nd interaction with other characters. Charles Dickens had arelish for melodrama and his characters reflect this. Dickens secondary characters areoften the most memorable. Subordinate characters regularly are given identity upon firstintroduction by being labeled with some idiosyncrasy (Kaste 14). Dickens firmly maintainsthat the nature and behavior of his depraved characters reflect truth without distortion,however, implausible they may seem.. The serious characters between whom the conflictusually takes place usually embody the extremes of virtue and viciousness (14). Dickensnever endows a character with that imaginative sensibility and energy which gives weightand truth to the characters in his stories (Price 40). Though he has sometimes beencriticized for creating caricatures rather than characters, he has been defended as a masterof imaginative vision by forging whole character types out of tiny eccentricities. All of theafore mentioned writing traits make Dickens one of the most original writers of all time.Critics have always been challenged by his art though from the start it containedenough easily acceptable ingredients of evident skill and gusto to ensure popularity. Dickens has entered into the art and consciousness of modern writers such as JamesJoyce, T. S. Eliot, Evelyn Waugh, George Orwell, and Angus Wilson. Modern criticsbelieve that Dickens is second only to Shakespeare in English Literature ("Dickens" 274). James Joyce claimed that Dickens has entered into the language more than any writersince Shakespeare. Surprisingly, these two authors have a lot in common. They bothbrim with originality, but express and address human nature at large. Like Shakespeare,Dickens creates a unique and independent seeming world, allowing us to use that timeworn term "world" with precision. They are both fully in possession of themselvescreating an art that is powerfully personal and generously accessible. They both create a...
