Charles Dickens, his life and work

Introduction ………………………………………………………… 5
Chapter I. Charles Dickens - His Life and Work ……………….. 7
1.1. The Growth of Man and Writer …………………………... 7
1.2. Charles Dickens - A Social Critic ...…………………….. 11
1.3. The Effects of Dickens`s childhood experience on his work ……………………………………………………... 14

Chapter II. The Child  Hero …………………………………….. 19
2.1. Dickens`s Deep Sympathy for the Most Innocent of His Characters ……………………………………………….. 19
2.2. Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Paul Dombey, Pip - "Small Adults" ……………………………………….….. 23
2.3. Florence Dombey, Little Dorrit, Agnes Wickfield, Little Nell - "Little mothers" ……………………………………. 33

Chapter III. Children`s Conditions of Existence …………….… 40
3.1. Life in the English Cities ……………………………….... 40
3.2. Contemporary Evils: the Workhouse, the Warehouse, the Debtors` Prison ………………………………………. 45
3.3. The Educational System …………………………………. 51

Chapter IV. The Influence of the Adults on the Lives of the Children …………………………………………….. 57
4.1 The Two Opposite Spheres of Life ……………………… 58
4.1.1 The Benevolent Society ……………………………… 59
4.1.2 The Evil World ………………………………………. 63
4.2 Dickens`s Art of Portraying Comic and Grotesque Characters …………………………………...…………… 69
4.3 An Unforgettable character - Mr. Wilkins Micawber …… 74
Final Remarks ………………………………………………………. 78
References ………………………………………………………….. 79
Bibliography ………………………………………………………… 80