266 lines
13 KiB
Plaintext
266 lines
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ARRoGANT CoURiERS WiTH ESSaYS
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Grade Level: Type of Work Subject/Topic is on:
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[ ]6-8 [ ]Class Notes [Reports on the Differenc]
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[ ]9-10 [ ]Cliff Notes [es between Great Expec- ]
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[x]11-12 [x]Essay/Report [tations and Oliver Twist]
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[ ]College [ ]Misc [both by Charles Dickens.]
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Date: 06/94 # of Words:1798 School: All Girls/Priv State: NY
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<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>><3E><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>><3E><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>>Chop Here><3E><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>><3E><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>><3E><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>><3E><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>
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GREAT EXPECTATIONS vs. OLIVER TWIST
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During his lifetime, Charles Dickens is known to have written several
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books. Although each book is different, they also share many similarities.
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Two of his books, Great Expectations and Oliver Twist, are representatives
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of the many kinds of differences and similarities found within his work.
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Perhaps the reason why these two novels share some of the same
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qualities is because they both reflect painful experiences which occurred
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in Dickens' past. During his childhood, Charles Dickens suffered much abuse
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from his parents.1 This abuse is often expressed in his novels. Pip, in
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Great Expectations, talked often about the abuse he received at the hands
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of his sister, Mrs. Joe Gargery. On one occasion he remarked, "I soon found
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myself getting heavily bumped from behind in the nape of the neck and the
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small of the back, and having my face ignominously shoved against the wall,
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because I did not answer those questions at sufficient length."2
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While at the orphanage, Oliver from Oliver Twist also experienced a
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great amount of abuse. For example, while suffering from starvation and
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malnutrition for a long period of time, Oliver was chosen by the other boys
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at the orphanage to request more gruel at dinner one night. After making
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this simple request, "the master (at the orphanage) aimed a blow at
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Oliver's head with the ladle; pinioned him in his arms; and shrieked aloud
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for the beadle."3
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The whole beginning of Oliver Twist's story was created from memories
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which related to Charles Dickens' childhood in a blacking factory ( which
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was overshadowed by the Marshalsea Prison ).4 While working in the blacking
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factory, Dickens suffered tremendous humiliation. This humiliation is
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greatly expressed through Oliver's adventures at the orphanage before he is
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sent away.
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Throughout his lifetime, Dickens appeared to have acquired a fondness
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for "the bleak, the sordid, and the austere."5 Most of Oliver Twist, for
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example, takes place in London's lowest slums.6 The city is described as a
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maze which involves a "mystery of darkness, anonymity, and peril."7 Many of
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the settings, such as the pickpocket's hideout, the surrounding streets,
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and the bars, are also described as dark, gloomy, and bland.8 Meanwhile, in
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Great Expectations, Miss Havisham's house is often made to sound
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depressing, old, and lonely. Many of the objects within the house had not
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been touched or moved in many years. Cobwebs were clearly visible as well
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as an abundance of dust, and even the wedding dress which Miss Havisham
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constantly wore had turned yellow with age.9
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However, similarities are not just found in the settings. The novels'
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two main characters, Pip and Oliver, are also similar in many ways. Both
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young boys were orphaned practically from birth; but where Pip is sent to
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live with and be abused by his sister, Oliver is sent to live in an
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orphanage. Pip is a very curious young boy. He is a "child of intense and
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yearning fancy."10 Yet, Oliver is well spoken. Even while his life was in
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danger while in the hands of Fagin and Bill Sikes, two conniving
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pickpockets, he refused to participate in the stealing which he so greatly
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opposed. All Oliver really longed for was to escape from harsh living
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conditions and evil surroundings which he had grown up in.11 However, no
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matter how tempting the evil may have been, Oliver stood by his beliefs.
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Therefore, he can be referred to as "ideal and incorruptible innocence."12
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"It is Oliver's self-generated and self-sustained love, conferred it would
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seem from Heaven alone, that preserves him from disaster and death."13
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Unfortunately, many critics have found it hard to believe that a boy
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such as Oliver Twist could remain so innocent, pure, and well spoken given
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the long period of time in which he was surrounded by evil and
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injustices.14
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Pip, on the other hand, is a dreamer. His imagination is always
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helping him to create situations to cover up for his hard times. For
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example, when questioned about his first visit to Miss Havisham's house, he
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made up along elaborate story to make up for the terrible time he had in
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reality. Instead of telling how he played cards all day while being
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ridiculed and criticized by Estella and Miss Havisham, he claimed that they
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played with flags and swords all day after having wine and cake on gold
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plates.15 However, one special quality possessed by Pip that is rarely seen
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in a novel's hero is that he wrongs others instead of being hurt himself
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all of the time.16
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Another similarity between Oliver and Pip is that they both have had
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interactions with convicts. Fagin the head of a group of young thieves,
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spends most of his time trying to "demoralize and corrupt Oliver and
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prevent him from ever coming into his inheritance."17 To Oliver, he is seen
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as an escape from all previous misery. He also helps Oliver to ease any
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fears about starvation and loneliness.18
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Just as Fagin is Oliver's means of escape, Magwitch, an escaped
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convict, is Pip's. However, as Fagin provides Oliver with an escape from
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misery, Magwitch tries to provide Pip with an escape from poverty by
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becoming his anonymous benefactor.
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Obviously, escape is an important theme in both Oliver Twist and Great
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Expectations. Even though they both have different goals in mind, Pip and
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Oliver are seeking various forms of escape from conditions which make them
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unhappy: Pip from his poverty, and Oliver from his loneliness and
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starvation.
