David Copperfield

Review of David Copperfield

Written by Charles Dickens

This book tells a story of a man called David Copperfield, who is born without father. Soon after his birth, his pretty mother marries an unkind man called Murdstone and he is treating David Copperfield badly. Then misfortune comes to little David that his mother passes away, too. His stepfather immediately sends David to work at a factory. Afterwards, little David manages to find his only relative, his aunt Betsey Trotwood Copperfield. His aunt affords David to continue his education. During this time, he lives with Wickfield family, his aunt’s lawyer. There he develops a deep relationship with Agnes, Mr. Wickfield’s daughter. However, he disgusts Heep, an assistant at Wickfield’s law officer. After graduation, he is sent to study at the law officer of Mr. Spenlow’s. Then he learns that Wickfield is framed by Hip and nearly driven into corner, which make him terribly angry. However, David has already crazily fallen in love with Dora, Spenlow’s daughter. Luckily, they get married and David is over the moon. However, it doesn’t last long. It turns out Dora doesn’t know anything about housework and is just like a child. At the same time, Betsey goes broke. Bad news strike David again that Dora passed away shortly after their marriage. David is too sad to do anything. Therefore, suggested by people around him, he goes abroad to put down all the miserable. During his travel, he keeps contacting with Agnes. And Agnes encourages and guides him like she always does. David just realizes that he loves Agnes. So, he goes back to London and expresses his love for Agnes, and Agnes tells David she loves David all the time. Good things seem to burst out at the same time. Heep’s dirty work was exposed by Micawber, an old friend of David’s and Betsey gets back all the money. Finally, David becomes a famous writer and live happily with Agnes ever since.

The first impression it gave to me when I started reading this book is humor. Although the book begins with a misfortune that David’s father died 3 months before his birth, the author still tries to narrate it in a humorous way. For example, he describes Peggotty’s face as red as an apple and make little David wonder whether birds would regard it as an apple to peck. He describes the scene that three people are crying out loud together as “I think I was the loudest of the party, but I am sure we were all sincere about it.” The word “party” and “sincere” dramatically turn this sad scene into a funny one. Not only the way author describes are funny, but also the characters he shapes are interesting. The movements of David aunt are funny. The most impressive part is when David together with Agnes kisses Betsey. Charles Dickens strengthens the surprise that David should marry Agnes by writing that his aunt “with one clap of her hands, and one look through her spectacles, immediately went into hysterics, for the first and only time in all my knowledge of her.”

Criticize then follows the humor. In the work, you can easily find many really bad people, through whom you can discover the injustice and unfairness of the society that time in England. David’s stepfather and Miss Murdstone, his first school, Heep and especially Steerforth are all disgusting creatures in my point of view. Charles Dickens seems to try his best to bring the worst of them in order to show the goodness and kindness of other people like David, Peggotty, his aunt Betsey, Agnes and so on. Kindness and love for all the people regardless of sex and classes are the main theme of the book.

Charles Dickens has the ability to make characters alive and let them leave a really deep impression in reader’s mind. Start with David Copperfield, we can see kindness and curiosity in him when he was an innocent little boy. Apart from that, he is smart and determined, which can be find when he struggles to find his aunt and later works hard learning taking quick notes. There is something more about David——he is a good husband. I can say this because I can’t find out any evident that shows he isn’t a good husband. At least he treats his wife good and loyal to her. Actually，David is said to resemble the writer himself because they have many similar encounters. David’s aunt, Betsey is a complex person. On one hand, she is really bad tempered and rude to many people. On the other, she is extremely kind to David and even take him as his own son. Besides, she also helps Mr. Dick, who is abandoned by other people for he has some issue on the brain. She also generally rewards Micawber for what he did. You can also find her odd and funny through her words and movements. All in all, she is on the side of good people. I have to mention Peggotty, for she is the most important person in David’ growth I suppose. There is no David Copperfield without Peggottty. She is like a mother, attending little David, teaching him how to be a decent man, helping him when he is in hardship. She is a loyal servant to David’s mother and later to David’ s aunt, a watchful protector for little David. She devoted nearly all her life to David’s family. Her great love and kindness will touch all the readers I believe. There are so many people I want to mention, but I don’t have time to list them all in here. So, the last character I want to mention here is Agnes, an ideal life companion for most of people I think. Like David says in the book “I am nothing without Agnes”, Agnes certainly played a significant role in making David. Patient and warm like a big sister, Agnes guide David from hell to heaven. She is a good angel standing by him sides. I am really glad to see them get married in the end.

This work shows the society of early 19 century in Britain, from the poor to rich, revealing the goodness and badness of people. Its happy ending alone with those characters will be unforgettable and point me upward!

2020-01-21

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