The excerpt "David Copperfield", excerpted from unit 3 of the third volume of the first volume of the high school Chinese textbook, is selected from the eleventh chapter of the novel, and its original title is "I began to live independently, but I did not like this life". Reading this text carefully, the biggest impression is that "two lines are parallel, intertwined and integrated". As long as these two clues are clearly distinguished, their plot, structure, main idea, and meaning will be solved.
<h1>First, the two lines are parallel, intertwined and integrated</h1>
We say that there are many novels that are a clue, and some novels are one light and one dark clue; but this text, but two clues are intertwined and run together, which is called "two lines in parallel, intertwined and integrated".
The two lines are parallel, and the two lines are the "My Life" clue and the "Micawber Life" clue. These two threads basically exist in parallel. Of course, these two clues are not equally divided, nor are they written first and who is written later, but they come naturally with the change of the plot. Of course, from the author's point of view, this chapter is to show two kinds of life of the same people at the bottom of society, one is the life of child labor, that is, the trajectory of "my life"; the other is the current situation of extreme poverty of the people at the bottom of society, that is, "Micawber's life".
These two threads are intertwined. They have no distinction between light and dark, no distinction between primary and secondary, no distinction between priority and precedence, which are naturally formed with different life encounters. The clue to "my life" is that because my mother died, and my stepfather abandoned "me" and sent "me" to the freight store to do child labor, so I began to be 10 years old
"Independent living"; and this independent life of being helpless and lonely is a life that "I don't like". Due to the reason of "renting" the house, the clue of "Micawber's life" appeared. So these two threads quickly intertwined, so "I" was sad and bitter with the poverty, hardship, forced debt, imprisonment and other encounters of the Micawbers. Why are the two threads intertwined? It is due to a common destiny, a common social status and a common spiritual support.
<h1>Second, the "my life" clue - because of their own fate and inner pain</h1>
At the heart of the thread "My life" is "I started living independently, but I didn't like it." What kind of "independent living" is this? Why did David Copperfield not like this life?
It was a life abandoned by his stepfather. At the beginning of the novel, it is written: "Even now, I am a little surprised that I have been abandoned so easily at such a young age." "Little age" refers to David Copperfield, who is only 10 years old;
"Abandoned" means that his stepfather abandoned him. The previous episode was the death of David Copperfield's mother, but the sinister and ruthless stepfather seized the david Copperfield family property and made 10-year-old David Copperfield child labor.
It was a dirty and unlucky life. Judging from David Copperfield's child labor environment, the houses were dilapidated—the houses of the freight houses were "dilapidated and old," and the floors and stairs were "rotten"; rats were rampant— "herds of big gray rats scurrying and squeaking"; the feeling of "I" — "there was dirt and rot everywhere here," the "unlucky" days. What kind of work environment is this? The author also uses contrast to describe "a piece of water at high tide and a piece of mud at low tide". In short, it is a shabby, putrid, dirty, damp, suffocating environment.
It was a stressful and tiring life. In the third natural paragraph of the article, many verbs are used to describe the life of child laborers - "this is all my work". These verbs are "check", "throw away", "wash", "fiddle", "fill", "label", "plug", "cover", "pack", etc., this series of actions, this assembly line behavior, what does it say? The movements are fast and the machinery is busy, which is extremely tiring for a 10-year-old.
It was a life without self-esteem and with hidden pain in it. The same child laborers who worked together were the son of a boatman who "wore a paper hat" but showed off that his father "wore a black velvet hat" on the inauguration day of the mayor, reflecting the low-class society's eagerness for high-society life; one was the son of a water transporter, and the freighter gave him the nickname "pink potato", because his face was gray like potato flour, which was a manifestation of obvious disrespect. So "I" said, "I have fallen into such a class."
The pain hidden in the heart is really impossible to express in words. "The pain is to do tiring and busy work, not being respected.
