Charles Dickens Biography Essay Example
Charles John Huffam Dickens, or known as Charles Dickens, was a Victorian-era novelist whose writing is still greatly appreciated today. He was considered to be the greatest writer during this time period because he enjoyed writing about problems that were not talked about; for instance, past misses, viz, popularity, critical acclaim, wealth, and celebrity status during his lifetime (Al Creighton, 2012, p. 465).
Born on February 7, 1812, Dickens was born and raised in Portsmouth, United Kingdom for most of his life. He was the son of John and Elizabeth Dickens. Most of his origins came from a middle-class family. He was not wealthy but did have financial trouble. Dickens' study was interrupted twice in his life. He first attended school for about a year, but discontinued. At the age of 15 he abandoned school again to help the family by working in an office. He had to teach himself grammar points and correct ways of writing, since he had few schooling experience. Nevertheless, he had a happy childhood with loving parents. He lived a short life, dying on June 9, 1870. His cause of death is believed to be a stroke, and it is known that he fell ill the previous day, but ignored the problem. He passed away in the UK at the age of 58.
During the Victorian Era time period, a lot of political and social reform changes were brought upon the world calling for a better democratic system. The first electric telephone was invented by an English inventor named Charles Wheatstone. Additionally, the Vaccination Act is made mandatory for parents to vaccinate newborn children against Chickenpox. (History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2019). When this was occurring, Dickens’ was being inspired by everyday life occurrences in London. The life conditions people were in, crime, and corruption were some of his inspirations. By writing about them, he hoped to reform them (Study.com, Why did).
His most widely recognized work includes A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield. However, his greatest achievement as an author was the book ‘Great Expectations’ because of how memorable the characters and the storyline was. All of his literary work had meaning within them and created a set of fiction. Although he received no awards in his lifetime, his work got him to become one of the greatest writers in this time period. His books are greatly appreciated to this day and many modern-day writers praise his literary work (Ben Davis, 2021).
Dickens’ work is still recognized today because of the occurrences and messages that were brought upon in the readings. It is classical literature that many people can relate to because of daily struggles that were unshared by society and other authors in the 1800’s. His descriptions of life and the city struggles created a vivid image of what life was like for people in this time period. The terrible working conditions or treatment towards people were some scenarios. When writing, his intention was to create an impact by letting others know what was happening. In the end, changes were made and the overall conditions got better.(Newsround, BBC).
Altogether, Charles Dickens is one of the most influential and inspiring literary authors. While relating to society and helping his readers comprehend what was going on or the wide world problems were left untalked about. His work will continue to be read by the next generation and Dickens’ legacy will live on despite the fact that it has been about 200 years since.
