Humanising the Poor: Socio-Economic Reform through Literary Realism in Dickens and Anand
Author : Manoj Singh and Vishnu Pratap Singh
Abstract :
This paper examines how Charles Dickens and Mulk Raj Anand employed literary realism to humanize the poor and advocate for socio-economic reform in their respective cultural contexts. Through comparative analysis of Dickens's Hard Times (1854) and Oliver Twist (1838), and Anand's Untouchable (1935) and Coolie (1936), this study demonstrates how both authors used realistic portrayal, sympathetic characterization, and social critique to challenge dehumanizing economic systems. While Dickens confronted industrial capitalism and Victorian class hierarchies in England, Anand exposed the intersecting oppressions of colonialism, capitalism, and caste in India. Both writers transformed marginalised individuals from statistics into fully realised human beings, making their suffering visible and morally urgent to middle-class readers. This comparative study reveals how literary realism serves as a powerful tool for social consciousness and reform across cultural boundaries.
Keywords :
Literary realism, socio-economic reform, Charles Dickens, Mulk Raj Anand, poverty, humanism, social critique.
