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Dickens depicts James
Steerforth as a slick, egotistical, wealthy young man whose sense of
self-importance overwhelms all his opinions. On the other hand, Mr. Peggotty
and Ham, both poor are described as generous and sympathetic characters.
Through this contrast, Dickens criticizes his society’s view of wealth and
class as measures of a person’s value. Many people in Dickens’s time
believed that poverty was a symptom of moral degeneracy and that people who
were poor deserved to suffer because of inherent deficiencies. Dickens, on
the other hand, sympathizes with the poor and implies that their woes result
from society’s unfairness, not their own failings. However, Dickens does not
go so far as to suggest that all poor people are absolutely noble and that
all rich people are utterly evil. Poor people frequently swindle David when
he is young, even though he is also poor and helpless. Doctor Strong and
Agnes, both wealthy, middle-class citizens, nonetheless are morally
upstanding. Dickens does not paint a black-and-white moral picture, but
invites us to judge his characters based on their individual deeds and
qualities.
In addition, many other
figures in this novel also impress readers with their unique
characteristics. The perfect Agnes, David’s wife, is the idealized female
figure who is intelligent, beautiful, gentle and pure. The unpractical and
optimistic Micawber always deceits himself as well as others. The odd and
warm-hearted grandaunt tends to make unexpected decisions and always
maintains that the donkey should be punished if it dares to walk through her
garden. The following is an excerpt of David’s odd grandaunt driving the
donkeys out from her garden.
Janet had hone away to
get the bath ready, when my aunt, to my great alarm, became in one moment
rigid with indignation, and had hardly voice to cry out, “Janet! Donkies!”
Upon which, Janet came running up the stairs as if the house
were in flames, darted out on a little piece of green in front, and warned
off two saddle-donkeys, lady-ridden, that had presumed to set hoof upon it;
while my aunt, rushing out of the house, seized the bridle of a third animal
laden with a bestriding child, turned him, led him forth from those sacred
precincts, and boxed the ears of the unlucky urchin in attendance who had
dared to profane that hallowed ground.
…The one great outrage of her life, demanding to be constantly avenged, was
the passage of a donkey over that immaculate spot. In whatever occupation
she was engaged, however interesting to her the conversation in which she
was taking part, a donkey turned the current of her ideas in a moment, and
she was upon hem straight. Jugs of water, and watering pots, were kept in
secret places ready to be discharged on the offending boys; sticks were laid
in ambush behind the door; sallies were made at all hours; and incessant war
prevailed. Perhaps this was an agreeable excitement to the donkey-boys; or
perhaps the more sagacious of the donkeys, understanding how the case stood,
persisted with constitutional obstinacy in coming that way. I only know that
there sere three alarms before the bath was ready; and that on the occasion
of the last and most desperate of all, I saw my aunt engage, single-handed,
with a sandy-headed lad of fifteen, and bump his sandy head against her own
gate, before he seemed to comprehend what was the matter. These
interruptions were the more ridiculous to me, because she was giving me
broth out of a table-spoon at the time(having firmly persuaded herself that
I was actually starving, and must receive nourishment at first in very small
quantities), and, while my mouth was yet open to receive the spoon, she
would put it back into the basin, cry “Janet! Donkies!” and go out to the
assault.
Though, this great aunt is bizarre yet it is she who
saves David and brings up him to be a gentleman. The gallery of these vivid
and unique characters makes Dickens’s novel more impressive and attractive.
In this novel, Dickens employs a lot of images, such as
the sea, which represents an unknown and powerful force in the lives of the
characters in David Copperfield, and it is almost always connected
with death. The sea took Little Emily’s father in an unfortunate accident
and both Ham and Steerforth. The storm in the concluding chapters of the
novel alerts us to the danger of ignoring the sea’s power and indicates that
the novel’s conflicts have reached an uncontrollable level. Like death, the
force of the sea is beyond human control. Humans must try to live in harmony
with the sea’s mystical power and take precautions to avoid untimely death.
In addition, Flowers in this novel represent simplicity and innocence. For
example, Steerforth nicknames David “Daisy” because David is naïve. David
brings Dora flowers on her birthday. Dora forever paints flowers on her
little canvas. When David returns to the Wickfields’ house and the Heeps
leave, he discovers that the old flowers are in the room, which indicates
that the room has been returned to its previous state of simplicity and
innocence. In each of these cases, flowers stand as images of rebirth and
health—a significance that points to a springlike quality in characters
associated with their blossoms.
David Copperfield, as Dickens’ favorite, is not
merely a record of personal experience but is a broad picture of English
society in Dickens’ time. It is written with excellent skills and makes good
use of Dickens’ life experience. This book combines verisimilitude, sense of
familiarity and artistic maturity that seldom appear in his other novels.
“Such was, however, the case with David Copperfield, which of all
Dickens’s fictions is on the whole the most perfect as a work of art.”（Adolphus
William Ward）
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