First Prize
Charles John Huffman Dickens (1812-1870) became one of the most famous English writers during this period. He is well known because his works always showed the negative aspects of Victorian life. Dickens’s social criticism helped to improve school and jail conditions, while his lively characters and moving stories touched the hearts of readers with sympathy all over the world. Some of his famous books are Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations.
My favourite book is Oliver Twist written in 1838 and published by Penguin Classics. The main characters in the book are Oliver, Nancy, Mr. Bumble, Fagin, Monks and Bill Sykes. I like this interesting book because, the main character a young boy Oliver was a poor orphan, who needed special attention from society was forced to jeopardy; being bullied due to the cruelty of adults. In fact the bad guys Fagin, Charley and Dodger abused innocent Oliver and wanted to make him a thief. However, Mr. Brownlow solves the problem.
This interesting book begins on a sad note, but ends happily, because kindness towards a marginalized innocent youth triumphs over wickedness in the end. This classic book has been adapted for many popular media such as films in 1997 and 2005, and TV series.
Neyali Anisha Abeyratna,
Grade 7,
De Mazenod College,
Kandana.