Name : Hidayatul N
Student : English Literature
Date of submission : 5th May, 2011
University of Respati Yogyakarta
Title of Book : David Copperfield
Author : Charles Dickens
Publisher : Addison Wesley Ltd and Penguin Book Ltd 1996
Year of publication : 2008
David Copperfield is a story about how weak people need the help of strong, good people. Charles Dickens started to write this story in 1849, when he was thirty-seven years old in England. This story is not only show about suffer, unfairness life and the seriousness of the problems but also shown how everyone search for happiness. David Copperfield, like the other poor children in Dicken’s stories, is a good person but he suffers terribly. He is badly hurt in love and hated by his new father and even his friend is dishonest with him. Most of the places taken from this story are in Yarmouth, which is Pegotty’s home, London where David stays, Canterbury where David’s aunt live and most of the story takes place in England. (sources: David Copperfield story book, Charles Dickens, Addison Wesley Ltd and Penguin Book Ltd 1996).
Major Characters : Give a brief description of each character.
1. David Copperfield
He is the major character in the story, a protagonist character. This story belongs to him because this story tells about his adventure such as his suffer, his love story and his struggle to find happiness in the terribly life he has at that time. He has a bad life since the first time he was born, his aunt dislike him. His struggle begins when he sent to Salem House to get school, there he met his friends Steerforth and Traddles and built the story into sadness and happiness.
2. Agnes Wickfield
She is Mr. Wickfield’s daughter. She is pretty and an educated woman, full of cares to David, especially when David tried to help his father’s company by the crime from Uriah Heep. She becomes dull when his father got broke and Uriah Heep started to own the company arrogantly. But then David saved her company by the help from Mr. Mickabear. Agnes felt in love to David but David feels sister to her at the first time, so she decided to keep her feeling until someday Dora whose David’s wife ask her to marry David before she dead and Agnes then marry David in the end.
3. Miss Trotwood
She is David’s aunt whose dislike him at the first time he was born. But, she takes the important role in David’s life because from her David could survive his life from his terrible new father then makes David meet Mr. Wickfield whose finally brings David to meet Agnes, David’s most important woman ever. From Miss Trotwood, David can get protection from strong and good people. There the statement “weak people need the help of strong, good people”. She is Miss Trotwood who gives protection, even though she fails in the middle of the story because Uriah Heep cheated on her, but finally she found her money back and had happy life with David’s new family with Agnes.
The story of David Copperfield begins when he was born in such terribly condition because his father was dead and his aunt Miss Trotwood dislike him. Then he got new terribly father, Mr. Murdstone. But, fortunately he has a good servant Miss Pegotty who always helps and loves him in any kind of condition. His adventure begins when he sent to Salem School and there he met Steerforth and Traddles who will bring his life into sadness and happiness. From Salem school, then his new father sent David to work with Mr. Quinion in London.
David gets such terrible work and often hungry. Then he meets Mr. Micawbear and stay in his house during he works there. But, unfortunately Mr. Micawbear involved in debt, so he taken to prison with his wife also. David asks some money to Pegotty then he decided to move to Dover to ask help from his aunty Betsey. But in the middle of the road the driver taken his money away and David lost his things. Finally, David reached Dover and see his aunty, there he gets protection from strong and getting education to become a gentleman. He met Agnes when he stays in Mr. wickfield, and also Uriah Heep. Agnes felt in love to David but David feels like sister to her. When David finished his education, he visited Pegotty with Steerforth. There the story begins when Emily finally run away with Steerforth in fact she is getting married with Ham.
David learns law from Mr. Spenlow and falls in love with his daughter, Dora. He meets Miss Murdstone there but she can’t hurt David anymore. David finally married Dora and bought a house in London. He got simply family and live happily with Dora, but Dora can’t manage the house and the money. David is so in love to Dora, even though she can’t handle the little thing in his house until someday Dora gets sick and dying. Dora finally dead and it makes David frustration and has no life because he loves Dora very much.
He found a secret of Uriah Heep. His aunty loses her money because she gives her money to Mr. Wickfield to manage her money, but in fact Uriah Heep taken all her money. Uriah Heep cheated on Mr. Wickfield and almost owns the half of Mr. Wickfield’s company. He also intends to marry Agnes which makes David angry because he isn’t deserves to marry her. Someday, Mr. Micawbear breaks down Uriah’s crime and tells to everyone that he has cheated Miss Trotwood and Mr. Wickfield doesn’t make any crime. Mr. Micawbear has proven Uriah’s crime with the letter which Uriah’s sighs in it. Finally, Uriah given back Miss Trotwood money and Miss Trotwood receives her money back. Then Micawbears go to Australia to start a new life there and become rich people.
After Dora’s death, David feels empty so he decided to visit Pegotty and intends to give the letter from Mr. Pegotty to Ham which is Emily’s fiance. After he reaches Yarmouth he saw a ship which is shaking by the wave of the rain. Ham tries to help the man inside but finally he die and the man inside is Steerforth. David feels shock because all of his close friends are gone. Then he comes back to London and go to Steerforth house in Highgate, he meets Rosa Darte and Streeforth’s mother to tell Steerfoth’s death. But, Rosa Darte blames Streerforth’s mother and David for Streeforth’ death. It’s tragic and sadness to David facing those accident after he loses his beloved wife Dora.
David finally finds happiness with Agnes and marries her with complete joy. He has five children and one of them is a little girl, her name’s Dora. Traddles is become a rich lawyer and visits Davis with his wife Sophy. David writes a book and gets some money from it, Agnes accompanies David all the time and this is what David calls “happiness”, living the life with his beloved family.
There three major conflicts in the story of David Copperfield.
a) His cruel new father
b) His love story with Dora
c) Steerforth deceives David
The explanation :
First, is when David has nothing left because his new father and Miss Murdstone own his house and he sent away by his new father to work to Mr. Quinion in London. There he starts to get trouble when Micawbear get prison and David decides to go to Dover to see his aunty Betsy. But in the middle of the road the driver of the cart steals his things including his money, he has nothing left. The resolution is when David meets his aunty and then he starts his better life with Miss Trotwood’s help.
Second, conflict is when David lost his wife, Dora. Dora gets ill and her illness got worst and she was unable to leave her bed. She died and at the same time Jip, Dora’s dog also died. David loves her very much, he felt lost without her. David lost his balance and he go to France where he won’t remember his terribly love to Dora, where he can find a new life but there always Dora in his mind where ever he go. But then he decided to come back to England and visit Pegotty in Yarmouth.
The last conflict is when Steerfoth deceives David by bringing Emily away with him while she is in engage with Ham. David feels hurt and disappoints because Steerfoth is his best friend but he makes disgrace things and moreover to his beloved people, Mr. Pegotty’ family. Especially to Ham, because Ham loves Emily so much while Steerforth deceived his intends. The resolution is when David and Mr. Pegotty finally find Miss Martha who will bring them to see Emily. The climax appears again when David found Ham and Steerforth dead because of the heavy wave of the rain in the sea.
How does the story end?
The story ends with happy ending, because what David has faced is all gone after terribly moments. He gets his real life and happy family with Agnes and has five children with a good income. He loves Agnes much as much as he loves Dora, even he named his little daughter Dora who taken care by Pegotty. His friends often visit him and they are all in good condition in financial or even in their life, happy life ever after.
The theme of the book
The theme of the book is about how the weak people need a help by strong and good people. The children should get protection from the parents, because if the parents don’t give a good protection they will have a nasty life ever.
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