relief.

Slums: dirty and Oliver Twist: the plot

overcrowded urban streets Oliver Twist is an orphan who lives until the age of nine in the parish
or districts inhabited orphanage but he is then taken back into the workhouse where he was
by very poor people. born to work for his food. In the workhouse Oliver shocks everyone by
(Oxford Dictionary) asking for more food, something never done before by any other child. As
a consequence he is sold for £5 to work as an apprentice at an undertaker’s,
but this situation is no better than the workhouse so he decides to run
away to London. There he makes friends with the Artful Dodger, a talented
pickpocket, who takes him back to his ‘home’, Fagin’s den, in the slums
2 Answer. of London. Fagin keeps a gang of homeless boys and trains them to
What is the novelty steal for him, helped by the brutal burglar Bill Sikes and his girlfriend,
about Oliver Twist? Nancy, a prostitute.

UNIT UNIT
3 5
LINKING THEMES Augustan Age Victorians

Children’s literature
Children’s literature usually includes works aimed at a younger reading public (age ranges from five to fifteen).
However, many books originally written for adults have also become children’s classic, such as Robinson Crusoe (Unit 3,
p. 229) and Gulliver’s Travels (Unit 3, p. 243). Literature written specifically for children began quite late as it was not
until the beginning of the 19th century, also thanks to the theories of Jean Jacques Rousseau, that children began to be
regarded as individuals in their own right and not just looked up as miniature adults.
It was the Victorian Age that saw a vast increase in the output of children’s literature and many novels of the period,
such as The Secret Garden by Frances H. Burnett, The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (p. 143), Tom Sawyer by Mark
Twain and the novels by Jules Verne have become classics and are still popular today. Today children’s literature is
more diverse and expansive than ever before. Some works such as the series of Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling are to be
remembered as the greatest best-sellers among children’s books.
In Italy the most popular author of children’s literature was Emilio Salgari with his pirate tales such as The Tigers
of Mompracem and The Pirates of Malaysia.

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 The Victorian Age
5
Oliver is forced to work for Fagin as a thief and one night is shot when 3 Complete.
trying to steal from a rich family. When the lady of the house, Mrs Maylie, Oliver Twist grows up in an
realises he is only a child she is shocked and decides to take care of him. 1
. He works
Nancy visits Mrs Maylie as she would like to help Oliver and eventually, at an 2 .
with the help of a kind gentleman who befriended Oliver, Mr Brownlow, Then he runs to 3
,
they discover Oliver’s true identity and he is adopted by Mr Brownlow. where he is trained to steal
Nancy is murdered by Bill Sikes for helping Oliver but Sikes also dies by a 4 . After
and Fagin is finally captured by the police and hanged. The innocent his true identity is discovered
by a 5
young Oliver is saved and the villains are all punished.
he will live happily and all
6
will be punished.

Please, sir, I want more AUDIO CD 3 - TR 02/MP3 02

The situation of the boys in the workhouse had become unbearable

as their hunger was now at its limit. One particularly tall boy had
said that if he did not have something more to eat he would eat 4 Answer.
the boy who slept next to him during the night! It was decided 1 What part of the day is it?
that one of them should ask for another bowl of gruel and so they 2 What are the boys doing?
drew lots. Unfortunately Oliver gets the short straw and is made 3 Who stands near the table?
to ask for more.

The evening arrived: the boys took their places; the master in
his cook’s uniform stationed himself at the copper; his pauper1
In Oliver Twist Oliver was in a
assistants ranged themselves behind him; the gruel2 was served workhouse where the conditions
out, and a long grace3 was said over the short commons4 . The gruel were dreadful and he asked
5 disappeared, and the boys whispered 5 to each other and for more food.
winked6 at Oliver, while his next neighbours nudged7
him. Child as he was, he was desperate with hunger
and reckless8 with misery. He rose from the table, and
advancing, basin and spoon in hand, to the master, said,
10 somewhat alarmed at his own temerity –
‘Please, sir, I want some more’.
The master was a fat, healthy man, but he turned very
pale. He gazed in stupefied astonishment on the small
rebel for some seconds, and then clung9 for support to
15 the copper. The assistants were paralysed with wonder,
and the boys with fear.
‘What!’ said the master at length, in a faint voice.
‘Please, sir,’ replied Oliver, ‘I want some more.’
The master aimed a blow10 at Oliver’s head with the
20 ladle11 , pinioned12 him in his arms, and shrieked aloud
for the beadle13 .

