David Copperfield Essay Example For Students

David Copperfield Essay English Coursework- How are the young David and Cassie presented as victims in the novels, David Copperfield and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry? My coursework is about the novels Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and David Copperfield. Both novels concentrate on the main character and the treatment they receive. David Copperfield was written in 1850 and Roll of Thunder was written in 1977. The narrator in David Copperfield is remembering his past life and experiences. As he becomes older in the book his life changes. In this piece of coursework I will write about the similarities and differences of David Copperfield and Cassie Logan as victims. I will write about each characters home life, school experiences, their treatment from others and how they each respond to the treatment. David is born into a loving family. However, as he gets older, he is victimized by Mr. Murdstone. When David is first born his young mother Clara and kind nurse Peggotty make his home life seem quite idyllic. David is treated well by Clara and Peggotty and is sheltered from the outside world. However, Clara soon meets Mr.  Murdstone, who she falls in love with. David is not pleased for this man to enter into his life. I didnt like him or his deep voice (27) This indicates that David is skeptical about Mr. Murdstone and perhaps that he is worried for himself and his mother when this man is present. When Clara and Mr. Murdstone are married, David is treated poorly by Mr. Murdstone and is beaten badly. He beat me then, as if he would have beaten me to death. (58) This describes that the pain David felt was like being beaten to death. Here we sympathize with David and feel that his treatment is both cruel and unfair. However, in mid-Victorian times this kind of treatment was more acceptable. Cassies home life is quite different, but her family as a whole are victimized for being African American . She is raised into a loving family that treats her well and cares for her a great deal. Cassie is taught to be strong and to make a stand for what she believes in. Her family is like a team in the way that they come together when times are bad and they all care for one another. Cassies family are victims of racism. Mama tells Cassie that, Everybody on this earth is something and nobody is better than anybody else. (97) This shows that Mrs.  Logan believes that racism is wrong and she tries to teach her children that although the colour of their skin should not affect how they are treated, they live in a time of inequality and injustice. At school David is a victim of bullying. When David is sent to school for biting Mr. Murdstone, he is made to a wear a plaque with the words Take care of him. He bites. (74) We can see that David feels scared and ashamed of wearing the placard and he begins to think that he does actually bite. This experience makes David feel condemned and vulnerable and it greatly lowers his self-esteem, What I suffered from that placard nobody can imagine. (75) This indicates that Davids time at school is not pleasant and he suffers mentally from wearing the plaque. Similarly Cassies time at school is also unpleasant. However, Cassie and Little Man are victims of racism. On her first day of a new term Cassie, Little Man, Stacey and Christopher-John are splashed with dirt by the white childrens bus. Cassie describes the bus as a huge yellow dragon breathing fire. (14) Mildred Taylor uses this simile to convey how big and powerful the bus is. Using the words breathing fire describes how the dust, that the bus creates as it goes past the children, encapsulates them like a fire spreading. Gothic and Baroque Architecture EssayThats the school where they broke the boys ribs (67) The waiter does this to scare David for his own pleasure. Here Dickens portrays David as a kind and generous person who gives away the money that he needs to satisfy someone else. This shows how David as a character is a victim. It is because David is a caring person that he loses out. I was very much concerned for his misfortunes (67) David is nai ve and cannot see that he is being tricked into feeling sympathy for a man who does not deserve it. Cassies character is very headstrong and independent, and it is because of this that she sometimes gets herself into trouble. She is a victim of racism and strongly believes in equality and that colour and race shouldnt matter. But Cassie lives in a country where slavery has just been abolished and there are still people that believe African Americans should be treated differently. It is Mama and Big Ma that try to teach Cassie that although what they believe in is right if they fight against the white people they could be killed. The Ku Klux Klan are very dangerous men and they visit Cassie and her family at home during the night. The man walked slowly up the drive. I stopped breathing. (54) This describes how Cassie was so terrified of what was happening that she couldnt breathe and trembling racked her body. Cassie and her family have to be extremely careful because they know that these men could easily kill them. David as a victim does not often respond to his treatment. It is only when he is beaten by Mr. Murdstone that he reacts. I caught the hand and bit it through. (58) Here we can see that David had to defend himself and we also see that he is a kind person as he feels a great deal of guilt about what he has done and starts to think that he is actually  a bad person. Cassie often responds to her treatment. For example she fights Lillian Jean after the incident at Strawberry. She also gets back at the white children by helping Stacey and the others to dig around their bus. Cassie sometimes gets in trouble for defending herself and others, but she is also very clever in the way that she asked Mama to put her hair in braids the day she planned to fight Lillian Jean. Cassie is quite nai ve because she thinks she can change the minds of others that are prejudiced. However, she creates more trouble for herself and her family. I think both characters are victims in the novels. David is a victim of beating and brutal punishment and Cassie a victim of racism. I feel that the treatment they receive is both cruel and unfair. At the time the novels were written, this kind of behavior and treatment of others was accepted as a way of life. As a reader I live in a time where equality is much stronger and racism is not as harsh. This is perhaps why to me the treatment of Cassie and David seems so poor and unfair. Dickens and Taylor both want the reader to sympathize with the characters and as a reader I do.