A Little Dickens!

“Please, sir, I want some more?” a quote that most of us can pinpoint by Dickens. Read on to find out more!

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…
— “A Tale of Two Cities”

These famous opening words set the stage for a novel full of contradictions, a story that continuously compares the cities of London and Paris during the French Revolution. The phrase still rings true today as we look around and see a world that’s both deeply troubled and astoundingly compassionate. It can be difficult to hold both realities in our minds. Dickens captured it on the page with one line.

I have been bent and broken, but — I hope — into a better shape.
— “Great Expectations”

The character of Estella is introduced to readers at the beginning of the story as cold and insulting. Though our main character, Pip, pines for her, she cares little for him. It is not until the end of the novel, when Estella speaks this line, that we see how her own trials have changed her over the course of the story. Just as Pip has learned to be honest and hardworking, Estella has learned humility through suffering.

Trifles make the sum of life.
— “David Copperfield”

This novel, which is considered to be at least partly autobiographical, weaves the facts of Dickens’ own life with fiction to tell the story of a young man who loves and loses and learns to love again. Through it all we see how the small, day-to-day decisions we make end up defining our lives as a whole. Even the great turning points of life are reached through incremental steps and solidified by minutiae.

Please, sir, I want some more.
— “Oliver Twist”

In this scene, which takes place early in the book, young Oliver is a resident at the parish workhouse for boys. After being served a meager portion of gruel for his supper, then waiting while a long prayer is said over the food, Oliver finishes his dinner in a few bites. Desperate with hunger, he approaches the master of the house and asks for seconds. The next day, a flyer is posted offering five pounds to anyone who will take the greedy child off their hands — and so the adventure of his life begins.

No one is useless in this world… who lightens the burden of it for any one else.
— “Our Mutual Friend”

Our Mutual Friend is considered by some modern critics to be one of Dickens’ greatest works, but when it was published serially over many months in 1864 and 1865, it did not sell well. Dickens himself was quite ill during this time, and the book would end up being his last completed work. This line, which is spoken in the book to comfort a character who is feeling useless, may also be a subtle nod to the people in Dickens’ life during this difficult time.

Thank you to Inspiring Quotes for some background on these well-known words.