CHARLES DICKENS GUÍA DE LECTURA - READING GUIDE BIBLIOTECA ALBA PLATA CEIP ALBA PLATA - CÁCERES
CHARLES DICKENS was born on 7th February 1812, two centuries ago, in Portsmouth. When Charles was a child, his father built up large debts that he could not pay and finally was sent to prison in London. The rest of the family joined him there, except Charles, who at the age of 12 started working, washing bottles in factory. This experience proved so shocking and humiliating to Charles that it was to haunt him for the rest of his life. He reflected these experiences of cruelty, hypocrisy and appalling poverty of early Victorian Society in his novels, for example: Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby and A Christmas Carol. His major novels included David Copperfield, Bleak House, Hard Times, A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations, all reflect a growing pessimism. Charles Dickens died at his house, on 10 June 1870, at the age of 58. On 14 June, he was buried in the Poet’s corner, Westminster Abbey, close to the monuments of Chaucer and Shakespeare. CHARLES DICKENS El 7 de febrero de 2012 se ha celebrado el bicentenario del nacimiento del gran escritor británico Charles Dickens. Nació en Portsmouth, en una familia acomodada. Pero su padre contrajo numerosas deudas y acabó en prisión, lo que le obligó a tener que trabajar desde los 12 años. Esta dura experiencia ejerció una gran influencia sobre toda su obra. Dickens reflejó como nadie la crueldad, la hipocresía y la pobreza de la sociedad victoriana, en algunas de sus principales novelas como: Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby y Canción de Navidad. Completan la selección de sus obras más importantes: David Copperfield, Casa Desolada, Historia de dos ciudades y Grandes Esperanzas. Murió el 10 de junio de 1870, a los 58 años, en un pueblecito del condado de Kent. Fue enterrado en la Abadía de Westminster, en Londres, en la llamada “Esquina de los Poetas”, junto a los monumentos de Chaucer y Shakespeare.
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club was his first novel. In May 1827, the Pickwick Club of London, headed by Samuel Pickwick, decides to establish a traveling society in which four members journey about England and make reports on their travels. Los papeles Póstumos del Club Pickwick. En esta obra encontramos personajes extravagantes que emprenden viajes por Inglaterra, trasladándonos a pintorescas diligencias y posadas a instancias del caballero y filántropo Samuel Pickwick, fundador y presidente vitalicio de un club del que toda exageración parece ser socia numeraria. Oliver Twist, is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens, published in 1838. The story is about an orphan Oliver Twist, who endures a miserable existence in a workhouse and then is placed with an undertaker. He escapes and travels to London where he meets the Artful Dodger, leader of a gang of juvenile pickpockets. Oliver is led to the lair of their elderly criminal trainer Fagin, naively unaware of their unlawful activities. Oliver Twist narra las aventuras y desventuras de un pobre huérfano desde su vida en un orfanato hasta sus andanzas por Londres con una banda de carteristas. A Tale of two cities. Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton are alike in appearance, different in character and in love with the same woman. In the midst of the French Revolution, Darnay, who has fled to London to escape the cruelty of the French nobility, must return to Paris to rescue his servant from death. But he endangers his own life and is captured. Historia de dos ciudades. Charles Darnay y Sydney Carton son muy diferentes pero se parecen en que aman a la misma mujer. En plena Revolución Francesa Darnay que había huido a Londres debe regresar a Paris a buscar a su criado, pero su vida corre peligro. A Christmas Carol. Dickens’s ghostly tale of Ebenezer Scrooge has become as much a part of Christmas as trees and stockings, plum pudding and mistletoe. Un cuento de Navidad. Los fantasmas de Ebenezer Scrooge son ya parte de la Navidad, como los árboles, los calcetines, el budín de ciruelas .y el muérdago.
