Pickwick Papers

Characterization in The Pickwick Papers In “’I thought of Mr. Pickwick, and wrote the first number’: Dickens and the Evolution of Character”, Robert L. Patten concentrates on the characters in The Pickwick Papers and their development throughout the novel. He points out many techniques Dickens employed in their depiction, and shows readers how Dickens effectively uses different forms of characterization to turn The Pickwick Papers into a novel rather than the “popular” serial publication it …

…author Dickens was, but also of what he wanted to do with this novel. His ability to “change” characters while keeping them consistent at the same time not only kept readers interested but also gave him a way to escape from the norm of popular novels of the time. As Patten plainly points out at the end of his article, Dickens’ use of “language-as-sign” allowed him to convert an “illustrated letterpress into a novel” (Patten 24).