“David Copperfield” By Charles Dickens
A Class Project
IES Cristo del Rosario BH1 - Zaida Gómez Pérez Zafra (Badajoz)
INFORMATION ABOUT THE BOOK
• Title: David Copperfield. • Author: Charles Dickens. • Publishing House: Burlington Books. • Main Characters: -David Copperfield: he is the main character. His father died before he was born. He tells us his story from childhood to adulthood. -Clara Copperfield: she is the mother of David. She was young, pretty and slim. -Clara Peggotty: she is the maid of Clara. She was quite fat and had dark eyes and bright red cheeks. -Ham: this was Peggotty’s nephew who was a big, strong and young man. His father was Joe. -Dan Peggotty: he is the brother of Clara Peggotty. He was a very big and happy man. - Emily: she was a beautiful little girl. David is her friend. -Joe: he was the brother of Mr. Peggotty but he dead. Ham is his son. -Mr. Murdstone: he is the stepfather of David and the new husband of clara. He is very violent. -Miss Murdstone: she is the sister of Mr. Murdstone. She was a dark and serious woman, with a big nose. She was a very strict and suspicious person. -Mr Barkis: he’s the coachman of the family Copperfield. -Mr Mell: He’s a teacher of the new school of David. He was a tall, thin and young man. -Mr Creakle: He’s the headmaster of Salem House. He was fat, with a bald head, small eyes, a small nose and a large chin. 2
-Mr Sharp: he is the senior teacher. -Tommy Traddels: he is the David's friend. David know him while he was in the school. -J. Steerforth: he is older than David, very good-looking and a very good student. -Mr. Micawber: he’s the David’s landlord. He was a debtor. -Mr. Dick: he's the Betsey's lodger. He was an elder gentleman with a round face. He always had a smile on his face. -Mr. Wickfield: he's the lawyer of Betsey. He was a grey hair and black eyebrows. -Huriah Heep: he was about 15 years old, he has a red hair. -Dagnes: she's the Mr. Wickfield's daughter. -Mr. Spenlow: he's the David's employer -Dora: she's the Spenlow's daughter. • Summary
The story is about the life of David Copperfield from childhood to adulthood. David was born in England and his father died before his birth, and after some years later, his mother marries with Mr. Murdstone. While the wedding happens, David is sent to Yarmouth where he lives for a time with the Pegotty’s family, humble fishermen who live on a boat. There David meets his first love: Emily. To David doesn’t like his stepfather and feels the same for the sister of Mr. Murdstone who soon happens to live in the same house. Mr. Murdstone criticizes to David for be delayed in his studies. In one of these altercations, David bites him and then he is sent away to a boarding school, Salem-House, with a ruthless manager, Mr. Creakle. Here he becomes friends with James Steerforth and Tommy Traddles.
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David returns home on vacation to find that her mother has had a child. When David returns to Salem-House, his mother dies and David must return home immediately. Mr. Murdstone sends him to work in a factory in London where he is part owner. The owner of David where he now resides, Mr. Micawber, is sent to prison for debt, after having gone bankrupt, and David escapes from the factory. After the death of Clara, Pegotty marries with Barkis, the coachman. David looks for his aunt Betsy Trotwood, who requested protection. At first Ms. Trotwood doesn’t know what to do, so she called the brothers Murdstone, who are facing in their decision to take over the child's future. A new life begins for Copperfield, who is sent to a new school and placed in the care of Mr. Wickfield, who has a daughter named Agnes. The school satisfies betsy, who puts David, as an apprentice solicitor position where he met to the employer's daughter, Dora Spenlow, and he falls in love with her. Unfortunately they were going to have a baby but finally he and Dora died. Meanwhile, Emily had left her fiance Ham and she had run away with Steeforth. On the other hand Uriah Heep was cheating Mr Wickfield and stealing their money. After a while, Uriah Heep is betrayed by his employee and he should pay back all the money he stole, and Agnes confesses his love for David, which had always been in love. Mr. Pegotty takes Emily to a new life in Australia; all are finally safe and happy with their new lives. • Personal Opinion I found a very interesting book and easy to read because it is too short. This book shows the evolution of David during his life and how he gets everything that is proposed although it was difficult for him.
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Vocabulary Chapter 1: -Widow: viuda. Widowed people don’t like to be alone; so when someone visits them, they are very happy.
-Cheeks: mejillas. I hate when my grandmother pinched my cheeks like I was a little girl.
-Guilty: culpable. While I was playing with my sister in the living room, she broke a glass and she felt very guilty.
-Drowned: ahogado My cousin's father died drowned, since that time my cousin doesn’t go to the beach or the pool.
-Bachelor: soltero Bachelor people go out much to party because they don’t like being alone
Chapter 2: -Gate: portón. I like the gates of big houses because they remind me of the TV houses.
-Knitting: haciendo punto. The last weekend I told my grandmother that we would go to the park but she refused because she was knitting.
