1.The Criticism to the Miserable Family Life
As a bourgeois humanist, Charles Dickens saw the inhumanity of the capitalist society. In the novel, he criticized the moralistic and sadistic oppressiveness of Mr. and Miss Murdstone, portrayed the inhumane child-labor life, the headmaster of a school carried on by sheer cruelty.
As a child, David learned at home. Sometimes he and his mother lived along together. At this time he had been apt enough to learn and willing enough to learn. He said,“ I seem to have been cheered by the gentleness of my mother’s voice and manners all the way.” But after the marriage of David’s mother and Mr. Murdstone, most of the time Mr. and Miss Murdstone were at present. Under the guise of teaching David and forming his character, Mr. and Miss Murdstone tortured him cruelly. He told David’s mother to be firm with the boy, not to treat him gently. But the firmness of Mr. Murdstone was a bane for David’s life. So the very sight of Mr. and Miss Murdstone had such an influence on David. He began to feel the words he had been at infinite pains to get into his head, sliding away, and going where he didn’t know. He said “I could have done well if I have been without the Murdstones; but the influence of the Murdstones upon me was like the fascination of two snakes on a wretched young bird”. So David thought that those solemn lessons were the deathblow at his peace, “and a grievous daily drudgery and misery. They were very long, very numerous, very hard”, As a result, David couldn’t finish those solemn lessons, and then Mr. Murdstone would beat him “ as if he would have beaten me to death”. The readers could image the result: “The natural result of this treatment, continued, I suppose, for some six months or more, was to make me sullen, dull, and dogged. I was not made the less so by my sense of being daily more and more shut out and alienated from my mother. I believe I should have been almost stupefied but for one circumstance.”
As for David’s mother, she had also suffered a lot. She loved her David so much, but she could not love him as before. She had no rights to teach him lessons; she even dared not help her pitiable son, “I think my mother would show me the book if she dared, but she doesn’t dare”. For a mother, nothing was crueler than separating the son and herself. You could also know who was the ringleader. Through the description of David Copperfield’s miserable family life, Dickens vigorously criticized the vices and injustices of the capitalist society.
2. The Criticism to Children’s Education
For David Copperfield, he experienced different periods and events. Charles Dickens showed clearly the evilness in capitalist society on David Copperfield, especially for the education.
2.1 The Criticism to the Family Education
As a child, David received good education from his mother before Murdstone rushed into his family. He liked learning what he could learn, His closest friend, Peggotty, told him stories and much other useful experience and theories. But Mr. Murdstone, his stepfather just used his method to control and treat him cruelly until David Copperfield could become his puppet. But David Copperfield, a strong-willed young man never gave in and he would rather leave for his great-aunt. Family education became ruthless and useless under cruel-heated Mr. and Miss Murdstone. Thanks to Betsy, she gave David another family and made him feel family love. David got his real family education from his great-aunt, but not his father and stepfather.
2.2 The Criticism to the School Education
At school, David experienced the tragic treatment. He almost learnt nothing at Salem House. He also suffered a lot. He was beaten up and ill-treated instead of well-educated. For the headmaster, Mr. Creakle, had a delight in cutting at boys, which was like the satisfaction of a craving appetite. He was the sternest and most serve of masters; he laid about David, right and left, every day of his life, charging in among the boys like a trooper; and slashing away, unmercifully; he knew nothing himself, but the art of slashing, being more ignorant than the lowest boy in the school. Especially Mr. Creakle couldn’t resist a chubby boy who has a fascination that made him restless in his mind until he had scored and marked the boy for the day. David was chubby himself, and certainly was treated that way. So what David could only remember at this time was the recollection of the daily strife and struggle of his life; of the frosty morning when they were run out of bed, and the cold, cold smell of the dark nights when they were run into bed again; of the evening schoolroom dimly lightened and indifferently warmed, and the morning schoolroom which was nothing but a great shivering-machine; of tear-blotted copybooks, canning and rulings, etc. But Charles Dickens arranged him good education later when he criticized the evil Salem House. This description set off the evilness of school education in capitalist society.
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