| Charles Dickens | |||
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| Airdate | May 10, 2005 | ||
| Curriculum | English Social Studies | ||
Charles Dickens is a BrainPOP English/Social Studies video launched on May 10, 2005.
Summary[]
Appearances[]
Transcript[]
Quiz[]
- Charles Dickens/Quiz
Quotes[]
FYI[]
Quirky Stuff[]
After the publication of The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens became an overnight celebrity throughout the English-speaking world.
When it was announced that he would travel to the United States during the winter and spring of 1842, tens of thousands of his American fans were thrilled. Cheering crowds greeted Dickens wherever he went, and he was toasted at banquets in his honor. In New York, a special “Boz Ball,” featuring waltzes named after his characters and actors performing scenes from his novels, was thrown for him, and it became the top social event of the season.
However, Dickens was not as impressed with America as America was with him. When he returned to England, he published American Notes for General Circulation, in which he criticized Americans’ rude manners and preoccupation with money, and the poor quality of the American media. What’s more, in his next novel, Martin Chuzzlewit, the title character visits America and grows disgusted with Americans’ self-importance and habit of spitting tobacco everywhere.
The American public was outraged, and their newspapers soon struck back — the New York Herald called him the most “childish, trashy, and contemptible” visitor who had ever come to America. However, the feud died down after a short while, and Dickens’ later novels were as popular in America as anywhere else.
Language[]
Charles Dickens didn’t just make contributions to the world of literature—he also made contributions to the English language. Here are some examples!
- Pickwickian Syndrome, a disorder that affects the morbidly obese, is based upon Dickens’ description of a “marvelously fat” boy who constantly falls asleep in The Pickwick Papers. Pickwickian Syndrome is characterized by sleep apnea, a condition in which excess fat around the chest muscles puts too much weight on a person’s lungs, making it difficult for him to breathe during sleep. Those who suffer from it often fall asleep during the day, as their nighttime rest is disturbed by their inability to breathe.
- A Dickens character called Mrs. Gamp, a drunken nurse and midwife who always carried a battered black umbrella, became so popular that the word “Gamp” soon became British slang for “umbrella.”
- The novel Hard Times gave the world the word “Gradgrind,” after a character that weighs and measures everything by a hard and fast rule.
- A “Scrooge,” which references Ebenezer Scrooge from A Christmas Carol, is a joyless, nasty person.
- Someone who is “Pecksniffian” is two-faced and hypocritical, just like Seth Pecksniff in Martin Chuzzlewit.
Theory[]
Defenders of Dickens
As Tim and Moby mention in the movie, Charles Dickens is usually best remembered for his wacky, eccentric characters. He’s most criticized, however, for the plots of his novels. Often, they rely on coincidences that are ridiculously farfetched, and extremely difficult to believe. Orphans find their parents under improbable circumstances; characters disappear and then reappear later at unlikely times; and people constantly overhear others discussing important plot details.
The plot of A Tale of Two Cities hinges on the fact that two of the main characters just happen to look exactly alike. In Oliver Twist, the title character randomly makes an acquaintance in the street who turns out to be his long-lost uncle. And in David Copperfield, a selfish character dies dramatically at the exact place where he committed his most villainous act.
Defenders of Dickens (pictured) point out that most novelists of Dickens’ time relied heavily on coincidence when they formulated their plots. They also note that the coincidences may have been intentional. Dickens’ characters, they say, live in a moral universe where good is almost always rewarded and evil is almost always punished. The coincidences show that good things can happen to good people even in unlikely situations. And besides, they say, Dickens masks his coincidences with such narrative flair that the reader tends to overlook their improbability while she is actually reading the story.
What do you think?
Arts And Entertainment[]
Bill Murray in Scrooged (1988)
Charles Dickens’ work has been made into many movies, not all of which stick closely to their sources.
In 1998, a version of Great Expectations set in modern-day Florida was released. Ethan Hawke stars as a young painter who wants nothing more than to be featured in a gallery show in New York City’s trendy SoHo neighborhood. Gwyneth Paltrow (Estella) is the object of his affection, and Robert De Niro plays a mysterious convict.
A Christmas Carol has been filmed countless times, and there are versions starring the Muppets, Mickey Mouse, Fred Flintstone, Mr. Magoo, and Bugs Bunny. Perhaps the oddest is 1988’s Scrooged, featuring Bill Murray (pictured) as a heartless TV executive visited by ghosts who take the form of a sleazy taxi driver and a physically abusive ballerina.
In 1988, Oliver Twist was adapted into Oliver and Company, a feature-length cartoon in which Dickens’ orphan is a stray kitten taken in by a band of stray dogs in contemporary New York City. Billy Joel supplied the voice of the canine Artful Dodger, and Bette Midler played a poodle named Georgette.
Oliver Twist was also the inspiration for Oliver! the classic stage and movie musical that won the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1968. Its songs, including “Where is Love,” “Who Will Buy,” and “Food, Glorious Food,” are still sung by middle-school choirs everywhere.
FYI Comic[]
