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. On his own at the age of twelve, Dickens learned many necessary life skills
which also developed in him a driving ambition and a boundless energy that
transferred into every thing that he did (28). It would be a mistake to think of
Charles Dickens as an uneducated man just because he had little formal
schooling. Dickens did what everyone should do, learn from life. His entire
writing career was a continuing process of development and experimentation. Many
of his themes keep repeating themselves throughout his pieces and those themes
most certainly stem from his early life. From his early Pickwick Papers to his
one of his last pieces The Mystery of Edwin Drood Dickens never ceased to
develop his writing abilities and skill, establishing himself as the major and
primary Victorian novelist (Bloom 189).
The journey from boyhood into manhood is
a momentous one, and definitely something that has a lasting effect on one's
person. Charles Dickens in his novel David Copperfield describes the journey
into manhood by telling a story similar to his own life through the life of
David Copperfield. There isn't one underlining theme in this novel there are
many. The journey is one that along with David's is longing for what is lost in
the past and the humiliation he feels from being an orphan. Dickens has written
an excellent novel describing the troubles of growing up and the benefits of
having a rough childhood. Through the rough experiences that he had, Dickens was
able to look back on his early life and write world-famous stories about them.
Calvin Brown feel that these experiences also helped shape the man the Dickens
became, as do all experiences in life for everyone (Brown 144) The structure of
Dickens's Copperfield has the freeness and the unity of a wonderful journey. As
the scene moves from place to place in the story each move also represents a
critical step in David's spiritual journey to manhood. Dickens uses the pattern
of changing scenes to provide both variety and contrast of mood. The atmosphere
changes as the story moves along from the Salem House to Blunderstone, giving
the story diversity. Dickens constantly shows how the life of David would have
been much easier had he had a decent father figure in his home while he was
growing up. David is constantly searching for what he has lost in the past. He
recalls the beautiful world of the Peggottys when he says, It seems to me at
this hour that I have never seen such sunlight as on those bright April
afternoons, that I have never seen such a sunny little figure as I used to see,
sitting in the doorway of the old boat...(Copperfield 7) This writing of Dickens
binds the reader to the story. David remembers the olden days and thinks of them
as the golden days (Allen 28).
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