--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you ask any ordinary reader which of…" description: "\"If you ask any ordinary reader which of Dickens's proletarian characters he can remember, the three he is almost certain to mention are Bill Sykes, Sam..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/230/george-orwell-57_asks_if-you-ask-any-ordinary-reader-which-of_1281807.jpg" --- # If you ask any ordinary reader which of Dickens's… ![“If you ask any ordinary reader which of Dickens's proletarian characters he can remember, the three he is almost certain to mention are Bill Sykes, Sam Weller and Mrs. Gamp. A burglar, a valet and a drunken midwife-not exactly a representative cross-section of the English working class.” quote by George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/230/george-orwell-57_asks_if-you-ask-any-ordinary-reader-which-of_1281807.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/230/george-orwell-57_asks_if-you-ask-any-ordinary-reader-which-of_1281807.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/230/george-orwell-57_asks_if-you-ask-any-ordinary-reader-which-of_1281807.jpg) > “If you ask any ordinary reader which of Dickens's proletarian characters he can remember, the three he is almost certain to mention are Bill Sykes, Sam Weller and Mrs. Gamp. A burglar, a valet and a drunken midwife-not exactly a representative cross-section of the English working class.” [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Orwell critiques that Dickens’s memorable working‑class characters are not truly representative of the class. **In simple terms:** Dickens’s famous characters don’t reflect the real working class. Key Takeaway Question literary representation of social groups. Themes literary criticism social class representation Mood critical analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - literary curricula - book clubs Key Concepts class analysis character study Questions to Reflect On - How should authors balance memorable characters with realistic representation? - What impact does misrepresentation have on readers? A Different Perspective Orwell’s view may overlook Dickens’s narrative aims. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Representatives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/representatives/) [Working class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-class/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Style is indeed the valet of genius, and an able one too; but as the true gentleman will appear, even in rags, so true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/style-is-indeed-the-valet-of-genius-and-an-able-one-too-but-as-the/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [In the psychological realm of relationship between teacher and child, the teacher's part and its techniques are analogous to those of the valet; they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/in-the-psychological-realm-of-relationship-between-teacher-and-child/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [He was a hero to his valet, who bullied him, and a terror to most of his relations, whom he bullied in turn. Only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/he-was-a-hero-to-his-valet-who-bullied-him-and-a-terror-to-most-of/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [ Rarely do they appear great before their valets. \[Fr., Rarement ils sont grands vis-a-vis de leur valets-de-chambre.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/rarely-do-they-appear-great-before-their-valets-fr-rarement-ils-sont/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [“had once managed in half a day to replace the entire engine on a 1995 Mercedes with one from some old wreck, doing such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/had-once-managed-in-half-a-day-to-replace-the-entire-engine-on-a-1995/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [His face held a certain impassivity; you see it in all waiters and valets. They might want to jam a knife through your left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-aguirre/his-face-held-a-certain-impassivity-you-see-it-in-all-waiters-and/) [Ann Aguirre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-aguirre/) > [Let the revolting distinction of rich and poor disappear once and for all, the distinction of great and small, of masters and valets, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-noel-babeuf/let-the-revolting-distinction-of-rich-and-poor-disappear-once-and-for/) Francois-Noel Babeuf > [No man is a hero to his valet de chamber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/no-man-is-a-hero-to-his-valet-de-chamber/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [“No man is a hero to his valet. This is not because the hero is not a hero, but because the valet is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/no-man-is-a-hero-to-his-valet-this-is-not-because-the-hero-is-not-a/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [I was writing a story, 'The Artistic Career of Corky,' about two young men, Bertie Wooster and his friend Corky, getting into a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse-2/i-was-writing-a-story-the-artistic-career-of-corky-about-two-young/) [P. G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse-2/) > [Some men seem remarkable to the world in whom neither their wives nor their valets saw anything extraordinary. Few men have been admired by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/some-men-seem-remarkable-to-the-world-in-whom-neither-their-wives-nor/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [“Pray don’t hold back,” Robert said politely. “You can tell me what you really think of my valet.” Stewart broke in to a reluctant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/pray-don-t-hold-back-robert-said-politely-you-can-tell-me-what-you/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [The difference between a man and his valet: they both smoke the same cigars, but only one pays for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/the-difference-between-a-man-and-his-valet-they-both-smoke-the-same/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [I find that, in general, the amount of sharing men do with each other in one year is about the same as what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/i-find-that-in-general-the-amount-of-sharing-men-do-with-each-other/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [I will perform the function of a whetstone, which is about to restore sharpness to iron, though itself unable to cut. \[Lat., Fungar vice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/i-will-perform-the-function-of-a-whetstone-which-is-about-to-restore/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) ## More by George Orwell > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. 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All he had to do was to transfer to paper the interminable restless monologue that had been running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-actual-writing-would-be-easy-all-he-had-to-do-was-to-transfer-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [He felt as though he were wandering in the forests of the sea bottom, lost in a monstrous world where he himself was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/he-felt-as-though-he-were-wandering-in-the-forests-of-the-sea-bottom/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“if you took 1 Corinthians, chapter thirteen, and in every verse wrote 'money' instead of 'charity', the chapter had ten times as much meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-took-1-corinthians-chapter-thirteen-and-in-every-verse-wrote/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Happiness can exist only in acceptance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/happiness-can-exist-only-in-acceptance/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-if-all-others-accepted-the-lie-which-the-party-imposed-if-all/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Whitman himself "accepted" a great deal that his contemporaries found unmentionable. For he is not only writing of the prairie, he also wanders through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/whitman-himself-accepted-a-great-deal-that-his-contemporaries-found/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“But I tell you, Winston, that reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Whatever the Party holds to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/but-i-tell-you-winston-that-reality-is-not-external-reality-exists-in/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“And the people under the sky were also very much the same...everywhere, all over the world, hundreds or thousands of millions of people just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-people-under-the-sky-were-also-very-much-the-same-everywhere/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/don-t-you-see-that-the-whole-aim-of-newspeak-is-to-narrow-the-range/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Windmill or no windmill, he said, life would go on as it had always gone on--that is, badly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/windmill-or-no-windmill-he-said-life-would-go-on-as-it-had-always/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/man-is-the-only-creature-that-consumes-without-producing-he-does-not/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And the bigger the fall, the bigger the joke. It would be better fun to throw a custard pie at a bishop than at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-bigger-the-fall-the-bigger-the-joke-it-would-be-better-fun-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Any writer or journalist who wants to retain his integrity finds himself thwarted by the general drift of society rather than by active persecution.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/any-writer-or-journalist-who-wants-to-retain-his-integrity-finds/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) [Explore all 1,657 George Orwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More Asks quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. 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It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [Why did Erich von Stronheim leave Germany? Why did Hitchcock leave England? If you were a director you'd like to work in Hollywood too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-polanski/why-did-erich-von-stronheim-leave-germany-why-did-hitchcock-leave/) [Roman Polanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-polanski/) > [There is nothing more I ask of this life than this moment, exactly so. And suddenly forever seems like too short a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-andreas/there-is-nothing-more-i-ask-of-this-life-than-this-moment-exactly-so/) [Brian Andreas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-andreas/) > [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [The most fundamental question we can ever ask ourselves is whether or not the universe we live in is friendly or hostile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-most-fundamental-question-we-can-ever-ask-ourselves-is-whether-or/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. 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