摘 要

基于对狄更斯小说中城市形象的分析和阐述，本文主要从工业文明发展的角度，解析工业革命时代，英国城市过度消费的城市形式和特征。在迅速发展的工业文明的背景的影响下，狄更斯创作了一系列作品揭示了资产阶级的虚伪和贪婪，贫苦孩童悲惨的境遇等社会现象。本文以小说《雾都孤儿》和《艰难时世》为例，揭示了伦敦废墟的象征意义，深刻地剖析金钱至上的物欲主义以及人的异化。

关键词：查尔斯·狄更斯，异化，工业文明

Contents

1. Introduction……………………………………………………………..................5
2. Demonstration…………………………………………………………..................6

2.1 Background—The social conditions of the Victorian era……………...................7

2.1.1 Industrial development of London…………………………………....................7

2.1.2 The conflict between environment and industrialization……………..................8

2.2 The city images of alienation of reality in Oliver Twist and Hard Times………………………………………………………………………...................9

2.2.1 The back slums—the underworld of sin………………………............................9

2.2.2 Ruins in London—A deserted world………………………………...................10

2.3 Spiritual impact on upper class and middle class……………………...................11

2.3.1 The materialism……………………………………………………...................11

2.3.2 The alienation of the human beings…………………………………................12

3. Conclusion………………………………………………………………................13

Works Cited………………………………………………………………..................14

Bibliography……………………………………………………………….................15

The city images in the Reality of Alienation in Dickens’ Novels

1. Introduction

Charles Dickens is the representative of realism in English literature in the 19th century, he is recognized as "the most outstanding Victorian novelist". His realistic writing style exposes hypocrisy, greed, humiliated and brutal of upper class and bourgeois, full of anger and deep sympathy, showing the plight of underworld, especially women, children and the elderly. Meanwhile, he also eulogizes the truth and beauty, looking forward to a more reasonable society and a better life in idealism and romanticism.

This essay will involve some well-known works. Oliver Twist, is one of the representative of Dickens' s earlier novels, also is his first social criticism novel. It was written with London as the background, described the orphanage Oliver’s miserable apprenticeship experience. He strayed into the den of thieves, and was forced to associate with the vicious bandits. Finally, with kind people’s help, he identified his parentage and get a happy life after experienced countless bitterness. In the novel, Dickens described social images in London, and portrayed them as the juxtaposition of an urban underworld crime and order and security in the upper world. Oliver Twist reproduced two conflicting urban rails of the Victorian in London. On the one hand, it described the dark and secluded corner, and on the other hand it avoided the revered one.（Ge Xiaoyan, 1）

Hard times is another representative novel in Dickens’ later works. The main character Glenn was a member of Congress, the so-called "educator", who was complacent about his repressive mode of education, while businessman Pound Bay claimed to be a self-struggle success, and they have common values - that is, with utilitarianism as a principle of life, and control the economic system and educational institutions of the whole town. It is based on the "down-to-earth" educational mode and "practical valued life" principle. Undoubtedly, they finally both come to no good end. The city image of this novel is mainly about the social image, which shows like utilitarianism as the theme, describing that under the impact of the industrial revolution, people's ideological concepts have been much influenced, and criticize the contradictions between the working people and capitalism.

According to statistics, there are over 100 biographies, nearly 1000 monographs, and more than 10000 pieces of Dickens' s works on researches and discussions. The multiple studies of Dickens’ s works can be divided into several categories. From the angle of literary criticism, feminist criticism is a typical branch. Besides, there are also some other statements, such as post colonialism theory and criticism, Marxism and new historicism, etc. During the last ten years, western Researches on Dickens are mainly embodied in several new aspects, the structuralism theory foundation and others such as humanism combined with diversified characteristics. Dickens' s short stories have also attracted more and more attention to. However, the city images of Dickens’ novels have been paid little attention.