The Life of David Copperfield..Or Charles Dickens?

I recently read a book by the name of David Copperfield and was highly impressed with the style of writing. The book is by Charles Dickens, and upon finishing this book, I have decided he must have been a literary genius. From the preface, Dickens tells us that David Copperfield is his favorite work and that he is sad because he will not be able to work on it any longer now that he has finished writing it. He perfectly displays the mind of a boy going through life, being naive and ignorant , up until adulthood and maturity. What is also discovered throughout the reading is that he stopped work on his autobiography and chose to write this novel instead, which turns out to be a fictional autobiography of Dickens' life, not just David's. This of course raises the question of whether he meant for this to truly be another novel or the story of his own life, which is perhaps the reason he developed such a deep connection with the characters.

David Copperfield is about a man named David writing the story of his life. As a boy, he lived happily with his mother and his nurse named Peggoty until a cruel man named Mr. Murdstone married his mother. After being beaten, David retaliated and is sent to boarding to school for his disobedience. He meets two kids, Tommy Traddles and James Steerforth, whom he will encounter again later in life. After leaving school, he goes off to live with his aunt and attends another school. While at this school, he stays with a man named Wickfield and his daughter Agnes, and begins to grow older and mature. He meets many new and interesting characters throughout his life which reappear over and over, and saying anymore would ruin the book for those who may read it some day.

The book contains many strengths in the way that it unfolds. Unlike the rest of Dickens' works, it is told in 1st person by David Copperfield himself as he grows from a boy into an adult. This is very well executed in that while the story is told from the child's point of view, there aren't any comments or additions by his adult mind. You truly witness the events young David goes through as a child would, meaning of course that he is very naive. He is also very trusting of most people, and always looks for the best in them rather than noticing their obvious flaws. As David begins to mature, his opinions and judgments of people mature as well.

Also, Dickens excels at imagery throughout the novel. Right away it is easy to tell which characters will be morally good and which characters will be the antagonists. Those who are described as physically beautiful, like David’s mother, are good