Monday 12 May 2008

David Copperfield History


The story deals with the life of David Copperfield from childhood to maturity. David is born in the England in about 1820. David's father had died six months before he was born, and seven years later, his mother marries Mr Edward Murdstone. David dislikes his stepfather and has similar feelings for Mr Murdstone's sister Jane, who moves into the house soon afterwards. Mr Murdstone thrashes David for falling behind with his studies. During the thrashing, David bites him and is sent away to a boarding school, Salem House, with a ruthless headmaster, Mr. Creakle. Here he befriends James Steerforth and Tommy Traddles who leaves and then reappear later on.

David returns home for the holidays to find out that his mother has had a baby boy. Soon after David goes back to Salem House, his mother and her baby die and David has to return home immediately. Mr. Murdstone sends him to work in a factory in London of which he is a joint owner. The grim reality of hand-to-mouth factory existence echoes Dickens' own travails in a blacking factory. His landlord, Wilkins Micawber, is sent to a debtor's prison (the King's Bench Prison) after going bankrupt, and is there for several months before being released and moving to Plymouth. David now has nobody left to care for him in London, and decides to run away.

He walks all the way from London to Dover, to find his only known relative - his eccentric Aunt Betsy Trotwood - who agrees to bring him up, despite Mr Murdstone visiting in a bid to regain custody of David. David's aunt renames him Trotwood Copperfield, soon shortened to "Trot", and for the rest of the novel he is called by either name, depending on whether he is communicating with someone he has known for a long time, or someone he has only got to know recently.

The story follows David as he grows to adulthood, and is enlivened by the many well-known characters who enter, leave and re-enter his life. These include his faithful housekeeper Peggotty, her family, and their orphaned niece Little Em'ly who lives with them and charms the young David; his romantic but self-serving schoolfriend, Steerforth, who seduces and dishonours Little Em'ly, triggering the novel's greatest tragedy; and his landlord's daughter and ideal "angel in the house," Agnes Wickfield, who becomes his confidante. The two most familiar characters are David's sometime mentor, the constantly debt-ridden Mr. Wilkins Micawber, and the devious and fraudulent clerk, Uriah Heep, whose misdeeds are eventually discovered with Micawber's assistance. Micawber is painted as a sympathetic character, even as the author deplores his financial ineptitude; and Micawber, like Dickens's own father, is briefly imprisoned for insolvency.

In typical Dickens fashion, the major characters get some measure of what they deserve, and few narrative threads are left hanging. Dan Peggotty safely transports Little Em'ly to a new life in Australia; accompanying these two central characters are Mrs. Gummidge, and the Micawbers. Everybody involved finally finds security and happiness in their new lives in Australia. David first marries the beautiful but naïve Dora Spenlow, but she dies after failing to recover from a miscarriage early in their marriage. David then does some soul-searching and eventually marries and finds true happiness with Agnes, who had secretly always loved him. They have several children, including a daughter named in honour of Betsy Trotwood.

This is apart of David story you can see more information at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Copperfield_(novel)



----
Illusion Magic Trick
The power of magic is on your hands.