David Copperfield

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It's a hit!

I sat down for probably the seventh time to attempt to read this book a few weeks back. I was absolutely determined that I should make my way thro... (show more)

I sat down for probably the seventh time to attempt to read this book a few weeks back. I was absolutely determined that I should make my way through this, pass my judgment on Charles Dickens (whether for good or ill) and move on with the books that eternally pile higher on the bookshelf. With this I sat down one day and plunged in just one more time.

I am convinced now, that as it took Mr. Dickens until nearly his fortieth year to write this book, it took me a good deal of time to ripen into an understanding of just how relaxing, engaging, and purely immersing his world could be.

What can I say of this novel other than that Charles Dickens' work (this being the only one I've yet read) lives up to the hype. I found myself purely commiserating and broken as I read his early life, enjoying the flush of young adulthood all over again as he began his life in earnest, and than reflecting along with him towards the end. I did not regret reading this novel, and can only wish that I find more like this that can engage me in the same manner.

The best part of this work? That is unquestionably the characters themselves. The work itself is immersed in character development and a descriptive ability that leaves you feeling as though these are your friends and enemies as well. To hear the malignant voice of Uriah Heep as he slithers his way this and that, to hear the booming good nature of Mr. Pegotty, the evil incarnate of Mr. Murdstone (a more villainous character is hard to find in literature other than perhaps Heep himself) or the simple and serene Traddles is worth reading this book in and of itself. When you combine this with the ability of Charles Dickens to show both the strength and weakness of David Copperfield it makes for a truly wonderful read. (show less)

 

 

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No, it's a flop!

This book was never-ending and a book that I really couldn't wait to finish reading. I hate giving up on anything and that's the only reason I cont... (show more)

This book was never-ending and a book that I really couldn't wait to finish reading. I hate giving up on anything and that's the only reason I continued reading this book. There were some very good parts to the book but their was a lot of rambling as well which could have been taken out. I thought the main character wasn't as exciting as some of the other characters that Charles Dickens has thought up but I still like the inocence and good nature of him.
I don't think I would read this book agin but I am glad to have read it the once. (show less)

 

 

by SABRINA KHAN

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  David Copperfield was a story that really played with the emotions. He had one of the most terrible childhood years than anyone I believe ever had. His father died when he was a little baby and his mother seemed to have difficulties throughout her life. To add to the stressful pattern that things were turning to in the family, Davy's mother decided to marry Mr. Murdstone who was a very cruel man. Almost as cruel and abusive as Ike Turner was to Tina. David always felt a bad emotion whenever h... (show more)

  David Copperfield was a story that really played with the emotions. He had one of the most terrible childhood years than anyone I believe ever had. His father died when he was a little baby and his mother seemed to have difficulties throughout her life. To add to the stressful pattern that things were turning to in the family, Davy's mother decided to marry Mr. Murdstone who was a very cruel man. Almost as cruel and abusive as Ike Turner was to Tina. David always felt a bad emotion whenever he was around the Murdstones, because Mr. Murdstone's sister was just as bad as he was. The only joy in his life was, his mother and Pegotty at that time. He went with Pegotty (house maid) to a trip to a pleasant family by the seaside. However, he later got connected to his aunt, Mrs. Trotwood, in London, who played a pivotal role in his life. She was the one to put Mr. Murdstone in his place. Even though Davy's life in boarding school was awful and had the extra shame of wearing a tag behind his back stating, "Be careful, he bites," he grew into a very handsome young man and had many intelligent and beautiful ladies around him.

  Later on, Emily was found missing and Mr. Trotwood dedicated his life henceforth to finding her. I recalled David Copperfield getting married to Agnes who was weak and later died. Also Pegotty and Mr. Barkis got married. From a life where he was locked into his room to keep far from Mr. Murdstone in earlier days and suffering the death of his mother and little baby brother, by the cruelty of the Murdstones, his life was changed. He had a lot of losses in his life; a lot of people dying around him, but he remained strong. He got back into friendship with Tommy Traddles, who too was progressing. Davy studied hard to become a proctor; meeting up again with Steerforth, but there were some final businesses to settle with Uriah Heep (a very sly character) for his evil works. If I remember correctly, David Copperfield became a writer and lived a productive life henceforth to the end. It is a sure motivation to us, this story, because it shows that how you started our life, doesn't determine how you will finish. (show less)

   

   

  by Michael Phillip on Oct 05, 2009 at 04:52AM

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  Another classic doorstop by the venerable Dickens, David Copperfield delivers on all expectations (all of mine at least). Weighing in at 800+ pages of delightful prose (okay – most of the 800 pages are delightful, but they can’t all be, not even in Dickens), memorable characters, improbable (nay, impossible) plot turns that require indulgence, not merely suspension of disbelief, and, of course, suffering children and insensitive, tyrannical adults who abuse them, this sprawling novel is cons... (show more)

  Another classic doorstop by the venerable Dickens, David Copperfield delivers on all expectations (all of mine at least). Weighing in at 800+ pages of delightful prose (okay – most of the 800 pages are delightful, but they can’t all be, not even in Dickens), memorable characters, improbable (nay, impossible) plot turns that require indulgence, not merely suspension of disbelief, and, of course, suffering children and insensitive, tyrannical adults who abuse them, this sprawling novel is consistent with all of my (limited) experience with Dickens.

  It pays the reader to keep a pencil and paper handy to record the names, circumstances and pages of introduction for each of innumerable characters as they enter the stage. Even the most apparently minor ones may return again, 400 pages on. Most in fact do. The preposterous intersections in the web of characters and events seem to be what defines Dickens. So many characters are introduced, and they all need to be accounted for by the novel’s end – with the result being the last 150 – 175 pages (i.e., the complete length of many novels) feel like a somewhat tedious wrapping up. And some of the wrapping is so artificial as to be almost bizarre. The best example for me is in Chapter 61 (30 long pages from Finis) when David and Traddles meet with their former (tyrannical) schoolmaster, now a magistrate at a prison, and discover on their tour of the facility that Uriah Heep and Littimer (never previously connected to each other in the narrative) are living in side by side cells. The scene feels completely disconnected from the flow of the book, and seems to be there for the sole purpose of disposing of three figures who would otherwise have been loose ends.

  But it’s all great fun and well worth the time and energy. I suggest reading it at the beach as I did – it demands to be read straight through or the task of keeping track of the characters and plot turns would be much too hard.

  As a skeptic of democracy and politics, I found Copperfield’s description of Parliament (where he worked for a time as a stenographer) to be the most memorable quote in the book:

  “I … am joined with eleven others in reporting the debates in Parliament for a Morning Newspaper. Night after night, I record predictions that never come to pass, professions that are never fulfilled, explanations that are only meant to mystify. I wallow in words. Britannia, that unfortunate female, is always before me, like a trussed fowl: skewered through and through with office-pens, and bound hand and foot with red tape. I am sufficiently behind the scenes to know the worth of political life. I am quite an Infidel about it, and shall never be converted.”

  Paul McMahon
  August 20, 2009 (show less)

   

   

  by Paul McMahon on Aug 21, 2009 at 12:40AM

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