Nicholas Nickleby

Charles Dickens (1812-1870) – I must say that Dickens is now one of my favorite authors. He has a very creative way of writing about social injustices while adding a comical air to the seriousness of it. He doesn’t take lightly the atrocities that children and the poor class went through, but he does present them with a picture of comedy. He also has a way of describing people so that you know them in the first introduction. Not only their physical description, but mostly in their character and attitude. My favorite character was probably Mrs. Nickleby. She was also very annoying. She would chatter on and on about things that don’t make any sense and aren’t relevant to the conversation. Her long winded stories about people she knew in the past and those around her amused me very much. Nicholas on the other had is also a favorite character. He is of course the hero of the story. He stands up for what he believes is right and works hard to achieve a happy life for his mother and sister. They suffered very much in the beginning after the death of Mr. Nickleby. Nicholas’ adventures in the book show how courageous and strong he was just to provide a safe home for his mother and sister. His uncle, Ralph Nickleby, was definitely the villain of the story. He really had no heart towards anyone. It was very frustrating to me to read of his plans against Nicholas and his family. I wanted to always find Nicholas and warn him of the danger that was at hand. Especially when it came to Ralph and his old friend’s scheme to marry the young, fair Madeline Bray. She was an angel in troubled waters. The plans of Ralph were of course thwarted by the friends of Madeline. And much to Nicholas’ joy because he loved her, but this was unknown to anyone until the end of the book. There really is a lot that goes on in this story and it is hard to summarize it all. It does have a happy ending, the kind you hope for, for good people like Nicholas. I’m looking forward to reading more of Dickens’ novels. He is a very skilled writer.