Dickens...

[ifm2181]

Is it just me, or does he ramble and prattle about every little insignificant detail? What do you think about him and his writings?

[Anna]

Ah geez, Dickens is so aggrivating. You see, when he got all famous he came to be paid [i]by the word[/i] when he published his stories in newspapers and other things like that. So, I'm sure he tried to squeeze in as many words as he possibly could, which is why in a Tale of two Cities he doesn't just introduce the setting as simply in need of revolution. Noooo, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the time of mourning, it was a time of joy, it was a time for toothpicks, it was a time for papercuts, it was a time of need, greed and plantng every kind of seed....... you get the point, and why in Great Expectations he used a miniture paragraph to simply say "My name is Pip". So yeah, it's not just you. Although the actual meat and plot of his stories are very good (I cried at the end of A Tale of Two Cities), he just throws a lot of bs on top of it all I guess.

[MarkM]

who is this dickens charater????

[Ryan]

Hot Head, I think they are talking about the author, Dickens. Um well, I haven't actually read anything of him but a few pages I guess. I tried David Copperfield but couldn't get into that. Then Moby Dick, couldn't get into that either. It goes on and on. I just can't get into his books for some odd reason.

[Defcon5]

I like his writings, my favorite book by him is Oliver Twist.

[conpiracymonki]

[b][size=1]We're studying Great Expectations for our first piece of coursework. The early 40s film, the book (not yet though), and the 90s film.

So far, we've been looking at why some things are put how they are in the 40s film, so we're only about 15 minutes into the film

:rolleyes: [/b][/size]

[MarkM]

ohh book i was like what... but i have read Moby dick and oliver twist theryre pretty good books!

[Sara]

Moby Dick was written by Herman Melville.

[PiroMunkie]

[color=indigo]I think he should be shot for ever writing [i]A Tale of Two Cities[/i]... I despise that book..[/color]

[Mnemolth]

I think the details are meant to put you in the world he has created. Many fans of Dickens like his work primarily for that reason. He can draw you into his world because his descriptions are so well done, intricate and perceptive. The devil is in the details and he gives them to you, in bucket loads! :D

Personally, I'm not a fan. That's mainly because I'm a trite and shallow person not willing to haul through all the descriptions. Its my failing, not Dickens. :)

Although I would add one thing. I also hate the fact that many modern authors today, in particular fantasy ones, who btw are a dime a dozen, seem to be way too interested in plot and getting the story to move along so much that they forget its a story they're telling, not an annotated diary that they write!

I do appreciate good writing. The writing can make the story, but the story can never make the writing. I lament that many modern published authors no longer believe in this axiom. It also saddens me that many, many fanfics fall into this trap as well.

[Fall]

Does this "Dickens" have a first or last name? Is it just me, or am I missing out on something big here.....?

[Guest Renegade V2]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Squashed Snail [/i]
[B]Does this "Dickens" have a first or last name? Is it just me, or am I missing out on something big here.....? [/B][/QUOTE]
[COLOR=darkred][B]It has been plauging me since I first read this topic and I finally remember. His name is Charles Dickens. When PiroMunkie mentioned a Tale of Two Cities it sparked my memory. I didn't like it much either.[/B][/COLOR] :p

[Lady Macaiodh]

[COLOR=darkblue]i like the movies of his books better than the actual writing.

i usually like a really witty style, though, & his books are too depressing for me.[/COLOR]

[Defcon5]

That's one of the reasons I liked Oliver Twist, It didn't end all happy.

[amibasuki]

[font=arial]I've only read A Tale of Two Cities and am currently reading Great Expectations for Lit. I don't really have any gripes about his stuff. it can sometimes be hard to decipher what he's talkin' about, but it's not that bad.[/font]

[Fall]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Renegade [/i]
[B][COLOR=darkred][B]It has been plauging me since I first read this topic and I finally remember. His name is Charles Dickens. When PiroMunkie mentioned a Tale of Two Cities it sparked my memory. I didn't like it much either.[/B][/COLOR] :p [/B][/QUOTE] Charles? .....can't say I've heard of him. I've got to get down to the library more often.

[Trumen]

Well, personally I think he is the best writer of all time. That is why after reading David Copperfield I decided to try to read every one of his novels. That is all except The Mystery of Edward Droid and think that was the name of the book. My reasoning for not reading that one is because it is not his true writing since he died before he finished it so it was concluded by some guy. But over all I also think he has a great grasp of grammar since back then they tought both Latin and English, and if you know Latin and English it helps.

[Semjaza]

Dickens bored the hell out of me... I love to read, and as anyone in or past highschool knows, you probably have to read a few things by him (as well as so many others). I can barely read the first 20 pages of anything he writes, as there are just far too many useless details in them for my taste. Some people might like that, but bleh.

I didn't like one of them. I would have rather we spent more time with writers like Longfellow and Shakespeare, but that's me.

I still hate thinking that I had to read Dickens, Grapes of Wrath and Portrait of a Lady. Yuck.

[Heaven's Cloud]

[quote]Hot Head, I think they are talking about the author, Dickens. Um well, I haven't actually read anything of him but a few pages I guess. I tried David Copperfield but couldn't get into that. Then Moby Dick, couldn't get into that either. It goes on and on. I just can't get into his books for some odd reason.[/quote]

[color=indigo]WOW! I never realized that Moby Dick was written by Dickens! All this time I have been giving credit to that jerk Herman Melville. Hey Melville, don't put your name on the cover of books you didn't write!

I do like or dislike Dickens. Oliver Twist and a Tale of Two Cities were slow reading...but I did enjoy Great Expectations immensely (I think I have had one too many Estellas in my life). You have to respect a guy who takes forty pages to say "the ocean is blue" in a descriptive way.[/color]