Dickens' work has been highly praised for its realism, comedy, mastery of prose, unique personalities and concern for social reform
Major Works
15 novels and a number of short stories
a plete and realistic picture of English society of his age
the highest achievement in the 19th-century English novel
behind the gloomy pictures of oppression and poverty, behind the loud humor and buffoonery, is his gentleness, his genial mirth, and his simple faith in mankind
First Period (1836—1841)
Period of youthful optimist: fun, high spirit, naive optimism
At this stage Dickens believed that all the evils of the capitalist world would be remedied if only men treated each other with kindliness, justice, and sympathetic understanding. Dickens thought that the whole social question would be solved if only every employer reformed himself according to the model set by the benevolent gentlemen in his novels. This naive optimism is characteristic of the petty-bourgeois humanitarians of his time.
Representative works
Sketches by Boz 《博兹特写集》
The Pickwick Papers 《匹克威克外传》
Oliver Twist 《雾都孤儿》
Nichols Nickleby 《尼古拉斯·尼克尔贝》
The Old Curiosity Shop 《老古玩店》
Barnaby Rudge 《巴纳比·拉奇》
Second Period (1842-1850)
Period of excitement, irritation and frustration: exposing the corrupting influence of wealth and power, optimism turned into dissatisfaction and irritation
Dickens ' s second period began from 1842, the year after his first visit to America. Before the visit, Dickens thought of the United States as a world in which there were no class divisions and human relations were humanitarian. But what impressed him most during his visit there was the rule of the dollar and the enormously corruptive influence of wealth and power. Dickens ' s naive optimism toward the capitalist society was profoundly shaken.
Representative works
American Notes 《美》
Martin Chuzzlewit 《马丁·朱述尔维特》
A Christmas Carol《圣诞颂歌》
The Chimes《教堂钟声》
The Cricket on the Hearth《灶上蟋蟀》
Dombey and Son《董贝父子》
David Copperfield 《大
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