Unit 7
Lesson 1
SB page 58
Literature
Before you begin
1 What do you know about Charles Dickens? Can you name any of his books?
Answers
Students’ own answers
The key words
|
The word |
The meaning |
The part of speech |
|
author |
the writer of a book |
Noun |
|
novelist |
a person who writes novels |
Noun |
|
journalist |
a person who writes news stories or articles for a newspaper or magazine or broadcasts them on radio or television |
Noun |
|
lawyer |
someone whose job is to give advice to people about the law and speak for them in court |
Noun |
|
narrator |
the character who tells you what is happening in a book or film |
Noun |
|
novelist |
a person who writes novels |
Noun |
|
playwright |
a person who writes plays |
Noun |
|
poet |
a person who writes poems |
Noun |
While reading
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens was born on 7th February, 1812, in Portsmouth, on the southern coast of England.
He was a quiet boy, who loved reading. When he spoke later of his childhood, he said that he remembered listening to children playing outside, as he sat indoors. He always preferred reading to playing with other children.
At the age of 12, life for his family changed very suddenly. His father had financial problems, so Charles was no longer able to attend school regularly, and he had to work at a factory. The loneliness he felt there was an important influence on his writing, especially in his books Great Expectations and David Copperfield.
When he was 14, Charles stopped going to school altogether and started working as a clerk in a lawyer’s office in London. He didn’t like working there.
Luckily, things changed for him again. Charles had always wanted to be a writer, and he became a very respected journalist. He began to write short pieces for publication in the newspaper. In 1836, a series of pieces called The Pickwick Papers appeared monthly in the newspaper and were very popular. Dickens was a famous author by then.
Throughout his life, Dickens enjoyed travelling. He travelled to many countries, writing novels and giving talks about the cruelty of slavery. Novels such as Oliver Twist and Dombey and Son highlighted the cruel treatment of people, especially children, and child labour in the 19th century.
He died on 8th June, 1870, at the age of 58.
The text talks about:
- Charles Dickens’ childhood.
- Dickens’ experiences of work influenced his writing.
- His first successful published work.
- The issues that many of his novels highlighted.
- The moral problems with using children as labour.
- His novel that addressed a social problem which contributed to diminishing these problems.
After reading
What did novels such as Oliver Twist and Dombey and Son highlight?
Novels such as Oliver Twist and Dombey and Son highlighted the cruel treatment of people, especially children, and child labour in the 19th century.