Nicholas Nickleby

Content Warning: This section references child abuse, sexual harassment, and suicide.

“The expression of a man’s face is commonly a help to his thoughts, or glossary on his speech; but the countenance of Newman Noggs, in his ordinary moods, was a problem which no stretch of ingenuity could solve.”

Dickens uses physical descriptions of his characters to portray elements of their internal characterization. Notably, Newton Noggs is difficult to define with any specificity. This frames him as a mysterious character whose goodness or badness has yet to be revealed.

“Good resolutions seldom fail of producing some good effect in the mind from which they spring.”

Nicholas’s resolution to bear life at Dotheboys for the sake of his mother and sister has an immediate effect, lifting his mood and outlook on life. Dickens encourages his readers to approach hardships with similar determination. Rather than succumbing to resentments or depression, Nicholas remains focused on his goal, and Justice Will Prevail partly thanks to this perseverance.

“What is a little poverty or suffering, to the disgrace of the basest and most inhuman cowardice! I tell you, if I had stood by, tamely and passively, I should have hated myself, and merited the contempt of every man in existence.”

In this declaration, Nicholas establishes himself as the moral hero of the story. As difficult as poverty is, Nicholas chooses it over sacrificing his ethical norms. Unlike most people in his society, he refuses to stand by “tamely and passively.” He is an active seeker of justice and unafraid to put himself in danger if he can save others. This positions Nicholas as the kind of citizen Dickens wishes for his society.