Bleak House: Justice Served

1487 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Great expectations charles dickens analysis

Bleak House: Justice Served

Bleak House written by Charles Dickens is a representation of the corruption of England’s court system as the author clearly sets out to criticize the cornerstones of the nation. Through his novel, Dickens redeems the idea of justice by bringing Inspector Bucket into the plotline as a spokesman for the people seeking the truth. Dickens presents the detective/police as the symbol of true justice who serves the law with good intentions for the people. The contrast of these two types of justice systems is that Inspector Bucket serves the law with the true interest of people while the lawyers of the Court do it for their own gain and personal interests. The Jarndyce and Jarndyce case is the main factor in which these differences can be seen. Through the comparison of the Court of Chancery and its lawyers which is represented by Tulkinghorn and Vholes with the detective/police who is represented by Inspector Bucket, the intentions and opinions of Dickens are loudly voiced and justice truly served.

In Bleak House, Dickens presents an ironic case that condemns England’s legal system which in this case is the Court of Chancery. The Court of Chancery represented England’s justice system and held the role as Keeper of the King’s Conscience by the Lord High Chancellor. The Court of Chancery had authority over all matters of equity which include anything with criminal cases, trusts, land law, wills, guardianship, estates, marriage, and adoption. They had jurisdiction over many of these things to avoid any injustice that arose from the common law. Despite their role, the Court is shown with bitterness towards their institution as Dickens sets out to critique their system. In society, the Court of Chancery...

... middle of paper ...

...and justice served to them. The contrast of these two types of justice systems is that Inspector Bucket serves the law with the true interest of people while the lawyers of the Court do it for their own gain and personal interests. Comparing the Court of Chancery and its members with the detective/police, it is almost as if Dickens has brought justice for himself in criticizing England’s legal institution and amending it with the justice brought by the respected Inspector Bucket.

Works Cited (APA)

Primary Literature:

Dickens, C. (2005). Bleak House. New York: Barnes & Noble Classics.

Secondary Literature:

Court of Chancery. (2014). In Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved

from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/105336/Court-of-Chancery

Donovan, Robert A. “Structure and Idea in Bleak House.” ELH Vol. 29, No. 2

(Jun., 1962): 175-201.

Show More
Related

  • A Review of John Pagan’s "Anne Orthwood’s Bastard"

    1304 Words  | 3 Pages

    The layout of the book devotes each chapter to a key figure in Anne’s case. The story begins, fittingly, with Anne Orthwood, the young indentured servant, who had a brief affair with the young nephew of Colonel William Kendall who was of high social standing in the community. Pagan does a masterful job of describing the human aspect of the people surrounding each case. He ties the human element with the decisions made by the justices of the peace. These ties offer a clear understanding of the malleability of the laws and the legal modifications that were made by empowered justices. For example, indentured contracts became extremely pliable to local interests. Anne’s indenture was sold three times in two years, each was without her consent as would have been needed in England. The second sale of Anne’s indenture provoked the case of Waters v. Bishopp, in which Waters had discovered Anne’s pregnancy and sued Bishopp for breach of contract and selling a “faulty product”. The English followed the caveat emptor rule, in which a...

    Read More

  • Peasant Lifestyle In Davis´ The Return of Martin Guerre

    1599 Words  | 4 Pages

    ... insight into how the peasant judicial system attempted to benefit the peasants but was mostly filled with inadequacies.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Women In Thomas And Jane Weir's Trials In Scotland

    1332 Words  | 3 Pages

    The government had to play a role in Thomas and Jane Weirs’ trials because they are the authority figures that tend to convict people of their misdemeanours. “After both Dittays were read and found relevant by the Justices, the King’s Advocate caused interrogate the Major judicially anent his Guilt…the King’s Advocate takes Instruments that he refuses to answer positively.” The trial itself is a testament to the workings of the government, parliament and authority figure of Scotland in the case of witch hunting of men and women.

    Read More

  • Magwitch's Momentous Marxist Motives In Charles Dickens Great Expectations

    1095 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, the convict under the alias “Magwitch” contains multiple characteristics that split him between two diverse classes. This duality of character and his frequent detainment cause him to desire a change to reinvent himself and leave the convict lower class. By succumbing to a corrupt class system, Magwitch demonstrates the duality of a man wronged by injustice and blinded by vengeance.

    Read More

  • Differing Opinions of Bleak House

    1892 Words  | 4 Pages

    One of the strongest of these critics is George Brimley, who, in his article entitled “Dickens’s Bleak House” published in The Spectator in 1853, writes that “Bleak House is, even more than its predecessors, chargeable with not simple faults, but absolute want of construction”(161). He finds that the structure of Bleak House fails because there is no connection between actors and incidents. Brimley points to the interest of Richard Carstone in the Chancery case. The case only serves to draw out Carstone’s personality faults that would have been drawn out in any other interest he may have had. The Chancery case, then, is trivial for it fails to exert any real impact on the characters...

