An Analysis of Environmental Issues in 19th Century England Using the Writings of Charles Dickens‪.‬

If you were to ask your students what century is best known for its environmental and social problems, what would they say? Most likely, they would say "The 21st century." This is true; however, there is another century worth examining when environmental issues affected societies. Charles Dickens lived during the best and worst of times in 19th century England. His writings were greatly influenced by the ongoing industrial revolution. He described abhorrent environmental conditions, inadequate sanitary practices, child abuse, and other social maladies of the times. But, wait ... why should we bring Dickens into the biology classroom? "Fiction dealing with our environment can strengthen and broaden the real-life experiences of a child" (Powers, 1974, p. 16). By having Dickens in the biology classroom, our students can discover that pollution, child abuse, infectious diseases, and poor sanitary practices are not just 21st century problems: