The Life of Charles Dickens

1
The Life of Charles Dickens
  Dickens was born in London, England on
February 7, 1812. He lived in poverty and
suffered greatly. When he was 12, his father, a
gambler who liked to live beyond his means, was
jailed for debt. Charles had to go to work.   How
is this similar/different from today? What are
current child labor laws?   Charles worked long
hours in a shoe polish factory. He worked 40-60
hours per week putting labels on bottles of shoe
polish. He was paid poorly for this.
2
This experience was so influential on Dickens
that his literary work reflects how it effected
him. This experience was also enough to make
Charles take the side of the underdog (the person
not expected to win, for example, the poor). Many
of his characters are children who suffer from
poverty.   Some famous Dickens works are
Oliver Twist (orphan) A Christmas Carol
(Scrooge) A Tale of Two Cities Oliver
Twist asking the orphanage governor for more
food.  
3
These works all relate to a deteriorating human
condition. Dickens realistically portrays people
and the city of London. Young boys working
in the coal mines. A political cartoon
depicting how unsanitary the drinking water was
for the poor.It came directly from the Thames
River, where raw sewage was dumped. Many died
from drinking it.
4
Dickens London was a London of rapid change.
Important transportation and manufacturing
advancements were made each year. Products could
be made faster and people could travel farther
and more quickly. This had its problems! -mostly
women and children were laborers in
factories -pollution began to choke the city -the
government and other people became corrupt by
greed Working and living conditions
deteriorated in London. The judicial system was
corrupt, sanitation was not widely practiced,
and members of the lower class were treated
poorly. This picture shows typical housing
for the poor-many people crammed into small
quarters where disease and fires were
devastating.
5
Dickens became angered with these changes. His
later novels are laced with satire about
education, government, greed, sanitation, and the
treatment of children and the poor.   Because
Dickens works criticize the treatment of women,
children and the poor. He helped to change he way
they were treated. He is now known as an
important social reformer. This picture
of street boys was a common sight. These boys,
as young as 4, lived on the streets and begged
for food (and tried to steal it).