第四讲-Charles-Dickens-and-Oliver-Twist.ppt

,单击此处编辑母版标题样式,*,*,*,单击此处编辑母版文本样式,第二级,第三级,第四级,第五级,Charles Dickens(1812-1870)and,His,Oliver Twist,*Social context in early 19,th,C.England,1.military and economic struggle with France,upheaval,disorder,extensive unemployment,(the,Luddites,destroying machines in 1811-12;,“,Peterloo,Massacre”in 1815);,2.Cruelty of law:200 crimes,many of them,obviously minor,were punishable by death,opposition(by 1837,only 15 crimes were still,punishable by execution);,1,3.Reform Bill of 1832:eliminating many,inequities in representation,and the,middle-class franchise was extended;,4.The Poor Law of 1834:all able-bodied paupers,must reside in a workhouse.Inmates of the,workhouses became objects of public stigma,and living conditions in them were deliberately,made harsh sharp criticism from the public,which has believed the system to be the origin,of the increase of crime.,5,.Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837.,2,*Dickens life experience,1.Born into a lower middle class with,genteel pretensions(his father being,fond of living beyond his means);,2.Early revelation of genius;,3.Humiliating experience of child,labour,at a blacking warehouse and living with,the family in a debtors prison(insufficient,food,shabby quarters and rough companions,-Dickens never alluded to the episode in,after years probably shaping the pattern,of his life:furious energy,determination to,3,succeed,and an inflexible will);(also,favourite,young heroes in his works);,4.Junior clerk in a lawyers office at 15;,(familiarity with lawyers,5.Journalist in 1832:better knowledge of,the society;,6.,Pickwick,Papers,in 1836-37:success;,7.Full and busy life:prolific writings,novels,stories,letter-writing,editing of,periodicals,dramatic performance,etc.,8.Death out of overwork in 1870.,4,*,Dickens Works,1.15 novels+some stories.,2.3 phases of his writing(,朱虹):,a.Early period(1836-45):spontaneous flow,of imaginative power,Exaggeration in character portrayal,(innocent,kind,honest,ready to help;,Sketches by,Boz,1836,Pickwick,Papers,);,Exposure of social evils;,Coincidences(,Oliver Twist,1837-38);,Vigour,&,humour,rewarding the good&,5,punishing the bad(,Nicholas,Nichleby,1838-39);,The life of children in cities(,Old Curiosity Shop,1840);,Against religious,fervour,;,Poisoning of the soul by money/selfishness,(,Martin,Chuzzlewit,1842-44);,b.The middle period(1846-57):integration,of experience&imagination,Dombey,and Son,(1846-48):criticism of,6,arrogance,David,Copperfield,(1849-50):autobiographical,childs psychology,character portrayal;,Bleak House,(1852-53):delay of law,symbols,&metaphors,gloomy tone&lack of farce,as in earlier works;,Hard Times,(1854):class struggle mutual help,love,lenience,symbolism;,Little,Dorrit,(1855-57):bureaucracy,symbols.,7,c.The later period(1858-70):exploration of,mans inner conflicts,A Tale of Two Cities,(1859):selflessness;,Great Expectations,(1860-61):praise of,honest,labour,;,Our Mutual Friend,(1864-65):criticism of,corruption&selfishness in the society/,materialism,symbol:rubbish dump.,8,3.Features of Dickens Novels,a.Character sketches&exaggeration,-vivid outward portrayal(1,900 characters,in his novels);,b.Broad,humour,&penetrating satire,(,Qian,Zhongshu,learned from him in this);,c.Complicated&fascinating plot,-major plots+minor plots/parallel major,plots,suspense&mystery,happy ending,(esp.earlier works);,9,d.The power of exposure,Novels:instrument of morality&justice,(,Trollope,:“An author must entertain his,readers,otherwise he will be worthless;,meanwhile he should instruct them,whether,he likes it or not.”The publication,of,Oliver Twist,helped improve the living,conditions of the workers in London);,e.,Advocation,of humanism(love,tolerance,mercy&romantic realism.).,10,4.Significance of Dickenss novels,a.Dickens was praised for having described,London“like a special correspondent for,posterity”.,b.Dickens role in the development of Victorian,novel:,he was more dramatic than realistic(his,heightening&stylization)-“Every writer,of fiction,although he may not adopt the,dramatic form,writes,in effect,for the,stage.”,11,The attitude to this aspect of Dickens writing,important in understanding the development,of Victorian novel other writers all agreed,that the,stagey,aspect of Dickens novels was,his most glaring fault&they all set out to,correct the fault with what they believed was a,more realistic representation of life:,Thackeray,:“The art of novels is to represent,nature,to convey as strongly as,possible the sentiment of reality”,(,Vanity Fair,shows a reduction of,mannerism);,12,Trollope,(disciple of,Thackeray,)+,Gissing,:,Similar reduction of,stagelike,scenes,George Eliot:turning to the inside&exploring,the inner lives of her characters.,(,Lawrence,at the beginning of his career,praised,Eliot:“It was George Eliot who started it all,&how,wild they