On The Sea Elements In David Copperfield And Great Expectations And The Construction Of British Empire

Charles Dickens was one of the most important Britain writers in the 19^thcentury.Although didn’t join the Royal Navy,Dickens had the naval family background and childhood experiences in the harbor town,which formed his marine complex.All these made Dickens create works like David Copperfield and Great Expectations in which some sea elements are shown.To some extent,the British Empire was a“maritime empire”that controlled and utilized the sea.In two novels,there are inevitably some imperial features in Britain’s building its sea power in the first half of the19^thcentury.By combining with the social background of Britain in the 19^thcentury and the Sea Power Theory,this thesis studies how the sea elements in the two novels directly or indirectly witness the construction of the British Empire.It aims to reveal the interaction between the British Empire at the height of its sea power and the literature text,providing some new ideas for the study of the two novels.Starting from the three core elements of the Sea Power Theory—shipping,navy and colony,the thesis intends to analyze the two novels.Firstly,the sea elements in two novels build are the precondition of developing the shipping industry,such as the Thames River in Great Expectations and so on.The merchant ships in two novels aim at expanding overseas markets and plundering the original places of raw materials,thus are the pronoun of the imperial shipping.The shipping is the precondition of developing navy and exploiting colonies,thus is the basis of the imperial sea power’s development.Secondly,in David Copperfield,Dickens praises the British marine power through little David—the Royal Navy’s fleet which is consisted of the Royal Navy officers and sailors.This is because this fleet is sea battle-hardened and is the escort forces for the overseas trade.They are the core of the imperial sea power’s development.Last but not least,among the core factors of the sea power,the colonies consolidate the other factors,namely it consolidates the imperial sea power:colonies are the overseas trading outposts of the British—Mr.Mills goes to the colonial India to trade in David Copperfield;overseas colonies protecting the shipping for Britain—such as Australia mentioned in both two novels;colonies serve as overseas job markets for British people—it is in Australia where Mr.Micawber and Mr.Peggotty find their jobs.The sea elements in the two novels directly or indirectly witness the construction of the British Empire.The construction of empire in its geographical sense can also be in the cultural sense.