Cοurse paper Theme: Features of symbolism in the novels of Charles Dickens

Features of symbolism in his novels

As noted earlier, the symbol as such has existed for a very long time. And there is no definite period where only one symbol as such would stand out. There was a literary trend – symbolism, but it also absorbed something from the period of Romanticism, classicism and realism. As F. said . Engels, the realists are also symbolists in their own way. And as noted earlier, the essence of symbolism is historical, such that it is given only in a certain historical epoch and socio-historical analysis is especially important when understanding the symbol. Only after considering the historical epoch in which Ch. created his works. Dickens, we will be able to answer whether the writer is a realist, or whether he is also a symbolist. Ch. Dickens is one of the creators of the socio-realistic novel in England. The era in which he created his works is called Victorian. The whole epoch passed under the sign of class struggle, represented a transition to capitalist ways and was marked by the process of rapid enrichment of the ruling classes of England, through the development of industrial, commercial, colonial and financial capitalism, winning at the cost of the decline of a significant number of the petty bourgeoisie and the heavy exploitation of ordinary workers. Charles Dickens reveals the contradictions between poverty and wealth, acts as a defender of the lower classes against the higher ones. The writer was able to portray his characters organically included in the social structure of contemporary England. Many scientists stand out in the work of Ch . Dickens 's four periods:‌‌
- first - early (1833-1841);
- the second period (1842-1848);
- the third period (1849-1859);
- the fourth period covers the 1860s [14, p. 126].
The second period of the writer's work is of interest to us. It falls on the 40s of the XIX century. The situation in England during these years contributed to the further deepening of the writer's realism. It was during this period that the acutely incriminating novel "Dombey and Son" was written. In this novel, Charles Dickens retains his faith in the possibility of rebuilding society through moral influence on the bourgeoisie and its re-education. At the same time, the novel reveals the inhumane essence of bourgeois relations [14, p. 128].
In the 40s, Ch. Dickens goes to America, this trip had a great influence on the writer's work. In this country, he also notices that the national trait of Americans is a passion for enrichment. Dickens' disappointment could not but affect his work. In his novels, the problem of selfishness and greed arises, now the problem of good and evil is treated differently. "Evil" is gradually turning into a socially typical phenomenon. Good and evil are inseparable from each other, they coexist, and in order to defeat evil, it is necessary to fight against it, destroying its sprouts in oneself.
Charles Dickens turns to bold and socially acute comparisons and symbolic parallels. The motive for including symbols in his works are the leitmotives of decomposition, the ideological imagery of which gives the author the opportunity to create multi-valued symbols. The central symbols in Dickens' works always have a negative connotation, pay attention to the complexity of a person's position in the world, the complexity of the world itself and its hostility to man. As we have already noted, the symbols of this writer contain negative meanings that are embodied in events and characters, and at the same time retain ambiguity.
The choice and construction of symbols in Dickens are due to the Victorian era and correlated with "typological symbolism". Its symbols also perform a structure-forming function. Creating the inner unity of the novel, they unite the characters and storylines, combining social, moral and psychological aspects. The characters of the writer are organically linked. Also, the choice of Dickens' characters is due to the search for the complex and mysterious in the ordinary and real. The symbols of Dickens are realistic symbols directly related to the historical epoch in which the writer lived and worked.
"Dombey and Son" is a novel that draws a line under the writer's early works and opens a new period of his work. The changes in the worldview are due to the social situation in Europe; the last chapters were written after the February revolution in France. In his novel, the writer reflected the killing power of capitalism, which aggravates the social inequality of people, but also generates physical and moral ugliness, which undoubtedly leads, ultimately, to the death of the spiritual world of the individual. In this novel, all classes are highlighted.
However, as Dickens' skill grew, and the character was seen as a contradictory, complex unity, he became cramped within the Victorian framework. There was a subtext in his work. Thus, images-symbols appear in the novel, which will play an important role in the author's later novels.
The images-symbols in the novel "Dombey and Son" are the symbol of the railway, the example of which clearly shows the characteristic feature of the symbol – its ambiguity. Actually, the main character of the novel, Mr. Dombey, is a symbolic type. The symbol is also the image of the sea depicted in the novel. Children appear as a symbolic type in Dickens' works, through the image-symbol of Paul Dombey, the author showed that children are puppets, guided by someone else's will. From other works children: Oliver Twist, Smike and others. In his works, the writer shows a string of children spared by death, Dickens paints them as victims of two views on life: firstly, a utilitarian, economic view of young people as only carriers of memory and intelligence, a kind of sponge that sucks up all kinds of information, which he sees from them‌‌ the benefit of a society built on monetary relations; secondly, the Calvinist view of children as Satanic offspring. Paul Dombey and the young Gradgrades from Hard Times are victims of the economic outlook on life; Esther Summerson, the heroine of Bleak House, Pip from Great Expectations and Joe, a street sweeper, are in line with the second tradition; David Copperfield has to test this concept at the Murdstone Boarding house [22, p. 210].
