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WandeeYang

I.

Introduction
A. Attentiongetter
1. AsCharlesDickensoncesaid,Itwasthebestoftimes,itwas

theworstoftimes,butdoesthegoodtimesalwayshaveto
befilledwithbadtimesalso?
B. Thesis
1. Throughout his life, Charles Dickens, who is one of
the greatest author in English literature, had written
many works that are still being used today and using
his own experiences, he incorporated all of these into
his work; one of his greatest piece of work is A Tale
of Two Cities, which is about struggle and revolution
and the rebirth of all this.
II.

Early Life
A. Born in 1812, Dickens was one of six children to John and
Elizabeth Dickens.
1. During his early childhood, Dickens had to deal with
the struggle of working and unhappiness. His father
was put into debt prison and to help with this,
Dickens was put to work in Warren'sBlackingFactory.
2. Bythetimethedebtwaspaid,Dickenswasalreadyscarred
psychologicallybytheexperience,wasfurtherwoundedbyhis
mother'sinsistencethathecontinuetoworkatthefactoryandthis
continuedtoaffecthiminhislaterlife.

B. After his family struggle, Dickens went back to school and


eventually, he began working as a clerk and this was where
he taught him shorthand and recording.
1. Dickens was hired to write shorthand and humorous
writing texts for illustration. During his time as a
reporter, he adopted the name of Boz and the first
series of Sketches by Boz was published in 1836.
2. After some circumstances, Dickens changed it into
III.

the concept of The Pickwick Papers.


Life as a writer
A. Dickens first piece of work was The Pickwick Papers, which
slowly began to upsurge in popularity, and by 1837, the
particular piece began to bring sensation among the
people.
1. Quote: PickwickcatapultedDickenstoliteraryfame,and
thereafternewspaperserializationbecameastandardwayto
introducenovelsandhisnovelsbegantomarkthebeginningof
hisinfluence(Cody).
2. Following his breakthrough of his novel, he continued
writing many famous works such as OliverTwist,
NicholasNickleby,TheOldCuriosityshop,MartinChuzzlewit,
TheChristmasCarol,andDombeyandSon. Atthispoint,he
producedmassnumberofworksinashortperiodoftimebringing
themtothepublicandsoonhebecameawellknownnovelist.At
thispoint,heproducedmassnumberofworksinashortperiodof
timebringingthemtothepublic.

B. Afterthesuccess,ofhisfirstnovelDickensbecameafulltimewriter
wherehebecameasuccessandeventuallyhebegantoadvocateforthe
reform,whichbecameapassionofhis.
1. AsMarkK.Smithhadsaid, Dickensisofparticularsignificance
toinformaleducatorsasanexemplarofawriterthatisconcerned
withpopulareducationorwhatHoledescribedassocialeducation
theeducativepowerofnewspapers,novelsandvariousformsof
entertainmentandthereweretracesofthisinhiswork.
2. Inhisnovels,heoftenprovidedexperiencesofthelifeofpoverty
andthissignificantlycontributedtothesocialreform.Becauseof
itspopularity,ithasleftanimpactonthegeneralpopulation.
3. Dickensweeklyjournalthatwaspublishedgravitatedtowardsthe
reformationforselfeducation.Eachoftheseweeklypublished
essaycameinstructivearticlesonpopularscience,natural
history,literarytopics,biographicalsketchesandhistorical
anecdotes;ashortstorysuppliedtheessentialingredientof
fiction;andtheintersticeswhichremainedwerecrammedwith
verses,oddsnippetsoffact,andmarvelsfromdifferentpartsof
theworld(Smith).
C. In1842,DickensandhiswifevisitedtheUSAwherehebelieveditwasa
countryfreefromthesocietythatEnglandhad.However,whenhearrived
tothecountry,hewasfacedwithdisappointment.
1. IntheAmericanNotes,DickenssaidThesystemofrigid,strict,
solitaryconfinementiscruelandwrong.

2. Beforehisvisit,Dickenswasalreadyahugesuccessandmany
Americanswerealreadyfamiliarwithhiswork.Whenhearrived,
hewasfacedwithbadmannersandadishonestpress.Charles
Dickenswrotetoafriendsaying,ThisisnottherepublicIcame
tosee;thisisnottherepublicofmyimagination.
3. Duringhistimehere,heopenlyattackedtheconditionofprisons
andtheirpracticeofslavery,butdespiteallthis,hisvisitwas
IV.

successful.
A Tale of Two Cities
A. A Tale of Two Cities was published in 1859.
1. In the opening line, Dickens opened the book with
the line "It was the best of times, it was the worst of
times,". In the story, Dickens depicted the life of
England and France.
2. Filled with poverty and despair, social ills became a
prominent thing in England and France and
eventually both become faced with the start of The
French Revolution.

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