Cannibals Vs.Angels: Grotesque Characterization In David Copperfield

David Copper field appeared in 20 monthly parts from May 1849, to November 1850. In the preface to a later hardbound edition of the book, Dickens wrote: "Of all my books, I like this the best" and "... like many fond parents, I have in my heart of hearts a favorite child. And his name is David Copperfield." The world of Dickens' novel is a fantasy world, a fairy-tale world, and a nightmare world. It is a world seen through the eyes of a child: the shadows are blacker, the fog denser, the house higher, the midnight streets emptier and more terrifying than in reality.Often, as to a child, inanimate objects have a life of their own: Miss Murdstone's handbag shuts with a bite like that of a little savage animal. And the name "Murdstone" is a good example of Dickens' technique of using names to symbolize people. "Murdstone" suggests both "murder" (he was to bring David's mother to an early grave) and "stone" (his hardness of heart repels any attempt at affection by David). The characters, too, are seen as children see people. Their peculiarities are heightened to eccentricities, their vices to monstrous proportions. However, there is a bright side in it. David's aunt Betsey Trotwood is the fairy godmother who disperses the evil Murdstone with a wave of the magic wand, and shuts out the warehouse forever. She is what every orphan or the neglected should have. And Agnes, David's second wife, has a placid face which seems always surrounded by light. She is as gentle as an angel, who undoubtedly is a perfect wife in theeyes of the Victorian men.First of all, my thesis begins with defining the term "grotesque" from the traditional point of view. Then, the thesis proceeds to state the background of the story. Dickens in his life-time saw Great Britain change from rural, agriculture "merry old English" of inns, stagecoaches and fox-hunting squires to an urbanized, commercial-industrial land of railroads, slums, factories and a city proletariat.1 His criticism of society is very bitter and radical, which laid a solid foundation for his grotesque characterization. Thus, the concrete purpose of my thesis comes forth: analyzing his techniques in describing various characters in David Copperfield, such as establishing two contrasting images of cannibals and angels, and his fairy-tale method applied.Finally, my thesis concludes that to a large degree Charles Dickens owes his successful characterization to his skillful use of the grotesqueness. And humor, along with sentiment and horror, is a chief ingredient of Dickens' novel, and all elements are blended into his distinctive formula and its influence may deeply impress the one who read his works. This is why David Copperfield becomes the most popular novel among 20th century Dickensian readers. In this world they have a life of their own and an immortal life at that. The characters are remembered long after the plots and even the titles of the novel have been forgotten.