兒童權(quán)利維護(hù)者狄更斯——再讀霧都孤兒

1、廣西師范大學(xué)碩士學(xué)位論文兒童權(quán)利維護(hù)者狄更斯——再讀《霧都孤兒》姓名：王秀娟申請學(xué)位級別：碩士專業(yè)：英語語言文學(xué)指導(dǎo)教師：嚴(yán)幸智20090401viCharles Dickens：A Safeguard of Children’s Rights: Oliver Twist Reinterpreted Postgraduate: Wang Xiujuan Grade:2006 Major Field of Study: Englis

2、h Language & Literature Supervisor: Professor. Yan Xingzhi Orientation: British & American Literature Abstract in English Charles Dickens(1812-1870)is one of the most outstanding English writers in the

3、nineteenth century. His works enjoy great popularity among people and can stand the test of time. In the time of Charles Dickens, the English society had been experiencing great changes in politics and economy. As a r

4、esult of the English industrialization，the material wealth increased significantly. Meanwhile， the traditional social structure, culture, and ethics morals were fundamentally destroyed. Furthermore，the darkness and sord

5、idness of the capitalist society were being presented day by day，the rich and the poor were polarized, and the class contradiction was incisive. In many of his novels, Dickens depicted the contrast between the rich and t

6、he poor, the class contradictions, and the Bourgeois values with a humanitarian approach. Children characters occupy a most important place in Dickens’s art gallery. In the history of world literature, Dickens is the fir

7、st one who throws tremendous efforts into his creations of children. Reflecting life through children’s angle of view is a main characteristic of Dickens’s art of novels. He cries hard for the suffering children and appe

8、als urgently that the society, schools and families must pay more attention to the children’s education and take care of them, so that they could grow up in a healthy way. Oliver Twist (1838) is the first novel in the E

9、nglish language to centre on a child protagonist and is also notable for his unromantic portrayal of criminals and their pathetic lives. Dickens’s vivid description creates many lifelike characters, which impress the rea

10、dership deeply. In Oliver Twist, from the viewpoint of bourgeois humanism, Charles Dickens criticizes the Victorian English society and exposes its sordidness behind the magnificent curtain of the so-called Victorian Go

11、lden Age. By means of narration of how orphans in a workhouse were bullied, starved, and disposed of under a callous utilitarian philosophy, Dickens describes the effects of industrialisization on 19th-century England a

12、nd attacks the harsh new Poor Laws in an artistic way. Dickens champions the importance of education, especially early education and insists on safeguarding children’s rights of education throu

13、gh social reform, because he holds firmly that “early circumstances shape character, and that character, in turn, shapes reactions to later circumstances.” He feels that children have certain needs: guidance in a nurtur

14、ing home, to be free from emotional and physical abuses, to have a good education, and to be allowed to use their imaginations. In order for children to succeed in life he feels these needs must be met. Dickens has gre

15、ater familiarity with the subject of children education than most of his contemporaries, which makes him one of the pioneers in introducing the theme of education into literary creation. Moreover he tries his best to u

16、tilize his correspondence with people around him, journalism he subscribes to different magazines throughout his life and speeches he was invited to make on various occasions to advocate his ideas and practical plans to