David Copperfield Lesson Plan

The Women of David Copperfield

Kind of Activity:

Group Discussion

Objective:

Student will analyze and discuss how Dickens portrays the novel's female characters.

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.3, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.1

Structure:

Begin the activity by reading students Radhika Jones's statement, that "Even Dickens's admirers admit that his female characters tend disturbingly towards saccharine angels or poisonous shrews." Discuss how Dickens has frequently been criticized for his one-dimensional, condescending portrayal of women in his fiction, and ask students to consider whether this is true of the women in David Copperfield.

After giving...