Further, Major Joseph Bagstock in the novel "Dombey and Son" is a symbol personifying the hypocrisy of the upper world, he is ready to flatter everyone who embodies his craving for worldly pleasures and good society, as can be seen from the review of little Paul: "My little friend, sir, can certify that Joseph Bagstock is straightforward, simple-minded an outspoken man, sir, that's all. This boy, sir," said the major, lowering his voice, "will remain in history. This boy, sir, is an extraordinary child. Take care of him, Mr Dombey" [22, p. 212].
At Ch.The types created by Dickens still live today, not only in England, but all over the world, in countries where life is very different from the forms of English life. For a writer, types are not just a common category of individuals, the author gives them well–known, life-giving features of a characteristic type. He snatched the type from the environment in which he actually existed. In the work of Ch .Dickens has another feature – the combination of common sense with extraordinary sensitivity. In the image of Dombey, Dickens gives the most convincing artistic generalization and achieves the greatest mastery of typing [9, p. 213]. According to the observation of Ivasheva V.V., revealing the character of the hero, Dickens emphasizes a number of interconnected and inseparable unity of external details (objects) united by one defining feature typical of this character. This one leading characteristic feature is manifested not only in appearance, in behavior, in manners, but also in the surrounding environment, in objects belonging to the person depicted, the house in which he lives, the street on which his house stands, in other words, in everything directly or indirectly related to him, up to the symbolic accompaniment of the weather, thereby helping to sharpen the created image [9, p. 230 ]. In Dickens' novels, objects do not exist separately from people, they always complement, finish their portrait, they seem to be a single whole, create an image.
By creating his negative types – egoists, misers, hypocrites - Dickens, according to the definition of N.P. Mikhalskaya, portrays them primarily as moral freaks. And they are also a symbol of evil, evil is ugliness, and emphasizing this, the writer extensively uses a grotesque artistic technique based on excessive exaggeration of certain aspects and qualities of the literary hero. The secret of the brightness of the negative characters of the writer is that he conveys the hidden ugliness of a person very well with the help of individual strokes, details, features assigned to this hero, manifested in his appearance [16, p.122].
Striving for an expressive depiction of his characters, Dickens uses various artistic techniques – realistic description, contrast, exaggeration, subject symbols, which, interacting with each other, determined the writer's style. Charles Dickens is the greatest realist writer of his time and a novelist, and in this aspect he also acts as a symbolist writer.The evolution of Dickens ‘ aesthetic and moral views also explains the important role of symbolic images in the writer’s later novels. These iconic images have already appeared in the writer’s first major novel, Dombey and son. From an artistic point of view, the most successful in this novel is the symbol of the railway, a symbol of death for Dombey, who is afraid of everything new. For Dickens, this image has a double meaning. The railway is both a symbol of progress and a symbol of revenge. To highlight the typical characteristics of their heroes, Dickens also resorts to symbolic means. So, for example, the teeth of the Carker, in which the writer repeatedly reminds readers of the novel “Dombey and son”, are not only a grotesque detail of the appearance of the hero, but also a symbol that determines the role played by the Carker in Dombey and his fate. Family. Later in Dickens’s novels, even a detail in the hero’s outfit acquires an allegorical meaning. For example, the death Herald in the movie” The Dark House “ – Tulkinghorn constantly appears in black, even symbolizing death with his costume. Symbolism and names of heroes in Dickens’s novels. Even through a symbolic understanding of the sound of their names, the writer tries to express their moral essence and inspire the reader with a completely clear idea of them. For example, the court hook in the movie” Oliver Twist “ is called Fang, that is, Quotes. In the novel” Martin Chuzzlewit “ the trigger is called Mold – burning, and Peksniff’s daughters are far from kindness, Merey – mercy and Charity-Charity. Dickens ‘ novels have many names such as professor Snor, Reverend Master long ears, lieutenant murder, Reverend Reva. There are also heroes whose names mean nothing, but make a funny impression with their voice. As soon as the novel” Little Dorrit “ ended, there were no social secrets for Dickens, so the mystery of Man comes to the fore in his novels. Dickens ‘ realism is becoming more and more psychological, and his symbolism serves as a means of realistic typification and in a number of cases reaches the highest level, corresponding to the best examples of the novel of our time

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