Nobody’s Story is a short story written by Charles Dickens. I found this short story in an audiobook format on Spotify. They have an interesting collection of short stories. I have read some of Charles Dickens’s work over the years. For the most part, I have enjoyed the writing, although it gets heavy from a language perspective for me.
Nobody’s Story focuses on a character named Nobody and is narrated from a third-person point of view. This story is set roughly around the Christmas time. Nobody is a hard-working and kind individual but slightly meek. He and his family are dependent on the wealthy Bigwig family, who oversee and manage their affairs. The Bigwig family is dysfunctional because they spend more time arguing with each other, which makes living difficult for Nobody and his family. After losing his dearest people, Nobody starts to stand up for himself and takes a stand when he believes he is in the right. Although, he isn’t able to make the changes he wants before he passes.
There is a stark contrast in the dynamics of Nobody’s family and between the Bigwig family. Nobody and his family are pretty content with their life, although Nobody wishes he could provide a better future for his children. Bigwig family is wealthy and dysfunctional. They spend a lot of time quarreling amongst each other to no avail. Charles Dickens’s work always has a social commentary as a part of its story, and this short story is no different.
Nobody’s story talks about the issues of the working class and their rights. This remains the central theme of the story. I must say that the story is more narration-heavy than plot-heavy. The focus is on the characters, and there is no proper plot structure as such. The message about class differences and the rights of the oppressed class comes through well. The story is pretty brief. It was a narration of about 10 to 15 minutes, so I heard it in one go. Nobody is shown as someone who works hard and is content with life. When he loses the people closest to him, is when there is a change in him. He starts taking a stand for what is right.
Nobody’s character comes to a full circle. He is someone, who has struggled all his life, yet in the beginning, he seems happy with the way things are. Later, he comes out of that shell and stands up for himself and his fellow oppressed to oppose the injustices. The story is sad, and how it ends makes it worse in a way. I mean it is realistic how it ends, but you wish it hadn’t ended on such a bittersweet note.
Nobody’s Story by Charles Dickens is an interesting short story. It focuses on one main character, and because of an omnipresent sort of 3rd person P.O.V. gives it a completely different feel. The social commentary is not too preachy in its approach but makes its point. I liked reading, well, listening to this story.
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