1. pauper: indigente. 7. nudged: davano delle gomitate.

2. gruel: porridge. 8. reckless: incauto.
3. grace: preghiera prima del pasto. 9. clung: si aggrappò.
4. commons: pasti magri. 10. blow: colpo.
5. whispered: bisbigliavano. 11. ladle: mestolo.
6. winked: facevano l’occhiolino (come 12. pinioned: immobilizzò.
segnale). 13. beadle: sagrestano.

37
 Charles Dickens Oliver Twist

The board14 were sitting in solemn conclave when Mr Bumble

rushed into the room in great excitement, and addressing the
gentleman in the high chair, said –
25 ‘Mr Limbkins, I beg your pardon, sir; – Oliver Twist has asked
for more.’ There was a general start. Horror was depicted
on every countenance15 .
‘For more!’ said Mr Limbkins. ‘Compose yourself, Bumble,
and answer me distinctly. Do I understand that he
30 asked for more, after he had eaten the supper
allotted by the dietary16?’
‘He did, sir,’ replied Bumble.
‘That boy will be hung17,’ said
the gentleman in the white
35 waistcoat18; ‘I know that boy
will be hung.’

14. board: il comitato direttivo (dell’ospizio).

15. countenance: viso.
16. allotted by the dietary: prevista dal regime
dietetico.
17. will be hung: finirà impiccato.
18. waistcoat: panciotto.

Barney Clark as Oliver Twist in the

film by Roman Polanski (2005).
OVER TO YOU

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT

1 Answer true or false.
1 They boys are given lots of food. T F
2 They finish the meal quickly. T F
3 Oliver asks for more. T F
4 He is given some more food. T F
5 Everyone is shocked by Oliver’s request. T F
6 The gentleman on the board wants to send him to bed. T F

2 Put the following sentences in the correct order. The first has been done for you.
a All the boys signalled to Oliver to ask for more.
b Mr Bumble, the beadle, was called.
c One man said Oliver would be hung for his actions.
d 1 The gruel was served to the boys.
e Mr Bumble told the board about Oliver.
f The master hit Oliver on the head with his ladle.
g Before eating the boys had to say a long prayer.
h Oliver went to the master with his basin and spoon and asked for more.

38
 The Victorian Age
5

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

3 Answer the following questions.
1 The word ‘more’ is repeated five times in the passage. Oliver does not, however, say ‘more food’, but simply
‘more’. From what you know about the conditions in the workhouses why is this significant? What does Oliver
need ‘more’ of?
2 Despite the tragic situation described, Dickens gives the reader comic relief with his use of irony. Can you say
what is ironic about Oliver being described as a ‘small rebel’ (ll. 13-14)?

4 The tragi-comedy effect is further developed by the following, say how. Choose the correct alternative.
A The master was ‘a fat, healthy man.’
B Mr Limbkins cannot believe that Oliver asked for more after he had eaten his bowl of gruel.
C ‘That boy will be hung’ said the gentleman in the white waistcoat; ‘I know that boy will be hung.’

5 What feelings do the adults and children have in the passage? Choose from the following and put them
into the correct column.
anticipation • happiness • shock • elation • indignation • fear • surprise • desperation

Children Adults

6 Dickens often chose names for his characters which would either tell the reader something about their
character or about their physical appearance. The beadle’s name is Mr Bumble, which describes both his
character and his appearance as it is the name of an insect. Look up the word ‘bumble’ and ‘bumble bee’
in an English dictionary and find out why it is an appropriate name. Use an Italian bilingual dictionary
to help you with translations.

7 DISCUSSION Discuss the following topics in class.

1 Referring to Dickens’s biography, what possible autobiographical elements can you find in the text?
2 How can you interpret the act of Oliver asking for more soup? Do you think that he does well or that he should
have avoided this?
SUMMARY

8 Complete using the words below.

compassion • conditions • gruel • class • children • meal • hungry • expulsion
The scene described in the passage is set in the workhouse where Oliver Twist lives and works.
During a 1 in the workhouse he has the temerity to ask for more
2
. He speaks not only for himself but for all the children that are terribly
3
since they are given very little to eat. This action will cost the poor child
the 4 from the workhouse.
In this passage Charles Dickens criticises the injustice of the time and the lack of 5
of the people belonging to the higher 6 . At the same time he exposes the terrible
7
in which poor people, in particular 8
, were forced to live.

39