查尔斯.狄更斯的再现与补偿（英语本科论文）

1、PAGE PAGE 20毕 业 论 文题目： 查尔斯.狄更斯的再现与补偿作 者： 王秋辉 指导教师： 王一凡 所在系部： 外语系 年级班级： 2011级本科 学 号： 20111222200081 完成时间： 2013年2月 RECONSTRUCTION AND COMPENSATION OFCHARLES.DICKENSWANGQIUHUIA Graduation Thesis Submitted toForeign Languages Department of Tangshan Teachers CollegeIn Partial Fulfillment of the Requireme

2、ntsFor the Degree of B.A. Tutor: Wang YifanSpecialty: EnglishTangshan, Hebei ProvinceFebruary20, 2013摘 要查尔斯.狄更斯是一位伟大的作家，他的天才主要表现在对儿童生活的生动的描写。他的力作大卫.科波菲尔是一部非常优秀的作品，不仅被作者看成“最喜爱的小说”，也博得了几代人的青睐。本文对狄更斯的生平与大卫.科波菲尔的内容作了简介,并将作者和主人公的人生进行了比较、分析,发现两者在很大程度上极其相似,进而得出如下结论: 大卫.科波菲尔是以狄更斯为原型的自传体小说,作者在这部作品中,重新再现了自己的辛

3、酸，向世人倾诉了不幸的童年和痛苦的经历,对内心最深处的那份受到压抑的情感进行了毫无保留的表达，使这部作品博得了上亿读者的喜爱,同时,也使作者得到了精神上的解脱和心理上的补偿。关键词：自传 重新再现 解脱补偿AbstractThere is no doubt about the greatness of Charles Dickens, whose genius is most explicitly demonstrated in his portrayal of child life, nor about that of David Copperfield, which has been en

4、joyed by generations of readers. The writer, himself, was very much fond of this book, too. He considered it as his “favorite child.”I made a brief introduction of the life of Charles Dickens and briefly introduced the content of David Copperfield in this article. Comparing the life of the author an

5、d that of the hero David Copperfield, I found they were similar in many ways. I got conclusion as following: David Copperfield was an autobiographical novel based on the life of the author, Charles Dickens, the author talked about his miserable boyhood and bitter experience in the novel which he had

6、 never talked to others before, including his wife and lovely children. To some extent, it was the autobiographical elements in the story, and more than this, Dickens revealed his innermost feelings without reservation, and reconstructed himself in the book, made this book get fame and loved by gene

7、rations of readers. At the same time, this book became a vent for Dickens to his pent-up emotions, the author got mental release and psychological compensation by writing the novel.Key Words: autobiography reconstruction release compensationContentsIntroduction11. A brief introduction of Charles Dic

8、kens12. A brief synopsis of David Copperfield2Chapter I Transition from autobiography to fiction3-61.1 Miserable boyhood and bitter experience of Dickens3-4 1.2 The start of writing an autobiography4-5 1.3 Transition to an autobiographical fiction6ChapterReminiscence and reconstruction of Dickens th

9、e boy7-10 2.1 The painful past of Dickens with the childhood of David72.2 The autobiographical elements in David Copperfield82.3 The reconstruction and reshaping of the author in the book9-10Chapter III The mental release and psychological compensation in the novel11-133.1 David Copperfield, the ven

10、t to release the author113.2 The compensation of the reality in Dickenss life12-133.3 The polish and perfect of David the character13Conclusion: 14Bibliography: 15Introduction 1 A brief introduction of Charles Dickens Dickens was from a poor family, and when he was very young, his family were consta

11、ntly in debt. In order to pay some of the creditors, young Charles made frequent trips to the pawn shop, but eventually, his father was arrested and sent to debtors prison. At the age of 12, Dickens was sent to a warehouse. Dickens attended school off and on until he was 15, and then left for good.

