Dickens's moral aspects in portraying a child's process of growing up

Abstract

The main intent behind this dissertation is to give the reader a cross-sectional view of how Dickens, throughout his writing career managed to outline and depict several moral aspects, significant in his works especially when treating the issue of childhood and the process of growing up. To achieve this goal, three Dickens's novels: Oliver Twist (1838), David Copperfield (1850), and Great Expectations (1861) were closely analysed. These works were preferred to the other novels for various reasons, one being the portrayal of the Victorian child growing up in different environments, facing different difficulties while encountering with good and evil situations. Through these novels, all being written in different periods of Dickens's life, the author's moral development and his maturity in handling certain moral themes can be traced out. This work starts with an Introduction which contributes in showing what a number of critics had to say when discussing Dickens's morality, and how this morality matured as Dickens grew older. Following the Introduction, this dissertation is divided into three chapters each analysing the different and similar moral aspects of the three novels mentioned above. In all three chapters an account is given in order to exhibit the various major and minor characters found in Dickens who are seen as either having noble and upstanding characteristics or negative ones. Through this, one can easily observe the impact these characters have on the life of the child-male hero in each novel while being in the process of growing up into a man.