| Term Paper Title | David Copperfield |
| # of Words | 729 |
| # of Pages (250 words per page double spaced) | 2.92 |
David Copperfield
Aimee Reilly
Pd. 2
11/16/98
Charles Dickens- Book Report
Truthfully, my reasons for choosing to read this particular book were somewhat unexpected- going into the library and seeing so many books, I didn't know what to choose; so I went to the CM cart in the front, and chose a book from there. Hearing many things of both Dickens and Copperfield, I felt there was no harm in reading this novel. This book proved to be a perfect method for Dickens to fictionalize the background of his early life. David Copperfield became the "favorite child" of its author and in it Dickens transcribed his own experiences, producing not only a fine novel, but a distinguished autobiography as well.
Due to the fact that David Copperfield a type of "unofficial autobiography"- the characters were in fact well drawn, and were truly represented in a way in which you felt you could relate to them and understand what they were feeling. Whereas, they were real- but told in a fictional manner. Again, because of this portrayal of his life, the characters were most definitely told in order of the plot, they were presented to us as if we were meeting them for the first time along with him.
The novel is not pure biography; rather it is Dickens' experiences made into fiction. In the novel, David escapes from the warehouse to a sympathetic aunt, and he marries Dora after the "timely" death of her father. This did not happen in real life though as I found out from reading the "Life of the Author" excerpt, and it is almost as though Dickens were reconstructing parts of his childhood the way he wished it had been. In the novel, too, Dickens shows his contempt for his parents (in the guise of the Murdstones) for sending him to the blacking factory, and, at the same time, his devotion to the (the Micawber family) as lovable eccentrics. Dora Spenlow becomes both Maria Beadnell and, later, the simple-minded Catherine Hograth, his real wife. The novel, thus, is both fantasy and fact. Any "autobiography" that is written is relayed to the reader in de...Read entire document
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