Hope that you are all having a great weekend. I thought today I would bring back an old feature in honor of the upcoming Dickens series coming up on PBS Masterpiece Theater. Well also because it's his birthday. Happy Birthday Mr. Dickens!
Lessons I've Learned from Classic Lit: Charles Dickens
1. Don't get in debt. Debt is bad, bad, bad. *sigh* If only I'd listened.
2. Hardship in childhood builds amazing character. Look at Nicholas Nickelby, David Copperfield, Oliver Twist etc. These gentlemen are raised and go through terrible circumstances and they become great men.
3. True love often means great sacrifice. "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known."
4. Always leave your audience wanting more. The man is the king of the chapter cliff-hanger. He is a pioneer of serialization. Thank god we don't have to wait like those in the 19th century.
5. Don't get sued. Ever. Just ask the two parties in Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce.
6. Adults cannot be trusted. From Oliver Twist to Great Expectations the innocence of childhood is sullied by adults. Fagin creates a band of thieves who do all the work but he reaps the financial benefits. When Oliver Twist is threatened by Fagin you believe he is in serious peril. I always was quite taken aback by the weird psychological games adults play on children in Dickens. That Miss Haversham is a sick twist.
7. Schools/Orphanages/Apprenticeships in the Victorian Era were horrid and deadly. The abuse that is heaped on children in his novels is hard to believe. How can anyone ever admire this era? Of course Dickens wrote from experience so the veracity is undeniable.
8. Redemption is possible. Look at Ebenezar Scrooge. Also, as referenced above, there's Sydney Carton.
9. Sometimes it's the journey, not the destination. Dicken's characters suffer through some crazy twists and turns but they're often the better for it.
10. You're departed mom and/or dad may have been the heir to a vast fortune. And by crazy circumstance you may stumble into a life of love and happiness. Dicken's world is small and full of possibility.
Have a great week! Book Slave.
4 comments:
I'm highly entertained by this installment. I going to make my staff read it. This month, all you seem to hear about is Lincoln and I recognize that it's his year, but for a book pusher, Dickens is the man!
Thanks. I especially think that's true regarding debt. Dickens clearly understood how important it is to be able to stand on your own two feet.
Hilarious!
Great list! :-)
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