all were with her fordoing it.Before,you,know,with Fielding&others,it has been outside.,Now I wonder which is right.”),13,Controversy over Dickens as a novelist,a revolutionary writer,a medieval writer,a proletarian writer,a middle-class writer,(Actually Dickens is mainly concerned with the,middle class.He is not radical,and his social,criticism is confined to moral and ethical issues.,His wish for social reform is more related to the,improvement of social morality than the change,of social structure and the middle class plays,the major role.Dickens is rather dubious about),14,the,labour,union and revolution.He emphasizes,education,but does not propose any concrete,plans.,Dickens political,racial thought:,Some believe that Dickens pays no attention to,politics,and does not have racial and imperialist,ideas,but its not true.,15,Novelists in early 20,th,C.mostly followed George,Eliot&led the current underestimation of the,Victorian novels;,Thackeray,s comparison of himself with,Dickens at death:,“I am played out.All I can do now is to bring,out my old puppets But,if he live to be,ninety,Dickens will still be creating new,characters.In his art that man is marvelous.”,16,*Oliver Twist(1837-1838),The story,Oliver Twist,an orphan born and raised in a,workhouse,is apprenticed at 9 to an undertaker.,Suffering maltreatment,Oliver runs away and heads,for London.On the way he is picked up by a group,of thieves and is drilled in the art of picking pockets.,once out for theft,Oliver is rescued by Mr.,Brownlow,a kind old gentleman.But soon Oliver is recaptured,by the gang.Fagin,the head of the gang,tries to,involve Oliver in some crime.So he convinces Bill,17,Sikes,a vicious criminal,to use Oliver in a major,burglary.The attempt fails,and Oliver is wounded,and rescued by Mrs.,Maylie,.Meanwhile a person,named Monks is angry with Fagin for failing to trick,Oliver into a lawless life.When they are planning,new tricks,Nancy,one of the gang members,goes,to tell everything to Olivers rescuers.At this time,Mr.,Bownlow,has managed to know about Monks,and Oliver.Nancy is found out and is killed by Bill.,In the final chase,Fagin is arrested and sentenced,to be hanged.Bill accidentally hangs himself.The,18,novel ends happily with Oliver getting his due,property and being adopted by Mr.,Brownlow,and other rewards for the good and punishment,for the evil.,2.Setting,a.A suggestively unwholesome background:,(The story of,Oliver Twist,is a dark tale generated,by vice,degradation and terror),slime and filth/dismal atmosphere heightened,by the elements:bitterly cold weather,rain and fog;,19,b.Night activities:the criminals live in gloom,and,the only period of sustained brightness is during,summer months when Oliver stays with the,Maylies,at their rural cottage.,c.The main concern of the novel:poverty and crime,-the harvest of social dereliction.The outcasts of,society lurk amid crumbling ruins that are expressive,of tottering institutions that have helped to deform,their lives(the constant words“neglect”&“decay”).,It has been the neglect of human values that has,fostered the spiritual decay.,20,3.,Main characters,Oliver Twist,The titular hero of the novel,Oliver is the natural,son of Edwin,Leeford,and Agnes Fleming.,He is a pallid,unrealized figure.Authorial,assertion,instead of his own,behaviour,decides,upon his character.He is shown to be quiet,yielding,conciliatory and naturally good,quite,defenseless against the cruel and unscrupulous.,Oliver lacks the capacities ordinarily expected,in a,protaganist,whose acts and decisions usu.,have some influence on the course of events.,21,Instead of being an active participant in the shaping,of his own destiny,Oliver becomes the prize for,which the opposing forces contend.He is more,acted upon than acting.,Monks,Olivers brother and major persecutor.He is a dark,sinister figure who lurks ominously in the background,during much of the novel,only appearing occasionally,and suddenly.He controls Fagin by exploiting the,latters avarice.He typifies a kind of festering evil,22,that works under the surface.,Monks also reveals the bad influence of a tainted,environment in his case the greed and ill-will of,an unworthy mother.Dickens shows with such a,figure that it is not poverty alone that results in,mutilation of the human spirit,but the absence of,benevolence and affection.,Fagin,The master mind among the criminals,Fagin is,ugly in appearance and repulsive in disposition.,23,Dickens displays in Fagin some of the complexities,of normal human nature:he is shrewd,reflective,extremely self-controlling,savage and sardonically,humorous.Though basically depraved and evil,he could reveal occasionally a tincture of human,feeling,as in the case of his warning Oliver of Sikes,cruelty.,Sikes,A brutal criminal.He is bestial,despotic,irrational,losing every sign of human sensitivity or