Reviews:
David Copperfield or The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery (which he never meant to be published on any account) was written by Charles Dickens during 1849 and 1850. The version that I have in my hands is 877 pages long; a fairly intimidating book, given that Victorian text is harder to read than our current style of writing. Nevertheless, it is the one I have chosen to read and analyze for my free reading project.
David Copperfield was Dickens’s favorite of his novels. Dickens actually says in the preface that "Of all my books, I like this one the best." Tolstoy believed that it was the finest work of Dickens. Frank Kafka, author of Metamorphosis, called his Amerika a "Sheer imitation." When a novel has such proponents, how could I turn it down?
Of course, David Copperfield’s fans were not my only reasons for my selection. I have read some of Dickens’s other works, and I enjoyed reading them. He has written some of the most memorable phrases in English Literature. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." "Please, sir, I want some more." "God bless us, every one."
I also chose this novel because Dickens had intended it to be somewhat autobiographical. I wanted to see how he would portray his life in a fictional work. It would be interesting to analyze in my project.
David Copperfield has strong characterization in all of its characters except for two: David Copperfield and Emily, niece of Mr. Peggotty. David Copperfield is by large a reactive character, and changes as he matures, and so is therefore left intentionally blank. Emily"s lack of strong characterization is, however, not intentional. She embodies one of Dickens’s failings. He had trouble writing young women.
One of the more complex characters is Mr. Steerforth. He is generally a very nice chap. He makes friends easily, and is well-liked. However, he ran off with young Emily, and then deserted her. Later in the novel, when he is counted among the deceased, David Copperfield still feels a great debt to him. He has a very interesting character.
Steerforth was an amiable and affable man. He had become friends with many of the Peggotty family. He also became a friend of Traddles’s, despite Traddles"s reservations. When Steerforth is on the staff of Salem House, he begins an argument with Mr. Mell, which, being observed by Mr. Creakle, is the cause of Mr. Mell’s deposition.
With young Emily, however, Mr. Steerforth’s faults are revealed. She runs away with him, leaving a rather ambiguous note to her family. He then abandons her. It shows a certain weakness of his character: he is both a romantic and quick to fall to his impulses. This is not the first time he has submitted to an ill-considered impulse. Early in his life, he threw a hammer at Miss Dartle, causing a permanent scar on her face. In Steerforth’s aforementioned argument with Mr. Mell, the argument rose to a heated level very quickly, with terms of class thrown in for good measure. Here we are also given a glimpse at how masterful Mr. Steerforth is at winning back hearts, with the way that he glosses over the argument, having the boys believe that he did it to serve their best interests. Finally, he feels the need to run off with Emily, but later discovers that he cannot live with her, so he leaves her. Now, he has reached the point where no amount of kindness and apology can restore the other’s good will, so he deserts to become a sailor. It is his only escape.
In the novel, Ham goes out to attempt to save the lone hanger-on of a quickly deteriorating ship. Later, when the storm has subsided, we discover that Ham has died in the attempt, as well as the man he intended to rescue. This man was Steerforth. It raises the question of whether Ham knew who he was saving. If he had known, why had he saved him?
David Copperfield is an excellent example of the "unreliable narrator." The unreliable narrator is a narrator that, for any reason, does not tell the truth. David Copperfield is influenced by both his lack of knowledge, and his trust in other people. Our belief that Steerforth is a sympathetic character is prolonged by Copperfield’s lack of knowledge and belief that Steerforth is a good man. David does not want to believe that his friend’s amiability and kindliness is little more than a faŤade for his impulses. He also tries to make us believe that his relation with Dora is permanent. However, he is proved wrong on that account as well.
Being a first-person narrative, David Copperfield does not lend itself to many literary techniques. It is a record of thoughts and spoken words, which, though ultimately planned by Dickens, were meant to emulate the way a person would speak and think them. So it is sparse in poetry and alliteration, and devices of their ilk. It does, however, contain a deal of the devices of common speech; hyperbole, analogy, and metaphor. There are many examples of this in Chapter Fifty-five, "Tempest." This chapter occupies a time of great fear and sadness, so, in turn, it has rich description of the mind. For analogy, "I have seen it growing larger and larger as I advanced, like a great tower in a plain, and throwing its fore-cast shadow even on the incidents of my childish days." Dickens uses a metaphor to describe Steerforth’s position; "The life of the solitary man upon the mast hung by a thread." Finally, for hyperbole, "The distance was nothing." In this case, hyperbole is being used to simplify Ham’s predicament, and to lend more power to the storm and the waves.
David Copperfield is a bildungsroman, or a tale of a characters journey from childhood to maturity. This is the overarching theme of the novel, the great journey from childhood to old age. There are also several underlying themes. One is that appearances can be deceiving. This is evidenced in the actions of Mr. Steerforth. There is also a message about the control of emotions, your heart. Mr. Steerforth lets his emotions take control, and it leads to his death. Emily opens her heart freely, and she narrowly escapes a rather unsavory fate. Finally, Uriah Heep follows his criminal desires, which places him in jail. David Copperfield is a heavily themed book, yet it flows very smoothly. It is a magnificent example of Dickens’s capabilities.
I heartily enjoyed David Copperfield. Although one of his longer works, it is a very involving novel. The characterization is excellent in all but two cases, and the settings are well described. Some of its characters are unforgettable, as Mr. Dick is. To whom would I recommend this book? Anyone who has read and enjoyed Great Expectations will probably enjoy David Copperfield. The two novels are somewhat similar in theme and setting, and place the similar main characters in similar situations at the start of the novel. Also, if you would enjoy reading about the most ’umble Uriah Heep, or a man who always inserts Charles I in his writing, you will enjoy David Copperfield. However, if you not read any Dickens before, I would advise against starting with David Copperfield. It would be more wise to read one of his well-known works, to get a feel for his style.
David Copperfield shares a common theme with several other Dickens novels: its main character lives a great deal of his life in poverty. Other novels of his in this vein include Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, Old Curiosity Shoppe, and Bleak House.