12、In the late 1820s, he became a newspaper writer and reporter. Dickenss first book was Sketches by Boz (1836), and this was the beginning of his career. Then he became famous and was so until he died. In the April of the year he married Catherine Hogarth, however, it was never a happy marriage and Di

13、ckens separated from his wife twenty years later. His writing output increased, and a number of his novels were published, including Oliver Twist, Great expectations, and Nicholas Nickleby. By the 1840s, Dickens was the most popular writer in England. In 1849, he began one of his most important nove

14、ls, David Copperfield. To some peoples opinion, David Copperfield is the most important book among Dickenss products. It has fascinated many readers for many years and it has great fame even now, the author loved it as “a favorite child.” He said in the preface of the book: “Of all my books, I like

15、this the best.”(a) After David Copperfield, Dickens wrote novels that were bitter and caustic.During the last years of his life, Dickens traveled in England and America, giving public readings from his works. The strain weakened his health, and he died in 1870 at the age of fifty-eight. 2 A brief sy

16、nopsis of David Copperfield David Copperfield traces the life of David from the time of his birth to his mature manhood, when he is marriage and familiar with the vicissitudes of life. His early years are enjoyable with his widowed mother and with her servant Peggotty. But everything gets changed af

17、ter his mother marries again. His cruel step father sends him to work in a London warehouse after his mothers death, then he flees to his Aunt Betsey Trotwood in Dover. Aunt Betsey treats him well, adopting him and sending him to good schools. When at school, he boards with Mr. Wickfield and his dau

18、ghter Agnes. After graduation, David works in a law office of Spenlow and soon falls in love with Spenlows daughter, Dora. About this time, Emily, the Peggottys beloved niece, runs off to marry Steerforth, whom David has innocently introduced to the Peggottys, which makes him feel guilty. He marries

19、 Dora, only finds that she is a “child wife” “who knows nothing of housekeeping and cannot accept any responsibility”(b)Meanwhile, Uriah Heep, an “umble ” clerk in Mr. Wickfields employ, deceitfully works his way into a partnership with Wickfield. But Mr. Micawber, an old friend of David, exposes He

20、ep as a fraud, helping to save Mr. Wickfield and restoring some of Aunt Betseys finances which was “lost”.Davids wife, Dora, dies after some time, and David goes abroad for three years. It is only after he returns that he realizes that Agnes has been his true love all along, and they get married at

21、last. David becomes a successful writer.Chapter = 1 * ROMAN I Transition from autobiography to fictionDickens the haunted man and the remembrance of his past The bitter experiences in the childhood of Dickens haunted him throughout his life but were unknown to his readers after his earlier success i

22、n literal field. In 1847, when he was 35, he has published seven long novels, and became a famous novelist in England and Europe. He has got fame, position, wealth, a tender wife with five lovely children; he was a reporter, an actor, a conjurer, a poet, a lecturer and editor, the life seemed so ful

23、l and colorful, but the nightmare of his childhood haunted him every day and night, “the wounds were still unhealed after a quarter of a century” (c). One day in March or April this year, one of the colleagues of Dickens father recognized him in a party and consulted Forster, Dickens good friend, ab

24、out this, and told Forster that he had met Dickens in a warehouse. It was not until Forster asked Dickens all about this, he admitted that he was the poor boy in the blacking warehouse, then he poured out every humiliated and miserable experience in childhood that he could never forget to this since

25、re friend.Dickens was a clever and happy boy when he was young. He enjoyed reading and was especially fond of adventure stories, fairy tales and novels. Such earlier English writers as William Shakespeare, Tobias Smollet and Henry Fielding influenced him. All of the books offered a wider world and m

26、otivated his curiousness to become a learned and distinguished man. But his dreams crushed because of the financial problems of his family.When Dickens was ten years old, his father was put into the debtors prison. As the eldest son of the family, he had to leave to look after himself and, with the

27、help of a relative, found a job pasting labels in a blacking warehouse. “He was poorly clothed, ill fed, forced to live in the cheapest place to be found, and to associate with the toughest kind of companions”.(d) Looking back on the painful emotions, Dickens wrote, “No words can express the secret

28、agony of my soul. I felt my early hopes of growing to be a learned and distinguished man, crushed in my breast”.(e) Dickens endured humiliation in order to earn one shilling a day, and only on Saturday could he go to the prison to accompany his family, handed in his six shillings to his parents to b