tenderness.,24,Stupid rather than courageous,he openly scorns,the sly Fagin and finally,stirred up by the latter,murders his only friend Nancy.,Nancy,Though a member of the gang,Nancy still keeps,in her a dormant tendency toward good.This,reveals itself in her saving Oliver though she,knows that by doing this her own position is,hopeless.Her own refusal to escape shows her,to be a lamentable figure:a basically good person,25,who has drifted so far from honest ways that no,return is possible.,Rose,Maylie,A typical example of unblemished,Dickensian,womanhood an angel-like figure:worthy,incorruptible and untainted by human complexity,and inconsistency.She could also be compassionate,towards Oliver and humane towards Nancy when,they are in normally repellent situations.,26,Brownlow,A person of kindness,generosity and benevolence,Brownlow,also shows a character of diverse traits,he could be impatient and curt,and is not always,paying enough regard to legal and ethical means,in the pursuit of his objectives.,Brownlow,is an activist and the acknowledged,leader of the honorable company gathered around,Oliver.,27,4.,Plot and structure,a.,Oliver Twist,a typical Dickens novel:,the novel develops around a core of tangled intrigue,that brings together a large number of people,(though on the surface their paths do not seem,likely to cross)the interrelatedness of the people.,The attendant complications and their unraveling,contribute a large measure of mystery and suspense,b.Characteristic conflict and resolution in the novel:,dual conflicts in the novel the one between Monks,and Oliver;the one between Fagin and Sikes.Through,28,his conspiracy with Monks,Fagin is involved in,both conflicts and converges the two lines of,tumultuous actions.,c.The climax of Olivers trials:,The abortive,Chertsey,burglary a turning point,for Oliver whose fortunes steadily improve,thereafter.(the crisis is more of Fagins decision,than of Olivers own volition).,d.The crisis of the conflict between Fagin and,Sikes:,Fagins step of having Nancy spied upon leads,29,directly to the climax of girls murder.With the,bloody deed the entire gang of criminals was,destroyed.,e.Liberal use of accidents and coincidence,to draw the numerous persons into the current,of events.,f.Characteristics of melodrama:,the free injection of the quality of pathos(as in,the case of“little Dick”);the portrait of Olivers,mother and Monks scar signs as recognition,devices;evil brother,a destroyed will,assumed,30,names,and the discovery of unknown relatives.,g.The romantic subplot melodrama:,In the contest between the dark and light forces,of the book,the maiden stands out in dazzling,white purity.The wooers noble renunciation of,fame and fortune for the sake of true love is a,lofty tribute to virtuous sentiment.Although the,romance is hardly integral to the plot,it does,defer to established literary tradition and provides,a center of interest for bringing the book to a,conclusion.,31,5.,Ideas(many interrelated ideas in the novel),a.Preoccupation with the miseries of poverty,(indicative of this is the motif of hunger)and,the spread of its degrading effects through,society(crime as one of its vile consequences).,b.Crime the by-product of poverty:,a dehumanizing evil(criminals in the book,are painfully alienated from the society).,c.Stress on the elevating influence of a wholesome,environment:the power of benevolence to,overcome depravity.,32,6.,Symbolism(multi-layer symbolism in the novel),a.Setting as symbols(apart from its plot function):,the external evidence of neglect and decay their,counterparts in society and in the hearts of men;,the dark deeds and passions dim rooms,smoke,fog,and dark nights;,the mood of terror and brutality frequent rain,and cold weather.,b.Characters as symbols(apart from its plot function):,The chimney sweep,Gamfield,cruelty(purely,symbolic figure with no plot function);,33,Brownlow,the symbol of benevolence.,c.Gestures of persons as symbols:,Bumbles fondness for his three-cornered hat,devotion to an empty authoritarianism.,d.Allusion to obesity:symbol for hunger in an,inverse fashion(by calling attention to its absence),Many people in the novel are described as“fat”.,7.Style,a.luxuriant style verbose rhetoric,It might be displeasing to some of the modern,34,tastes,but quite suited the tastes of his contemporary,readers(marked with slow pace of life,publication,by installment which means the need to make,scenes unforgettable in order to keep readers,interest);,b.(sardonic),humour,8.Selected readings,Chapter 2-3:Olivers life in the workhouse,his,“rebellion”and punishment;,Chapter 19:Discussion of Fagin and Sikes on a,35,burglary and Olivers assumed role in it;,Chapter 28:Sarcastic depiction of the servants,in the family of the attempted burglary;,Chapter 48:The escape of Sikes;,Chapter 52:The last night of Fagin the Jew,36,