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CHARLES DICKENS: DAVID COPPERFIELD - Coggle Diagram
CHARLES DICKENS: DAVID COPPERFIELD
Victorian Era
under Queen Victoria's reign
1837-1901
Great Britain
one of the most expanded empires
extending its borders into America, Africa, Asia
becomes the first political and economic power of the world
mid 19th century
expansion of literacy and print culture in England
almost everyone could read
novel
the main form of literature
Industrial Revolution
transformed the social landscape
manufacturers and capitalists amass huge fortunes
Britain's industrial power
railway system
Great Exhibition
new factories were built
means of producing goods more quickly and cheaply
most poor children worked there
help the family's budget
dangerous jobs
blacking warehouses
working for long hours
inreased social mobility
wide gap between the rich and the poor
people moved from the country to the city
in search of opportunities
overpopulated migration
only few children went to school
great age of the English novel
long
plotted
many complications
ideal form to describe contemporary life
entertain the middle classes through its drama, humour and plot complications
Publication date
1850
Themes
the plight of the weak
orphans, women and the mentally disabled
neither pity nor compassion is the rule in an industrial society
inhumanity of child labour and debtor's prison
equality in marriage
successful marriage
wealth and class
measures of a person's value
Motifs
mothers and mother figures
have and essential influence on the identity of the characters
Miss Betsey, David's aunt
corrects him
encourages him to be strong and fair
Uriah's mother
dotes on her son
allows him to dominate her
accented speech
Mr Peggotty's lower-class accent
genuine humility and poverty
Uriah's accent
attempt to appear poor and of good character
he drops it when his fraud is revealed
physical beauty
corresponds to moral goodness
Symbols
the sea
powerful force
almost always connected to death
flowers
simplicity
innocence
daisy
David's nickname
he is naive
David brings Dora flowers on her birthday
Dora forever paints flowers
Mr. Dick's kite
his separation from society
carefree simplicity
Mr. Dick's childish innocence
pleasure
honest and unpretentious joy Mr. Dick brings to those around him
Literary devices
pathetic fallacy
foreshadowing
foils
hyperbole
imagery
Bildungsroman
Point of view
first person
narrated by David
tells his story from his grown up
all knowing perspective
conveys the wisdom of the older man through the eyes of a child
Genres
autobiographical novel
Dickens draws on his own experiences
Bildungsroman
a story of growing up
takes the protagonist from early childhood to early middle age
a movement from naive innocence and total inexperience through a series of mishaps and apprenticeships toward a more mature state of experienced knowledge about the world and self-confidence
a novel of social protest
Setting
London
portrays the harsh conditions among the lower classes
Characters
represent different classes
illustrate the wide gulf between the classes in Victorian England
David Copperfield
trusting
kind
has moments of cruelty
he intentionally distresses Mr. Dick by explaining Miss Betsey's dire situation to him
displays great tenderness
when he realizes his love for Agnes for the first time
Steerforth
wealthy
powerful
noble member of the upper-class
these traits are more likely to corrupt than improve a person's character
Doctor Strong and his wife
wealth
middle class family
morally upstanding
Uriah Heep
was raised in a cruel environment
his upbringing causes him to become bitter and vengeful
demonic character
red hair
red eyes
snakelike movements
he becomes cruel and vain
David's mother
physically beautiful
noble
good
Uriah's mother
allows her son to dominate her
Dickens
wrote about London life and the struggle of the poor
Bildungsroman
focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the individual from youth to adulthood
first person point of view
following the experiences of the main character