29、uy foods and daily necessities. He lost the happiness of a child and sank into the bottom of the society. Even after his father was released and the family inherited some money, his mother wanted him to continue with his “job”. Dickens was shocked violently by his mothers asking him to go back to th

30、e blacking warehouse.This experience was so bitter and galling to the sensitive boy that years after, when he was a successful happy man, he could not look back upon it without tears in his eyes. And because of the influence of the general mood in Victorian Age, working people were looked down upon;

31、 Dickens buried the experience in his inner heart, which became a nightmare for him. He never spoke to others, including his wife and lovely children. He was even, never courageous enough to go back to the places where he had worked.When his heartbreaking memory was mentioned again by his friend, al

32、l the affairs of his childhood flooded; agony, humiliation, bitterness, grievance, all kinds of emotions made him hard to bear. Dickens needed a drain to lead off, to free him from the burden.1.2 The start of writing an autobiography When Catherine, his wife, was giving birth to their sixth child, D

33、ickens started writing about his own “favorite child”. Though incipient difficulties troubled him for some time, like he wrote, “I am lumbering on like a stage-wagon, I am quite aground,” in the first Number (April 19), the reader did not find this, and they were at once in a tide of the story. “In

34、any art, above all, where genius is engaged, the work done most fluently and easily is apt to be the best.”（f） Dickens made the book his favorite, in which he transcribed his own experiences, producing not only a fine novel, but a disguised autobiography as well. He recalled the debtors prison; of t

35、he blacking shop, of the lonely, self-supporting childhood, with his tiny budget and fears of housekeeping, his sense of being degraded by his environment, and of the “something there” within him, which Andre Chnier spoke of on the scaffold. All this he has made immortal in “Copperfield” with the mo

36、st pity and humor.Before all others, Dickens chose to write an autobiography. He faithfully noted down every incident. His childhood remained to him as vivid a series of pictures as those that he used to watch in the polished screen. He was engaged in the autobiography writing that was fluently goin

37、g, and didnt want to publish it until his death.“Once, I remembered carrying my own bread (which I had brought from home on the morning) under my arm, wrapped in a piece of paper, like a book, and going to a famous alamode beef-house near Drury Lane, and ordering a small plate of that delicacy to ea

38、t with it. What the waiter thought of such a strange little apparition coming in all alone, I dont know; but I can see him now, staring at me as I ate my dinner, and bringing up the other waiter to look. I gave him a halfpenny for himself, and I wish he hadnt taken it.”（g）“, It was a crazy old house

39、 with a wharf of its own, abutting on the water when the tide was in, , its decaying floors and staircase; the squeaking and scuffing of the old gray rats down in the cellars; and the dirt and rottenness of the place, are things, not of many years ago, in my mind, but of the present instant. ”（h）Tra

40、nsition to an autobiographical fiction Forster read these autobiographical fragments by accident, and suggested Dickens to write an autobiographical fiction, in which he could have space to polish the reality and to give vent to his oppressed feelings. Dickenstook it into earnest consideration, as a

41、 result of which, he stopped hiding his autobiography and began writing the novel.Dickens was thinking over “Copperfield ” at the close of 1848,early in the January, he, with Lemon and Leech, visited the scene of Rush murder, and Dickens saw and fell in live with Yarmouth: “the strangest place in th

42、e wild world, I shall certainly try my hand at it.” Because he liked the name of “Blunderstone ”, which is a village of Yarmouth, he thought of combining his childhood with the environment there. Thus, he could write not only his own experience filled his mind, but also a hero, he, himself, would no

43、t recognize. He would dramatize the reality.Chapter = 2 * ROMAN II Reminiscence and reconstruction of Dickens the boy 2.1 The painful past of Dickens with the childhood of David Never was there a book so fluent and facile under the pen of Dickens. He went back to his childhood, and lived in the worl

44、d of the story. And then, he felt that David Copperfield was not a novel, but a fictionalized autobiography, because Copperfield was Dickens himself. He made David suffer from misery after shot period of happiness in childhood just like him; let David indomitably lift himself out of poverty and mise