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Since dealing with escapism, it is not surprising that death also
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plays a major role in both stories. In the two novels, death and coffins
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symbolize a happy and peaceful manner of escape.19 In Oliver Twist, it is
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suggested that only loneliness and brutality exist on earth. Supposedly,
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there is no sanctity on the planet, which is a belief that goes against the
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idea of a Heaven on earth.20
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Another important theme within the novel is the theme of the "two
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separate and conflicting dualisms: one, social, between the individual and
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the institution; the second, moral, between the respectable and the
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criminal."21 Most of Oliver Twist seems to imply that "it is better to be a
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thief than to be alone."22 This tends to make the reader think that Dickens
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favors the criminal aspect of his novels over the moral side.
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However, the conflict between the individual and the institution leads
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to Dickens' criticism of social injustices such as injustices towards the
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poor.23 Also in the form of satire, Dickens attempts to "challenge the
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pleasurability of fortune."24
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Aside from satire, Dickens uses various other devices in writing these
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novels. one of the most common is that of coincidence. For example, in
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Oliver Twist, Oliver just happened to end up, first, at the house of Mr.
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Brownlow, who at one time was a really good friend of Oliver's father.
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Then, later on, Oliver ends up at Rose Maylie's house, who, as it turns out
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is his aunt.
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In Great Expectations, the use of coincidence is also noticeable. For
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instance, Pip finds out that Magwitch and Molly, Mr. Jagger's servant, are
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the parents of Estella long after he first met them. Then, later on, Pip
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just happens to be visiting Satis House (Miss Havisham's old home) at the
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same time as Estella.
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"Written in abrupt, truncated chapters," Oliver Twist took the form of
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a new type of English prose.25 Both Oliver Twist and Great Expectations
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depend heavily on the use of abstraction, or the avoidance of various
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facts.
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However, the novels each have their own form of narration. While
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Oliver Twist is written in the third person, Great Expectations is in the
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first person.
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Therefore, in Oliver Twist, the reader gains a view of the story from
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the position of an onlooker or outsider. They form their own opinions about
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the characters from "watching them."
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In contrast, when reading Great Expectations, the view is given
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through the character of Pip. So, since we only know about Pip's feelings
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and what he tells us, our opinions of the other characters are highly
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influenced by what he thinks of them.
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In conclusion, both books seem to have much in common such as feelings
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shared by the main characters, themes dealing primarily in social
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injustices, and various writing techniques such as the use of coincidental
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incidences and abstractions.
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However, they also differ greatly from one another. For example, Pip
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searches for money while Oliver searches for security, and while Pip was
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raised in a home environment, Oliver was raised in an orphanage.
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Yet, both books have a lot to offer society in terms of pointing out
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many problems which still exist today, such as child abuse and injustice to
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the poor. In order to conquer these evils, they must first be understood,
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and explaining the severity of these experiences seems to be a job which
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Charles Dickens is very good at.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Carey, John. Here Comes Dickens - The Imagination of a
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Novelist. New York: Schocken Books, 1974.
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Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. New York: The
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Heritage Club, 1939.
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Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist. New York: Dodd, Mead, and
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Company, 1949.
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Johnson, Edgar. Charles Dickens - His Tragedy and Triumph.
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New York: Simon and Schuster, 1952.
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Kincaid, James R. Dickens and the Rhetoric of Laughter.
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Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1971.
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Marcus, Steven. Dickens: From Pickwick to Dombey. Great
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Britain: Basic Books, 1965.
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Slater, Michael, ed. Dickens 1970. New York: Stein and Day
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Publishers, 1970.
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Slater, Michael. Dickens and Women. California: Stanford
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University Press, 1983.
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Stewart, Garrett. Dickens and the Trials of Imagination.
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Massachusettes: Harvard University Press, 1974.
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Welsh, Alexander. The City of Dickens. Oxford: Claredon
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Press, 1971.
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Wilkie, Katherine E. Charles Dickens, The Inimitable Boz.
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New York: Abelard - Schuman, 1970.
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FOOTNOTES
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1 Steven Marcus, Dickens: From Pickwick to Dombey (Great
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Britain: Basic Books, 1965) 82.
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2 Charles Dickens, Great Expectations (New York: The Heritage
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Club, 1939) 69.
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3 Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist (New York: Dodd, Mead, and
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Company, 1949) 16-17.
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4 Katharine E. Wilkie, Charles Dickens, The Inimitable Boz
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(New York: Abelard - Schuman, 1970) 77-78.
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5 Marcus 71.
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6 Wilkie 77.
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7 Marcus 256.
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8 Edgar Johnson, Charles Dickens - His Tragedy and Triumph
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(New York: Simon and Schuster, 1952) 273.
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9 Dickens, Expectations 62.
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10 Garrett Stewart, Dickens and the Trials of Imagination
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(Massachusettes: Harvard University Press, 1974) 187.
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11 Marcus 74.
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12 Marcus 80.
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13 Marcus 83.
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14 John Carey, Here Comes Dickens - The Imagination of a
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Novelist (New York: Schocken Books, 1974) 149.
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15 Dickens, Expectations 71-72.
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16 Alexander Welsh, The City of Dickens (Oxford: Claredon
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Press, 1971) 107-108.
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17 Marcus 75.
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18 James R. Kincaid, Dickens and the Rhetoric of Laughter
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(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1971) 72.
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19 Kincaid 51.
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20 Kincaid 51.
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21 Kincaid 53.
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22 Kincaid 72.
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23 Wilkie 78.
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24 Welsh 82.
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25 Marcus 55.
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