Autobiographical elements in Charles Dickens' “David Copperfield” Maria Baibuza 11th Grade

“David Copperfield” is an autobiographical novel, a family chronicle, which is written from a child's viewpoint rather than an adult’s. As all things seem to be larger in the eyes of a kid, children tend to be more sensitive to what is happening around them. The writer recollects his past memories and gives us the opportunity to grow with the main character while passing through different stages of his life.

Copperfield’s father died before his son’s birth and a few years later the mother married Mr. Murdstone, who was very cruel to his stepchild and wife. Murdstone's sister, who is as harsh as her brother, also lives in Copperfield's home. For the Murdstones the child is a burden and that is why David is sent to a boarding house. When David arrives at Salem House, Murdstone insists that they attach a sign to David's back: "Take care of him. He bites." After the death of his mother, David is sent to the ink factory, and at the age of ten he begins to make a living.

"David Copperfield" is the writer’s first and only autobiographical novel. And although Dickens invariably denied the autobiographical nature of the novel, “David Copperfield” is a perfectly recreated biography of the writer from childhood to 1836, that is, until...