Great Expectations. Pip eagerly abandons his humble origins to begin a new life as a gentleman, his education and development through adversity are depicted and he discovers the true nature of his “great expectations”. Pip, a pesar de sus orígenes humildes se abre paso para empezar una vida como un caballero. Su educación y sus ganas de combatir la adversidad descuben la naturaleza de sus “grandes esperanzas” David Copperfield tells the story of a young boy who is deeply affected when his widowed mother remarries. When she dies, David’s stepfather sends him to work in a London factory. After his landlord in London is sent to prison David escapes to Dover and takes refuge with Betsey Trotwood, his aunt. David Copperfield cuenta la historia de un chico cuya madre, viuda, vuelve a casarse. Al morir ella, su padrastro le envía a trabajar en una fábrica en Londres, pero él se escapa y se refugia en Dover con su tía. Nicholas Nickleby. Young Nicholas and his family enjoy a comfortable life, until Nicholas' father dies and the family is left penniless. Nicholas, his sister and mother venture to London to seek help from their Uncle Ralph, but Ralph's only intentions are to separate the family and exploit them. Nicholas is sent to a school run by the cruel, abusive and horridly entertaining Wackford Squeers. Eventually, Nicholas runs away with schoolmate Smike, and the two set off to reunite the Nickleby family. El joven Nicolás lleva con su familia una cómoda vida hasta que muere su padre y se quedan sin dinero. Por eso, junto con su madre y su hermana van a Londres para que su tío Ralph les ayude pero éste sólo intenta separar a la familia. Interna a Nicholas en un horrible colegio hasta que se escapa con su amigo Smike con la idea de volver a reunirse con su familia. The Cricket on the hearth. In England a century ago, having a cricket on the hearth meant that you were prosperous enough to keep a fire burning on cold nights. In various cultural contexts, a cricket could simply mean good luck. This story follows a "Carrier" (delivery-man) and his much younger wife through three climactic days leading up to their first anniversary. El grillo del hogar es una novela corta en la que en tres días un repartidor y su joven esposa descubren que hay que mantener vivo el “fuego del hogar” para alcanzar la felicidad.
Little Dorrit. The novel begins in Marseille “thirty years ago” with the notorious murderer Rigaud informing his cellmate that he has murdered his wife. Arthur Clennam, who is returning to London to see his mother following the death of his father with whom he had lived for twenty years in China. La pequeña Dorrit. La novela comienza en Marsella treinta años antes cuando Rigaud, un asesino, informa a su compañero de celda que ha matado a su esposa. Arthur Clennam vuelve a Londres para ver a su madre tras la muerte de su padre con el que vivió en China durante veinte años. Bleak House. Sir Leicester Dedlock and his wife Honoria, live at his estate of Chesney Wold. Unknown to Sir Leicester, Lady Dedlock had a lover, Captain Hawdon, before she married Sir Leicester, and had a child by him, Esther Summerson. Lady Dedlock, believing her daughter is dead, La casa desolada es una historia de misterio y una crítica a una sociedad indiferente. Retrata el submundo de una gran ciudad, la corrupción y los retrasos en la justicia que se basan en la experiencia directa del autor. Dombley and Son. The story concerns Paul Dombey, the wealthy owner of the shipping company, whose dream is to have a son to continue his business. The book begins when his son is born, and Dombey's wife dies shortly after giving birth. Dombley e hijo. La historia trata sobre Paul Dombey, un rico propietario de una compañía naviera que sueña con tener un hijo para que continúe sus negocios. El libro comienza cuando nace su hijo y su esposa muere unos días después. Hard Times is the tenth novel by Charles Dickens. The book appraises English society and is aimed at highlighting the social and economic pressures of the times. Tiempos difíciles. La acción transcurre fuera de Londres, en Coketown, una ciudad ficticia del norte de Inglaterra, podría ser Preston. La trama se ve desde el punto de vista de la clase proletaria y de la clase alta (obreros y patronos que los mantienen en condiciones pésimas). También se nos muestra otro tipo de vida: el de la gente del circo. Todo con un trasfondo irónico, sin hacer una crítica clara de la sociedad de su época hasta las últimas páginas de la obra.