45、ry through endless efforts, serve an apprenticeship in a lawyers office, learn shorthand, become a newspaper reporter and writer, who was specialized in covering debate in Parliament and become a famous writer at last, all of which can be seen in the real life of Dickens. Dickens life experience, de

46、stiny, nature, temperament, idea, philosophy, emotion, love affairs, kinds of details were given to David. He was as merry as Dickens in early youth, was as sensitive as him, as diligent and industrious as him. He even gave David his manner of speaking and his own looks, all of which are the reconst

47、ruction of himself. There is no fault of saying Dickens was reshaping himself in the novel, so are the other characters in the world of David. For example, Dickens told the story of Mr. Micawber, who was “constantly in debt”according to the real life of his father, a kind, tender, humorous, pleasant

48、 man who was always giving advice “Never do tomorrow what you can do today.” Besides the gigantic Mr. Micawber, Peggotty, the old servant who loved David throughout her life, has drawn its material from his kind old grandmother. Moreover, he combined his first love and wife into one in the novel, ma

49、de her his “child wife” Dora, who is a good woman but lack of intelligence. Then, Dickens two cousins, who were his ideal and true love, became the prototype of Agnes, the second wife of David.2.2 The autobiographical elements in David Copperfield It was only after his autobiographer John Forster pu

50、blished his Life of Charles Dickens in 1872 that readers learned of Dickens difficult youth and of the autobiographical nature of one of his finest creations, David Copperfield. Before that, no reader of David Copperfield could be aware of the pang it must have cost Dickens to lay bare, though to so

51、me unsuspecting eyes, the story of experiences which he had kept all but absolutely secret, could not recur in his own mind without a quivering sensitiveness. No reader could trace, as the memory of Dickens always must have traced, some of the most vivid of those experiences. These autobiographical

52、elements more or less become the charm to the readers and attraction to the author. The following are some correspondences of his book and life: a.David is taking out of Salem House School and out to work in the warehouse of Murdstone and Grinby in London.Dickens was taken out of Chatham School and

53、out to work in the blacking warehouse of James Lamert in London.b. Micawber, with whom David is living, is imprisoned for debt in the Marshalsea Prison. His family moved with him and David visited them there when working.John Dickens, Dickens father, was imprisoned for debt in the Marshalsea Prison.

54、 His family moved in with him and Charles visited them there when working.c. David works as an articled clerk in the law firm of Spenlow and Jorkins in Doctors Common. Later he takes up shorthand and becomes a parliamentary reporter.Dickens worked as an office boy for law firm of Ellis and Black-mor

55、e in 1827. He also took up shorthand and becomes a parliamentary reporter in 1832.d. David begins writing “in small ways” and has his material published.Dickens late in 1832 began writing sketches of London life and short stories that were published in the Monthly Magazine.e. After the success of hi

56、s first work of fiction, David gives up his reporting in order to devote himself full-time to writing.After the success of Pickwick in 1837, Dickens gave up his reporting job on the Morning Chronile. 2.3 The reconstruction and reshaping of the author in the book In David Copperfield, Dickens made go

57、od use of his own life experience to attack the social evils of the day, the miseries of child-labor, the tyranny in school, the debtors prison, as well as the cruelty (of Mr. Murdstone and his sister Miss. Murdstone), the immortality (of Steerforth) and the teachery (of Uriah Heep) that are prevale

58、nt in Victorian England. So, the novel is not merely pure personal record, “but a picture of the society of the author s day”（i）， it is Dickens experience made into fiction, all in all, he was making a novel. In the book, David escaped from the warehouse to a sympathetic aunt, and he married Dora af

59、ter the “timely” death of her father. This did not happen in real life, and it is almost as though Dickens was reconstructing parts of his childhood the way he wished it had been. In the novel, too, Dickens showed his contempt for his parents (in the guise of the Murdstones) for sending him to the b

60、lacking factory, and, at the same time, his devotion to them (the Micawber family) as lovable eccentrics. Dora Spenlow became both Maria Beadnell and, later, the simple-minded Catherine Hogarth, his real wife. The novel, thus, is both fantasy and fact.No matter whether the plots of the novel are tru