Happy Birthday, Dickens!

Article by Haley Kelley

Charles Dickens was a great novelist who was born on February 7th, 1812. He wrote many great novels such as Great Expectations and A Christmas Carol.

Dickens was born in a small town (Portsmouth), on the lower part of England. Portsmouth is known as being on the coast with marshes, which mirrors the setting of the 1st part of Great Expectations. At the time in which he was living, there was no fighting in Europe due to just defeating Napoleon, and the “Jack the Ripper” murders were simultaneously occurring. Dickens was influenced by his own experiences and Darwin’s book, The Origin of Species.

When Dickens was younger, he learned to read and write, and when he was 12, his father lost his money and went in debt, which caused almost all the Dickens family to be “thrown” in jail. After this, young Charles went to London and worked at a boot polish factory. This had a huge impact on him, and he continued to fight for the rights of children. Once he was older he became a writer and published his first book, Pickwick Papers. He then soon publishes A Christmas Carol. In 1852, (nine years after his publication of A Christmas Carol) he became popular again and he sold tickets for people to come and see him read his own books in theaters.

He started his magazine, “All the Year Round” in 1859. There he published, chapter-by-chapter, his books and other’s writings. This is how he published Great Expectations and A tale of Two Cities. Before this, he met his first love and acted between 1830-1833. He also fell in love with Ellen Ternan who was an actress. He died later in 1870, when he was 58.

Many See Dickens as an inspirational writer. After 58 years of life, he has brought many wonderful arts to the world.

Nancy Juarez-Pecho, a sophomore at Cherokee High School said this about Charles Dickens, “Charles Dickens was very inspirational!”

Another Student, Nyasia Butler said, “Charles’s, A Christmas Carol, was very spontaneous.”

Overall, Dickens was an inspiration, not only to adults, but students everywhere. Many are glad and looking forward to be celebrating his legacy and his birth, on February 7th, 2019. Read on, Warriors!