The Life Of Charles Dickens :: essays research papers fc

The Life of Charles DickensCharles Dickens was a nineteenth-century novelist who was and still isvery popular. He was born in Landport, a region of Portsmouth, on February 7,1812 (Kyle 1).Charles Dickens was the son of John Dickens and Elizabeth Barrow. JohnDickens was a minor government official who campaigned in the Navy Pay Office.Through his work t here, he met Elizabeth and eventually married her. By 1821,when Charles was four months old, John Dickens could no longer afford the renton his ho enjoyment. John Dickens love to entertain his friends with drinks andconversation. Throughout his life, he was very brief of money and in debt. Heoften had to borrow money to pay off the debt and borrow to a greater extent money to pay offthe people he borrowed the money from. Later on, John Dickens was transferredagain to work in the naval dockyard at Chatman. It was here that CharlesDickens earliest and clearest memories were formed (Mankowitz 9-14).Charles education included being taug ht at home by his mother,attending a Dame School at Chatman for a short time, and Wellington Academy inLondon. He was further educated by reading widely in the British Museum(Huffam).In late 1822, John was postulate back at the London office, so they had tomove to London. This gave Charles opportunities to walk around the town with hisfather and take in the sights, sounds, and smells of the area. This gave himearly inspiration that he would use later on in his life when he started towrite (Mankowitz 13-14).James Lamert, the owner of a boot-blacking pulverisation, saw the conditionsthat the Dickens family was going through. He offered Charles a course there andhe was paid six shillings a week which was reasonable at that time. Soon, hewas moved downstairs in the sweatshop-like room. Charles had been working atthe factory for less than two weeks when his father was arrested for debt. Hewas sent to debtors prison where he did work to pay off his debt. John paid forCharles lodging, b ut Charles had to pay for his fodder and everything else withthe six shillings he earned every week. The details of London and of prisonlife were imprinting themselves into Dickens memory and would one day help himin the novels he wrote. After John was in prison for three months, his motherdied leaving him enough money to get out of debtors prison (Mankowitz 20-22).Late in Charles teens, he became a court reporter. This introduced himto journalism, and he also became interested in politics.