David Copperfield
David Copperfield is the title character and narrator of Charles Dickens's 1850 novel, a bildungsroman tracing an orphan's journey from childhood hardship to literary success.
The novel is considered Dickens's most autobiographical work.
The name was later adopted by American illusionist David Copperfield (born David Kotkin), known for spectacular stage magic including making the Statue of Liberty appear to vanish.
- BildungsromanNovel of formative years
- autobiographicalConcerning one's own life
- debtors' prisonJail for those owing money
- YarmouthCoastal town name
orphan · social class · child labor · Victorian England · serialized · narrator · morality · sentiment
Supernatural or illusory power
- sleight-of-handSkillful manual deception
- misdirectionIntentional focus manipulation
- vanishing actAbrupt, unexplained departure
- levitationUnsupported aerial suspension
Statue of Liberty · escapology · illusion · Las Vegas · spectacle · showmanship · stage · prestidigitation
Learning one's true character
- maturityFull growth achieved
- identityWho someone is
- transformationThorough change in form
- growthIncrease in size
innocence · experience · formative years · adversity · perseverance · education · apprenticeship · first love
Transition to factory-based economy
- workhousesLabor-based relief institutions
- gaslightDistort someone's reality
- carriagesWheeled vehicles for passengers
- Queen VictoriaLong-reigning British empress
British Empire · etiquette · social reform · class system · poorhouses · London fog · cobblestones · servants
Charles Dickens
- BildungsromanNovel of formative years
- autobiographicalConcerning one's own life
- debtors' prisonJail for those owing money
Yarmouth · orphan · social class · child labor · Victorian England · serialized · narrator · morality · sentiment · redemption
magic
Supernatural or illusory power
- sleight-of-handSkillful manual deception
- misdirectionIntentional focus manipulation
- vanishing actAbrupt, unexplained departure
levitation · Statue of Liberty · escapology · illusion · Las Vegas · spectacle · showmanship · stage · prestidigitation · disappearance
self-discovery
Learning one's true character
- maturityFull growth achieved
- identityWho someone is
- transformationThorough change in form
growth · innocence · experience · formative years · adversity · perseverance · education · apprenticeship · first love · disillusionment
industrialization
Transition to factory-based economy
- workhousesLabor-based relief institutions
- gaslightDistort someone's reality
- carriagesWheeled vehicles for passengers
Queen Victoria · British Empire · etiquette · social reform · class system · poorhouses · London fog · cobblestones · servants · boarding schools
- MagiciansHarry Houdini, Houdini, Copperfield, Penn and Teller, Penn
- fictional narratorsNick Carraway, Ishmael, Holden Caulfield, Scout Finch, Stevens
- Classic BooksPride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Moby Dick, Moby-Dick, Great Expectations
- boy heroesHarry Potter, Peter Pan, Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, Huckleberry Finn
- literary charactersSherlock Holmes, Scout Finch, Elizabeth Bennet, Macbeth, Huck Finn
- MasterpiecesMona Lisa, Last Supper, Starry Night, The Scream, The Thinker