Date of Award
Fall 2021
Thesis Type
Open Access
Degree Name
Honors Bachelor of Arts
Department
English
Sponsor
Benjamin Hudson
Committee Member
Bill Boles
Committee Member
Jana Mathews
Abstract
Most scholars agree that author and social activist Charles Dickens (1812-1870) made keen observations on human behavior and societal problems through his works. However, scholars are divided over whether to categorize Dickens and his work as radically reformist or pro-bourgeoisie. Through an analysis of three of Dickens’s texts, A Christmas Carol (1843), Bleak House (1852), and Great Expectations (1861), this thesis demonstrates that Dickens’s works carry contradictory ideologies. As time passes, Dickens becomes disillusioned with capitalism but continues to promote capitalist and bourgeois values and ideologies. The trajectory of Dickens’s views shows the difficulties in imagining different realities outside of the capitalist system.
Recommended Citation
Oliveira, Christina, "Dickens’s Changing Perspective Towards Capitalism and the Bourgeoisie" (2021). Honors Program Theses. 190.
https://scholarship.rollins.edu/honors/190
Rights Holder
Christina Oliveira