Traddles As An Ideal Character In David Copperfield

Characterization was the soul of a novel. From characters an author expresses his creative ideas and spiritual pursuit. As a minor character of David Copperfield, Tommy Traddles was ignored by most critics for the author's short-length description of him. However, as far as the writer was concerned, Traddles was actually the ideal character of this novel as he was a representative of the mainstream values of Victorian society and reflection of the author's praise of human nature as well as his visions towards a better and more rational society. The descriptions of Traddles were short but carefully written. If this novel was compared to a scroll of Victorian social status and customs, Traddles was one of the most striking and impressionistic strokes. All the other minor characters of this novel were less impressive.Traddles was a great impetus of plot development. First of all, David will not succeed without Traddles' help who did not only witness David's struggling experience but also be of great help. They got acquainted with each other in Salem House where they shared the same miserable childhood. When they met again, they were both grow-ups struggling for a better life. Traddles made a significant contribution to David's career by aiding him in shorthand learning and the domestic publication of David's novels. Secondly, Traddles and Mr. Micawber exposed the conspiracies of Heep, rescued Agnes from Heep's evil hands and restored the property of Aunt Betsey, which brought the climax of this novel. Thirdly, Traddles and Sophy's love story was a tender and moving chapter of this novel. This paper will demonstrate the argument of Traddles'being an ideal character from four aspects. First, the writer made an analysis of Traddles'character traits which was responsible for his success in career, which embodied the Victorian emphasis on success in career and and reflected Dickens'individual experience of struggling as well. Secondly, Traddles devotions to family reflecting the society's emphasis on the importance of family. Career and family are the two most important pursuits of the Victorian era. Thirdly, Traddles'readiness to shoulder social responsibility was another reason for his being an ideal character. The fourth chapter mainly discussed Dickens' artistic devices in characterizing Traddles. Dickens always tried to moralize by amusing readers. "Good begets good and evil leads to evil" was one of the most important themes of his novels. Traddles'virtues were the major reasons for his success in living a happy life, which provided the research perspective for this thesis.