My favorite book

It’s hard to imagine our lives without books. We learn a lot of interesting things when we read books. Books are our great friend and teachers.

When you read books you find yourselves in different lands. Together with the characters of the books you climb high mountains, go by ship in the stormy sea, fly into space. In a ward, you have a lot of adventures.

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens is one of the greatest writers in the English language. He was born near Portsmouth in the south of England on 7th February 1812. His father worked in an office as a clerk.

Charles Dickens’ father was not clever at managing money. John Dickens did not earn much money and soon the family could not pay their bills. John Dickens went to prison because he could not pay his debts. Mrs Dickens, Charles and his brothers and sisters went to live in the prison with Charles’ father. At this time, Charles Dickens was 12 years old. He was sent to work in a factory.  He had to work many hours a day sticking labels on bottles. The pay was low, the work was very hard and Dickens was very unhappy. Charles Dickens never forgot what happened to him at this time.

In 1827, when he was 15 years old, Dickens went to work in an office as a clerk. The work was not well-paid but Charles made some friends and also liked visiting the theatre.

In 1833, Dickens started writing. That year, his first article was published in the Old Monthly Magazine.

Charles Dickens became very famous and very rich. He wrote some of the most well-known and popular stories in English literature. Dickens knew how the poor people lived in England and many of his stories were about poor people. He was angry at the way children were treated. They were beaten and made to work in dirty and dangerous jobs with little food or shelter. Because of his stories, people were made to see how children and poor people lived in nineteenth century England.

Dickens wrote a very great number of books, articles and short stories. He owned and edited magazines which published short stories and poetry. He also travelled in Europe and the United States. Thousands of people came to hear him talk and to hear him read from his books.Oliver Twist, the story of a poor boy without a family, was published in 1838. Other well-known books by Dickens are: A Christmas Carol (1843), Bleak House (1853), A Tale of Two Cities (1859), Great Expectations(1861), and Our Mutual Friend (1864).

Charles Dickens became ill from working too hard and died on 9th June 1870 near Gravesend in the south of England. He was 58 years old. Dickens was buried in the famous church, Westminster Abbey, in London.

 Great expectation

by Charles Dickens

When our teacher suggested that we should read “Great Expectations”, I immediately agreed because I’ve learnt a lot by reading Charles Dickens’ books, such as the fact that love and friendship are more important than money and one’s position in society. So, I expected to learn more about life and human relationships.

The action takes place in England in the nineteenth century, where Philip Pirrip lives with his sister, Mrs Gargery and with Joe Gargery too! One day a lawyer called Mr Jaggers gives Pip the chance to study to become a gentleman in London. What is more, Pip has a benefactor who he thinks is Miss Havisham, but in the end he learns that the convict, Abel Magwitch, is his real benefactor. He is also in love with Stella, whom, at the end of the story, he marries after a lot of misunderstandings.

I liked the story very much because it’s a novel about human nature, I didn’t like the part where Pip is tormented by his sister and later on by Stella. My favourite part was the end of the story when Pip finds happiness at last. I didn’t like it when, at the very beginning, the convict treats Pip badly. I didn’t like most of the characters because they are cruel and cold. My favourite character is Pip, because he is loyal, capable and trustworthy. I also liked him because he always has the strength to face all the problems he has. The storyline is so interesting that I couldn’t put the book down.

This reader affected me because I realised how lucky I am, because I have a warm home, food and my parents’ love. When I finished reading the book, I felt really happy because in the end Pip’s life changes for the better. The story changed my way of thinking because I started giving more value to the things I have and to the great education I get every day.

David Copperfield

by Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens wrote his novel, David Copperfield (1849–50)  in monthly parts. Later, these parts were put together and published as a book. The novel was very successful and Dickens himself said that it was his favourite story.

David Copperfield begins in the 1820s and is told by its hero, David Copperfield himself. David promises to give a true account of his life and the story goes backwards and forwards in time. Many of David’s memories are unhappy ones, but he makes himself tell the reader about them. Some of David’s experiences are autobiographical – they are based on things that had happened to Dickens himself. Dickens, like David, was sent to work in a factory when he was a small boy.

 Some characters in the book are based on real people. For example, Mr Micawber, who is always in debt, is a portrait of Charles Dickens’ own father.

Novels tell us a great deal about the society in which they are set. This society may be very different from our own. For example, travel was slower in the 1820s, because horses were the only form of transport. People rode horses, or they travelled in vehicles which were pulled by horses. When people wished to travel long distances, they paid to go in a public coach. Rich people had carriages and horses of their own. In country areas, people and their things travelled by carrier’s cart.

In the 1820s, English society was divided into three parts: upper class, middle class, and lower, or working class. These divisions exist in England today but they are less important now.

All upper and middle class families had servants, who came from the working class. Charles Dickens belonged to the middle class and David Copperfield is a middle class hero. David is successful because he is honest and works hard. He has friends of all classes. The working class Peggottys are David’s friends. They know that he is different from themselves and they accept this. But poor little Emily cannot accept the difference between David and her family. She wants to be a lady, but this is impossible. James Steerforth is the only upper class character in this book. He is rich and clever. But he wastes his own life and ruins other peoples’ lives too.

 In English society at that time, women were not equal to men. Men believed that women were less intelligent and they could not be as successful. Some women were happy about that because they wanted someone to look after them. Women who did marry were expected to obey their husbands. If they were badly treated, no one wanted to help them. People thought that unmarried women were failures.

Children often had difficult and unhappy lives. Thousands of young children did dirty and dangerous jobs. They were often badly treated at home and there were no laws against this. Some children never went to school and few people cared. Many schools were very bad indeed. Children often lived in (or boarded at) schools, because their parents did not want them at home. The masters were often cruel and the teaching in their schools was very bad.

 Dickens tried to improve the society in which he lived. He wrote about bad things because he wanted everyone to know the truth. People of all classes read Dickens’ stories and enjoyed them. Then they helped Dickens to change society and make their country a better place to live in.

The picture of Dorian Gray

by Oscar Wilde

I chose the book “THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY” because I had heard from some of my friends that it is very good and is keeping you in suspense. When I took the book and read the title I expected it to be about a man who is called Dorian and his picture.

Dorian Gray was a handsome rich person with beautiful eyes. Basil was a very good painter and he painted a portrait of Dorian Gray. Harry was Basil and Dorian’s friend. When Basil finished the portrait it was so beautiful that Dorian made a wish that his appearance would stay the same and the picture would grow older day by day. As time passed, Dorian became an evil man and killed Basil because he was the man who painted the portrait. After that Dorian changed very much. In the end, Dorian decided to destroy the picture. His staff heard a man crying in the attic and when they went into the room they saw a beautiful portrait and an old man with wrinkles lying on the floor.

In general, I liked all the book, but my favorite part was where Dorian destroyed the portrait and my least favorite part was where Dorian killed Basil. I found the character of Dorian Gray believable and likeable because he had two personalities and this made him really interesting. The plot was fabulous because there was a murder and action. The author’s style is great, clear and it has got a fantastic aura. I think the author did a good job and I wouldn’t do anything differently.

When I finished the book I felt happy because I had read it. I believe that the book affected me and now I think differently. I think more maturely and I have understood that there are people who don’t value their life… They prefer to be beautiful and stay young forever being evil at the same time and they don’t want to grow older with time and learn new things about life. Also, I felt relief and joy. I felt proud because I had read this interesting book.

TI recommend this book to my friends because I think that they will enjoy it. The book was wonderful as I had expected. I liked the story and I wanted to read it over and over again.z