-Wave: agitar. You mustn’t shake fizzy drinks because if you do it when you open the can, drink jumps.
-Swollen: hinchada. Yesterday I ate so much that I felt swollen, the next day I was ill.
-Prayers: oración. My aunt knows all the prayers when we go to Mass.
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Chapter 3: - Bald: calva. My grandfather was bald at seventy years old and he was very ugly.
-Chin: barbilla. My sister fell while learning to ride a bike and she has a cut on his chin.
-Pity: lástima. My friend said me that it was a pity that I couldn’t go on vacation with them.
-Glad: content. He was very glad when the teacher told him that he had approved all subjects.
-Fear: miedo. When I was younger I was so fear to the dogs.
Chapter 4: -Nodded: asentí. I didn’t understand anything of what he told me but I nodded to everything that he asked me.
-Buried: enterrado. He was buried with his wife because both wanted to be together forever.
-Sadness: tristeza. His grandmother just died and although he was as always, we could see his sadness in her eyes.
-Dismiss: despedir. He didn’t want to dismiss because he said that he felt sorry.
-Wine: vino. The people say that the wine is good for the health.
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Chapter 5: -Released: liberado. I felt very released when I finished all my works and exams in the school.
-Trunk: baúl. I have a trunk saved in my closet for save my diary in secret.
-Cottage: casa de campo. He wanted to go to the cottage because he said that it was quieter.
-Beg: mendigar. Poor people who haven’t work are going to beg to the streets. -Lodger: inquilino. The lodger of my house is a hard worker and he gets up every day at six o'clock to go to work.
Chapter 6: -Mean: avaro. When we go out to eat, he never comes because he is very mean and doesn’t want to spend the money.
-Knowledge: conocimiento. He learned all his knowledge of English when he traveled abroad.
-Partner: socio. Business partners share the work equally because they all have a part of the company.
-Humble: humilde. People who are humble often have more friends that egoistic people.
Avoid: evitar. Juan didn’t want to see Pedro to avoid the fight although finally it was a badly understood.
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Chapter 7: -Career: carrera. I'm still studying but I don’t know what career to choose when I finish.
-Speech: lenguaje. Teachers’ language is very cultured while the students’ language is very colloquial.
-Proud: orgullosa. My friends and I were playing football, when we won, we are very proud.
-Learner: estudiante. Learners don’t go to party because they haven’t time for anything. -Warmly: cálidamente. The baby didn’t stop to cry all evening but when his mother arrived and hugged her warmly she stopped.
Chapter 8: -Praise: alabanza. When she wins a game he makes her a praise.
-Guess: adivinar. She always guesses all the problems that I tell her.
-Pray: rezar. She prayed to God for all his problems were solved.
-Will: testament. When he died, he only put in the will to his daughter.
-Tiny: diminuta. They wanted to buy a house but all the houses that they saw were very tiny.
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Chapter 9: -Engaged: ocupado. When they arrived at class, they wanted to sit next to the window, but that place was already engaged.
-Lower: inferior. She didn’t buy the coat because it was of a lower quality.
-Bless: bendecir. The priest blessed the new married so that they could have children.
-Pain: dolor. She fell down the stairs and the pain made her faint.
-Anger: furia. Juan broke the Marta’s phone and she with anger hit him.
Chapter 10: -Delighted: encantado. He was delighted with the surprise birthday party that his friends had done to him.
-Overjoyed: lleno de alegría. They were overjoyed when they heard that they had won the lottery.
-Bundle: manojo. He gave her a bundle of flowers on her birthday and wrote a beautiful letter. -Ribbon:
cinta.
She dressed very pretty to go to the party; she wore a red dress and a hair ribbon of the same color.
-Clerk. Secretario. The clerk said to the man that there wasn’t anybody in the office.
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Chapter 11: -Steps: escalones. I like to climb the steps to do sport.
-Proud: orgulloso. When I have a good mark in my test, I feel proud.
-Shopkeepers: comerciantes. Shopkeepers of my neighborhood have very expensive things.
-Trick: engañar. Juan's friends went to call him to his house and his mother tricked them telling that Juan wasn’t.
-Weak: débil. Sonia couldn’t do sports because she was very weak.
Chapter 12: -Thief: ladrón. The thief who stole the jewelry was arrested at night.
-Footsteps: pasos. Alba heard footsteps in her house and she ran away because she was afraid.
-Liar: mentiroso. Ramon is a liar, so nobody believes him.
-Forge: falsificar. Silvia forged the marks and her parents punished her. -Loan: préstamo. The couple took out a loan to buy a new house.
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Chapter 13: -Grief: pena. Marcos felt much grief when his dog died. -Sailor: marinero. The people said that sailors have a girlfriend in each port. -Rope: cuerda. He tied his boat with a rope but the rope broke.
-Blanket: manta. Lucia was so cold that she took to aid sleep four blankets!
-Sand: arena. I don’t like the sand on the beach because it comes into my shoes.
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