'George Orwell: Charles Dickens’ (1940) by George Orwell

'George Orwell: Charles Dickens’. First published, in 'Inside the Whale and Other Essays', in March 1940.

Orwell provides a critical analysis of Charles Dickens as a writer, focusing on Dickens' social commentary, moral outlook, and the overall influence of his work. Orwell explores how Dickens addresses social injustices of Victorian England, such as poverty, child labor, and the harsh conditions faced by the lower classes. He appreciates Dickens' vivid characters, storytelling skills, and his ability to critique societal problems without aligning with any political ideology.

Orwell argues that while Dickens is deeply concerned with social reform, he is not a revolutionary. Instead of advocating for systemic change, Dickens emphasizes the need for individual moral improvement. He believes that society can be bettered through personal virtue and benevolence, such as the kindness of wealthy individuals toward the poor, rather than through structural changes to institutions like capitalism. Orwell points out that Dickens’ critique of institutions like schools, prisons, and the legal system is not driven by a desire to replace them but to make them more humane.

Orwell admires Dickens’ commitment to exposing hypocrisy and cruelty, as well as his empathy for ordinary people. However, he also criticizes Dickens for failing to provide concrete solutions to the social issues he portrays. Orwell highlights that Dickens tends to focus on sentimentality and romanticized notions of social harmony, rather than addressing the deeper systemic causes of inequality.

Overall, Orwell’s essay presents Dickens as a moralist rather than a political thinker, one who understands the suffering of the poor yet offers a vision of reform that rests on improving individual behavior rather than transforming society.