Social Injustices Portrayed Through Characterization And...

Social Injustices portrayed through Characterization and Imagery The Industrial Revolution of the Victorian Era was a time of development and underdevelopment. While the technology was improving, the social class structure and treatment of the underprivileged were not improving. Social injustices of the time were often overlooked, but there are many Victorian writers that wrote social commentaries regarding to these issues and Charles Dickens is one of them. Dickens sympathizes with the underprivileged of the society because he had experienced the injustice as a child. His works were a form of direct appeal to society to take action against poverty, exploitation of children, and the flaw of the judicial system. Through the use of†¦show more content†¦Such a dreadful experience at a young age led Dickens to emphasize with the wretched conditions of children in his novels, which was parallel to the actual state of the poor children in the Victorian era. Dickens’ ability to depict realistic situations was greatly influenced by his unpleasant experiences as a young man. Later on, Dickens worked as a reporter which helped him develop a more critical perception of society and enabled him to write from a realistic perspective, connecting real life experiences with his characters. During the Victorian age, England’s industry was progressing and the need for extra laborers was on high demand. Children became objectified as a form of cheap labor. In Great Expectations, Dickens created the protagonist Philip Pirrip, referred to as Pip throughout the novel, who perfectly portrays as a child that is suffering through abuse. His sister, Mrs. Joe Gargery, is often described using punishment on others and Pip knows â€Å"her to have a hard and heavy hand, and to be much in the habit of laying it upon her husband as well as upon† (Great Expectations 9). His sister’s physical abuse depicts the vulnerability of children who lack proper care and protection. Pip grew up in a home that shows no love and affection. This was very common in Victorian England, where children often considered miniature adults and only valued for their potential earning money power. Like Pip, Estella is also introduced as an orphan,