David Copperfield: A Study of the Impact of Capitalism
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Department of English
Abstract
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens is a result of author’s keen observation
and bitter experiences of capitalism. It features child labour, prostitution, poverty,
hunger, unemployment as well as the miseries of lower working class people. Its cruel
impacts can be seen on the life of David, the protagonist and the other characters–
Agnes, Mr. and Mrs. Micawber, Uriah Heep, etc. Everyone is under the heavy
influence of capitalism and is the root cause of everyone’s unhappiness and
degradation. David, since his birth, experiences hardship in life and struggles his
whole life to keep things in a perfect balance and so do the other characters. Everyone
represents a different mode of life.Through the variable picture of life of working
class people,David Copperfield demonstrates the evil impact of capitalism. Everyone
in the novel is trapped in the whirlpool of capitalism and is fighting hard for their
survival in it but never once trying to break out of it.