    Read More

  • Justice In Bartleby, The Scrivener

    950 Words  | 2 Pages

    This can be seen in how the narrator and other lawyers never want to do anything that harms themselves or their reputation. Melville shows us this side of the lawyers when they come to the narrator to help rid themselves of Bartleby and they state, “Every body is concerned; clients are leaving the offices; some fears are entertained of a mob; something you must do, and that without delay.” Then, the narrator decides to help not out of the goodness of his heart but because he is “fearful then of being exposed to the papers.” All the lawyers have no true concerns of what happens to Bartleby as long as he is out of their way. This helps to give the reader some insight into how the law is there to attempt to keep people formed to the society intended where everyone has there place to help society run smoothly and if someone doesn’t conform to this society, they are told that they are breaking the law and must be imprisoned. Therefore, the lawyers decide to call the police on Bartleby and have him thrown in jail for nothing other than his

    Read More

  • Chancery in Charles Dickens Bleak House

    642 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Charles Dickens Bleak House, Chancery is portrayed as a disease that plagues the Victorian society. Dickens uses the suits and the lawyers of Chancery to display its effects on the whole society.

    Read More

  • Crime And Punishment In Wuthering Heights

    482 Words  | 1 Pages

    The complex and furious creation of Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights is a powerful novel that fiercely combines many of the greatest themes in literature, such as love and its intricacies, revenge and the its terrible effects, and the contrasts between nature and society. One of the most prevalent themes in this celebrated work is that of crime and punishment, or sin and retribution. One character in particular, Heathcliff, stands apart as a conduit for both of these, es-pecially his sins. His past crimes, both worldly and metaphysical, coincide with his punishments.

    Read More

  • Crime and Imprisonment in Great Expectations

    1403 Words  | 3 Pages

    There is a clear relationship between the characters in Great Expectations and crime. Dickens uses this connection to show that a criminal can be reformed. He also shows the characters to be prisoners of their own doing.

    Read More

  • A Tale of Two Cities

    1435 Words  | 3 Pages

    The year is now 1780. Charles Darnay stands accused of treason against the English crown. A bombastic lawyer named Stryver pleads Darnay's case, but it is not until his drunk, good-for-nothing colleague, Sydney Carton, assists him that the court acquits Darnay. Carton clinches his argument by pointing out that he himself bears an uncanny resemblance to the defendant, which undermines the prosecution's case for unmistakably identifying Darnay as the spy the authorities spotted. Somewhere within this passage, Dickens takes it upon himself to bring up the theme that every human creature is different. He does this by stating that “A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other.” Meanwhile, Lucie and Doctor Manette watched the court proceedings, and that night, Carton escorts Darnay to a tavern and asks how it feels to receive the sympathy of a woman like Lucie.

    Read More

  • Commentary on Dickens' Bleak House

    802 Words  | 2 Pages

    his time. It is through the use of profound imagery that he is able to

    Read More

  • The True Gentlemen of Great Expectations

    1151 Words  | 3 Pages

    French, A.L  " Imprisonment: The Case of Great Expectations." Discussions of Charles Dickens, 82-92.  William R. Clark, ed.  Boston: D.C. Heath & Co., 1961.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Criminal Justice System

    2345 Words  | 5 Pages

    “We are blessed in the united kingdom by a judiciary whose integrity, dependence, professional-ism and skill that is not in question. But we take such a condition for granted at our peril. Justice is a delicate plant. It has to be ruptured, protected, cared for” Straw, Jack (July, 2007).

    Read More

  • Charles Dickens: David Copperfield

    1976 Words  | 4 Pages

    “A social institution is a complex, integrated set of social norms organized around the preservation of a basic societal value. Obviously, the sociologist does not define institutions in the same way, as does the person on the street. Lay persons are likely to use the term "institution" very loosely, for churches, hospitals, jails, and many other things as institutions.” (Social Guide website) Furthermore, Institutions are Family, education and religion important in Charles Dickens’ novel. There are some reason Who are the persons that represent these values and norms and in what terms, Which are the values and norms attached to these institutions, with respect to Important Characters, concrete events related to the values and norms attached to family and education institutions, Analysis of all characters that either institutions conflicts with values and norms.

    Read More

  • Influences of Charles Dickens in the Victorian Era Literature

    1261 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dickens’ first significant experience that influenced his novel, Oliver Twist, occurred when he was forced to work at Warren’s Blacking Factory. At the tender age of eleven, Dickens had to work in a boot-blacking factory in order to support his family, after his father, John Dickens, was sent to debtors’ prison in Marshalsea located in London, England (Smith 127). Due to the “Poor Laws” established in England in 1834, Dickens was completely separated from his family and had to withstand the abuse and brutality administered by the workhouse officials. Government bureaucrats ensured that having the poor work at these workhouses would reduce the cost of governing the poor, alleviate beggars, and encourage the poor to work harder to support themselves; however, Dickens championed the denunciation of the Poor Laws with the satirical nature of Oliver Twist (“1834 Po...

    Read More

More about Bleak House: Justice Served

Open Document