Charles Dickens: Life and Major Works

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the life of Charles Dickens and detailed analyses of Oliver Twist and Hard Times.

Portsmouth

The place where Charles Dickens was born in 1812.

Boz

The pen name adopted by Charles Dickens in 1833.

Sketches by 'Boz'

Dickens's articles about London people and scenes, published in 1836, which revealed his humoristic qualities.

The Pickwick Papers

A series of tales focused on the adventure of Mr Pickwick, the success of which led Dickens to a full-time career as a novelist.

Autobiographical Novels

Works such as Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, and Little Dorrit where Dickens used his photographic memory of his childhood.

Didactic Aim

Dickens's task to make the ruling classes aware of social problems and public abuses without offending his middle-class readers.

Common Traits of Dicken's Novels

Features including inventive plots, parallel stories, urban environments, a large number of characters, and melodramatic tones.

The Artful Dodger

The member of the gang of young pickpockets who leads Oliver Twist to Fagin.

Fagin

The old man who trains the gang of young pickpockets in London.

Mr Brownlow

The victim of a theft who takes Oliver Twist into his home and eventually discovers the boy's noble origins.

The Parochial World

The social level in Oliver Twist consisting of lower-middle-class workhouse officials who are insensible to the feelings of the poor.

Rosso Malpelo

A character from Sicilian literature who, unlike Oliver Twist, becomes hardened and isolated by social injustice and meets a tragic end.

Cocktown/Coketown

The fictional mid-19th century industrial town where the novel Hard Times is set.

Thomas Gradgrind

An educator in Hard Times who believes that facts, and not imagination or emotion, are the key to a good education.

Sissy Jupe

A student abandoned by her father who is taken into Mr. Gradgrind's house for her education.

Mr. Bounderby

A banker and friend of Mr. Gradgrind whose name originates from 'Bounder,' referring to a man who behaves unfairly.

Sowing, Reaping, and Gathering

The titles of the three sections (books) that divide the structure of Hard Times.

Utilitarianism

The philosophy of Jeremy Bentham criticized in Hard Times, which claimed human nature was motivated by self-interest and that education should support personal interests.