Themes in Dickens: Seven Recurring Concerns in the Writings

by Peter J. Ponzio

Overview

The Victorian age is often portrayed as an era of repressive social mores. Yet this simplified view ignores the context of Great Britain's profound shift, through rapid industrialization, from rural to metropolitan life during this time.

Throughout his career, Charles Dickens addressed the numerous changes occurring in Victorian society. His portrayals of organized religion, class distinction, worker's rights, prison reform and rampant poverty resonated with readers experiencing social upheaval. Focusing on his novels, nonfiction writing, speeches and personal correspondence, this book explores Dickens's use of these themes as both literary devices and as a means to effect social progress.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476672571
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	03/13/2018
Pages:	196
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.39(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Peter J. Ponzio teaches at Loyola University of Chicago. He has published a number of works on Dickens and presented at the 200th anniversary of Dickens’s birth at the University of Kent in 2012. He recently served as the editor of the online database Humanities Directory.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Dates of Publication
Preface
Introduction
Chapter One—Class and Class Distinctions
Chapter Two—Naming, Identity and Self
Chapter Three—Dreams and Dreaming
Chapter Four—Society and Social Pretension
Chapter Five—Ineffective Institutions
Chapter Six—Prison
Afterword
Appendix: Suggested Reading
Chapter Notes
Works Cited
Additional Sources
Index

Editorial Reviews

[This book] is so well-written that readers who are unfamiliar with Dickens can very easily identify unread novels of personal interest”—Dickens Studies Annual

From the Publisher