Boy at the Window- Webready (Photo credit: Portland Center Stage)
If I voted for the best writer of English literature, I would vote for Charles Dickens. His writings about orphans enlightened and changed the way people perceived homeless children and brought about great positive change for them. There are still many street children in the world today.
Dickens had to quit school and go to work in a factory after his father went to debtors’ prison. He had very little formal education, but he became one of the greatest writers of English literature. He enjoyed more popularity and fame than any writer of his time.
One reason his writing is so good is that he published novels on installments. That means he published a little each week and eventually the writings made up a complete novel (similar to blogging today). He got feedback regularly and changed his writing accordingly.
Many believe his extreme poverty as a child drove him to succeed even though the odds were against him. He had not been trained in writing skills, but apparently learned them as he went. He mailed many transcripts in the dark of night to publishers because of his embarrassment of being constantly rejected. Fortunately for the world, his bulldog determination and faith motivated him to keep trying over and over again even though he failed constantly.
Dickens’ work was read aloud for small sums of money so that illiterate people could enjoy it. The cruel conditions he endured working ten hours a day for little money in a factory as a child no doubt gave him a special appreciation for poor people. Many of his characters and essays were influenced by those difficult years in his life.
Dickens is another example of rags to riches. People who have faith in their abilities and are willing to work very hard seem to end up prospering. But it all starts with belief that the goals and dreams really can be achieved.
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