It was a life of shattered ideals. David Copperfield lived in such an environment, contrasting with the previous "happy childhood", comparing with his "partners" Steffers and Tredel, and comparing it with his ideal hopes
"Despair", "humiliation", "pain" - the ideal is "shattered". What kind of person does the protagonist have to be? What kind of life does David Copperfield "like"? That's what the text says—"a very talented, observant, intelligent, enthusiastic, sensitive and clever child" and "want to be a learned and famous person." It can be seen that the protagonist hopes that he is talented, learned, educated, famous, imaginative and self-motivated, while the cruel reality pulls him to the bottom of society, and these ideals can only be fantasies. So "my tears went straight down" and "I whimpered, as if I had a crack in my heart socket, and there was a danger of explosion at any time." This is a lesson that the ruthless stepfather, the ruthless social reality, teaches the protagonist.
It was a life of extreme poverty, calculated at one penny and one penny a day. There are several references to money, one is the salary after formal employment, and the shilling every Saturday. The protagonist keeps repeating "six shillings, or seven shillings". Why repeat? It is that the salary is too small and not enough to spend. Hire someone to carry a suitcase with sixpence and eat a Chinese meal with sixpence. Another note is to write money about my own breakfast and dinner - "every day I have a breakfast of one penny bread and one penny of milk", "buy a small loaf of bread and a small piece of cheese, put it on a specific compartment of a specific food cabinet, and keep it for dinner when I return in the evening". This is the life of poverty, bitterness, and immense suffering.
It was a lonely, lonely life. David Copperfield's stepfather, Moudestone, simply wrote a letter to contact him about accommodation and never cared about it. Several passages in the text read: "For the whole week, I had to live on this little money... No one has ever given me any advice, advice, encouragement, comfort, help and support", no one has cared to comfort me; "my situation is so lonely", no one has given me warmth; "I go to the freight store every day, come home from the freight store, and walk around the street at lunch, I will see many children, but I have never met any of them, nor have I talked to any of them", lonely and lonely, without partners; "I live the same life of distress and self-knowledge, and as before, Still alone, everything on your own", everything on your own. There is also a sentence in the article, "I can't say whether Mr. Stone knows where I live", indicating that the stepfather was only concerned with the seizure of David's family property, and did not care about anything about the stepson.
<h1>Iii. The "Micawber's Life" Clue – Micawber's difficulties increased my mental anguish</h1>
The core of the clue of "Micawber's life" is to show the poor, difficult and miserable living conditions of the british underclass at that time. Micawber was born because David Copperfield rented a bedroom, and because of communication, friendship and suffering. The trajectory of Micawber's life was more tortuous: I met "renting" a room, knew each other because of poverty, became depressed because of debt, went to jail for debt, and was released because of bankruptcy. Micawber was an ordinary and upright, extremely poor and optimistic person living at the bottom of British society at that time, and also had the envy of the noble life of the upper class that was common in the society at that time.
Met because of "renting". David Copperfield's stepfather wrote a letter to Micawber to rent his small attic to 10-year-old David Copperfield. So, Micawber came out. The novel has a portrait of a middle-aged man with a "chubby mound" "wearing a brown coat, black breeches, and black leather shoes," with a "big, shiny" head, no hair, and "bare like an egg." "The clothes are worn", but they pretend to be noble - there is a godly shirt with a hard collar, a magnificent cane, and a single-piece glasses with a handle. When we meet, the novel uses four "short sentences" to express Micawber's language "elegance", but unfortunately his glasses are "used as decoration", and "elegant style" is also "dressed". What does this mean? He admired vanity and liked to pretend to be noble in the upper class, which reflected the hierarchical social reality of the time. At the same time, he also has a kind and straightforward personality, which is mainly reflected in david Copperfield's enthusiastic introduction of the fate of "renting", "showing an intimate appearance" to David Copperfield to show the way, "the street name, the shape of the house in the corner, etc., straight to my head, let me remember", to prevent David from "getting lost". A kind of caring, considerate, kind, sincere displayed to life.
We know each other because of poverty. Originally a naval officer, Micawber is now "running the streets to solicit business for businesses from all walks of life, but I'm afraid I won't make much money, maybe not at all." His family was very poor, his home was "as dilapidated as he was", and the upstairs room "did not have a single piece of furniture", but he also "closed the curtains all day" and pretended
"Decent" look. Mrs. Micawber was an "emaciated, gaunt woman" with four children, a four-year-old boy, a three-year-old girl, and twins who fed. There was also a servant, an orphan. Even eating on weekdays has become a problem, and Mrs. Micawber once said: "Except for a piece of cheese skin", "There is really no slag in the food room." But cheese is not suitable for children. Despite this poverty, the Micawbers were able to stay together. If you don't have food anymore, you become a seller. The article once wrote about the pawnshop, which gave "six teaspoons, two salt spoons and a pair of sugar spoons" to the pawnshop. Once, because Micawber was imprisoned, he sold furniture, "the furniture was indeed sold, it was pulled away by a van, leaving only the bed, a few chairs and a kitchen table". This is the current state of poverty among the citizens of the lower classes.
