Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812, the son of John and Elizabeth Dickens. His father was a clerk in the Naval Pay Office. He had a poor head for finances, and in 1824 Dickens’s father went to prison for debt (Cody 1). Dickens came from a poor family. He did not have much especially when his father was always in jail.
His use of language obviously creates many emotions for the reader when reading his novels. One of the main emotions Dickens creates very well is sympathy. This is displayed in many of novels, especially 'Great Expectations'. In Chapter 1, Charles Dickens creates sympathy for two of the main characters, Pip and Magwitch. It is written in the 1st person and therefore automatically emotionally involves the reader.
Charles, the second of seven children, went to the local school. John Dickens found it difficult to provide for his growing family on his small pay. In 1822 the family moved to Camden Town in London. John Dickens' debts had become so severe that all the household goods were sold. Still unable to satisfy his creditors, John Dickens was arrested and sent to Marshalsea Prison.
For the first nine years of Dickens’s life, he was living in the coastal regions of Kent, however when Dickens was twelve his family moved to London. He lived with his mother, father and his seven brothers and sisters. His father, John Dickens was a pleasant man, but was very incompetent with money, and had enormous debt throughout his life. As a consequence of this, John Dickens was arrested and sent to debtors’ prison. Dickens’s mother sent his brothers and sisters into prison with their father, and arranged that Charles should live outside the prison and work with other children.
Dickens' Creation of Sympathy for His Characters in Great Expectations Charles Dickens was born on February 7th 1812, the son of John and Elizabeth Dickens. John Dickens was a clerk in the naval pay office. He had a poor head for finances and in 1824 found himself imprisoned for debt. His wife and children (with the exception of Charles) were, as was normal, imprisoned with him. Charles was put to work at Warren's Blacking Factory, where conditions were terrible.
Charles Dickens' father, John, made little money working as a clerk in England's Navy Pay Office (Coles 564). John's low salary, combined with a severe spending problem, would eventually land him in debt. As a consequence, John was placed into debtors' prison. As was the custom of the time, John was forced to bring his family along with him (Coles 564). It was 1824 and young Dickens was only 12 years old (Coles 564).
Dickens went to William Giles’ school in Chatham, Kent, for approximately one year before his father’s money habits caught up with him. Dickens’ father was sent to prison for debt in 1824, when Dickens’ was just twelve years old. Following his father’s imprisonment, Dickens’ had to drop out of school to work at a boot-blacking factory along the River of Thames. He earned 6 shillings a week, which is a dollar and forty-four cents in US money. It was the best he could do to help support his family.
Charles Dickens dealt with these problems himself. Experiencing life this way helped him understand and have great compassion for the poor and oppressed. Charles Dickens’ was on his own trying to support his needy family at a very young age. When Charles was 12 years old his father was sent away to debtors prison along with his wife and five of his six kids. Charles was forced to get a job at a working house to try and pay off his family’s debt.
A few weeks after he started working, his father, mother, and siblings were put into debtor’s prison. Dickens lived alone and worked in the factory for a few more months. He experienced orphan hood, and the terrible conditions of being an orphan and working in the factories haunted him. After inheriting some money, Dickens returned to school and his father was released from prison. Dickens became a journalist and grew disillusioned with law makers attempts to alleviate the social conditions of the Industrial Revolution.
When Dickens was twelve, his father, John Dickens, was sent to jail because of all his debts. Because his father was no longer there to support his family, Dickens had to drop out of school and begin work at a boot-blacking factory. Having said goodbye to his childhood at such a young age, he felt betrayed by adults he trusted. This would become a theme that reappears in many of his works (“Charles Dickens” 1). According to bio.com, upon his father’s return, Dickens was able to go back to school.