Kelly,+Jagoda,+Corinne

__**The Life of Charles Dickens**__

 * He lived during the 19th century
 * A lot of his books were based off of real life events in history and his personality inspired some of his characters such as Mr. Micawber in //David Copperfield//
 * Known as a very hospitable and giving man which ended up giving him some difficulty with financial matters
 * Also, people considered him the voice of the poor because he wrote about the terrible conditions of factory workers
 * An author who was a part of the Realism Literature Movement
 * Spread public awareness about lifestyle and working conditions of paupers
 * Had a passion for the theater
 * He had 10 children with Catherine Hogarth
 * His father, John Dickens, was sent to prison because of debt when Charles was twelve years old
 * He was taken away from school and forced to work in a boot-blacking factory
 * He was given 6 shillings a week to look after his family
 * This experience and time in his life stayed with him forever which gave him inspiration for his books eventually
 * Most of the dark themes of his books include some type of struggle during hard times which he experienced himself
 * His childhood experience gave him the firm belief in social reform and helped him create a fictional setting in his novels

French Revolution
• **Lifestyle** //The First Estate// - Fewest amount of people - Consisted of the clergy of the Roma Catholic Church - Did not have to pay taxes but gave a gift of money to the king //The Second Estate// - Had more people in it than the first estate, but still very few - Made up of the nobles - Paid taxes and held the highest positions in government and the army //The Third Estate// - Divided into three groups and made up most of the population in France 1) //Bourgeoisie// - Middle class - Ex: merchants, manufactures, lawyers, doctors - Had some wealth and education 2) //Laborers and Artisans// - Had little education, didn’t need to because mostly worked with their hands 3) //Peasants// - The lowest rank out of everyone - Lived in poverty

• **Conditions** - The lower estates weren’t happy and wanted some of the same rights as the upper estates did. - France was absolute before the Revolution and the Estates wanted equal rights so they revolted. - There were taxation problems because the upper classes weren’t required to pay taxes while the lower classes were. - The social classes played the biggest role in why France had to go through a major change, which was the French Revolution.

- The government forced King Louis XIV to get a finance manager. The people fought for food and were in rage. The Bourgeousie (part of third estate) wanted to be able to move up in the social class if they could earn it on their own merit. This was called “equality of opportunity.” - Rose Pier is an enlightened thinker; he is challenging the rights of the king. - People meet in the “tennis court” to discuss matters about the king. They were not going to stop meeting until the king became fair. - Created a national assembly and “tennis court oath” - The symbolic meaning of this oath was that the people could indeed challenge the king. - This assembly was a parliamentary body that acts on the best behalf of the people. - The people of France decided to storm the Bastille on July 14, 1789. The Bastille was a building that held weapons, gunpowder, and help prisoners captive. This is the start of the French Revolution. - After they stormed the Bastille, the Assembly created the Declaration of the Rights of Man. This abolished the class system. They forced Louis to sign this. - The national assembly became the new government and they demanded a constitutional monarchy, which stated equal rights for al men and justice under reasonable laws.
 * • Historical Events surrounding the French Revolution**

The Storming of the Bastille



**Works Citied:**
Asciutto, Dave. “Pro-Labor Philosophies.” Pascack Valley High School, 8 January 2010.

"Charles Dickens - Biography and Works." The Literature Network: Online classic literature, poems, and quotes. Essays & Summaries. Web. 12 Jan. 2010. .

David Perdue's Charles Dickens Page. Web. 12 Jan. 2010. .

Kosch, Karen. “French Revolution.” Pascack Valley High School, 22 December 2009.