Frustrated by debt. The novel has a scene depicting a debt called scolding, which is the real scolding voice of the city at first glance. Time: 7 a.m.; Occupation: shoemaker; Location: Aisle. Repeated, unobstructed insults from the city — "You give me down," "Pay us back," "You don't want to hide," "Too faceless," and so on. This is called scolding, it is on the street, who can't hear it? Who still has a face? So Micawber was "really sad, ashamed, and even too miserable to control himself" and even committed suicide.
"Use a razor to make a neck wipe". Life is so depressed, helpless, poor, sad, miserable; but Micawber will also find pleasure in pain, and after suffering, there is also a self-seeking optimism, as the text once wrote: "But less than half an hour after this, he polished his shoes with special care, and then hummed a tune, posing a more noble posture than usual, and went out the door." "What kind of psychology is this? We say that this is the sophistication and helplessness of the citizens. He could not get rid of the predicament, only psychological self-exclusion, temporarily forget it, so the action after the debt collection is "humming a song" and posing a "noble posture". Here, the contrasting technique is used to clearly show the dual personality of Micawber, both shameful and depressed, and slippery, sophisticated, and pretending to be noble, showing the distorted personality of the citizens at the bottom of society.
Jailed for debt. Micawber's difficulties "finally reached a critical juncture", that is, he was imprisoned in the "Saidek High Court Prison". He was imprisoned for the "deed" debt. The article reads: "I walked into his cell (on the ground floor below the top floor) and we cried. I remember that he solemnly advised me to take his fate as a warning. He wanted me to remember that if a man earned twenty pounds a year and spent nineteen pounds and nineteen pounds and sixteen pence, he would live happily, but if he spent twenty pounds and one shilling, he would be miserable. "Micawber's imprisonment for debt plays at least three roles in the novel: first, it shows at a deeper level the social situation at all levels of British society at that time, including the situation in prison; second, it shows David Copperfield's compassion and good and upright character, and also shows David Copperfield's friendship with the Micawbers; third, it is to warn people not to overdraw their lives.
Released due to bankruptcy. After Micawber was imprisoned, the article said: "Their life in prison is more comfortable than living outside the prison for a long time." First, life in prison can still live with the family, which is relatively stable; second, the furniture in the family has been sold and there are some supplies for life; third, there is no debt collection and abuse by the debt collector; fourth, relatives and friends have also come to "help"; Mrs. Micawber", "people from her mother's family" have also come forward to invoke the "Bankruptcy Debtors Law", requesting release, and finally "gaining freedom".
Of course, the thread "Micawber's Life" does not run on a single line, and David Copperfield's mental anguish also changes with the ups and downs of the Micawber family. David Copperfield began by listening to Mrs. Micawber's complaints, and thus expressed sympathy for "poor Mrs. Micawber"; then he developed affection and friendship because of "the same fallen man at the end of the world", "my situation is so lonely and bitter, and I also developed a deep affection for this family", so "I have a strange and equal friendship with this couple"; the novel climaxes, that is, Micawber is imprisoned, and "his heart is broken, and my heart is broken", "I" am extremely hurt by it; and finally I am accompanied by him in prison , walking with Micawber, playing cards with Mrs. Micawber. It can be said that David Copperfield is "suffering from the pain of others, happy with the happiness of others". At the heart of the clue of "Micawber's Life" is a sentence - "Mr. Micawber's difficulties have increased my mental pain." This shows david Copperfield's thinking and cognition, but also the writer Dickens's critical realism vision and creative attitude, the British social reality at that time, the concept of hierarchy, the torture of money, and the soul: how to know and save them? How did they become so? What are the responsibilities of society? And how should writers achieve their mission? This is the subtext behind David Copperfield's "mental anguish" and the writer's critique of realism.