--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As a schoolboy, I loved Charles Dickens…" description: "\"As a schoolboy, I loved Charles Dickens. His 'David Copperfield' has had the strongest influence on me - I looked up to David Copperfield as a role mod..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d47/ruskin-bond-1864_dickens_as-a-schoolboy-i-loved-charles-dickens-h_1810837.png" --- # As a schoolboy, I loved Charles Dickens. His 'David… ![“As a schoolboy, I loved Charles Dickens. His 'David Copperfield' has had the strongest influence on me - I looked up to David Copperfield as a role model.” quote by Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d47/ruskin-bond-1864_dickens_as-a-schoolboy-i-loved-charles-dickens-h_1810837.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d47/ruskin-bond-1864_dickens_as-a-schoolboy-i-loved-charles-dickens-h_1810837.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d47/ruskin-bond-1864_dickens_as-a-schoolboy-i-loved-charles-dickens-h_1810837.png) > “As a schoolboy, I loved Charles Dickens. His 'David Copperfield' has had the strongest influence on me - I looked up to David Copperfield as a role model.” [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes Dickens' David Copperfield as a personal role model influencing his life. **In simple terms:** Dickens inspired his personal growth. Key Takeaway Seek role models in literature. Themes literature inspiration role models Mood reflective inspired Type literary personal When to use this quote - reading classics - mentor selection - creative writing Key Concepts character development personal growth Questions to Reflect On - Which character resonates with you? - How does literature shape identity? A Different Perspective Literary influence varies by individual. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/charles-dickens/) [David Copperfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/david-copperfield/) [Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dickens/) [Dickens David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dickens-david-2112912/) [His](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/his/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Loved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loved/) [Loved Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loved-charles-2112913/) [Role model](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/role-model/) [Up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/up/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Many books have mattered enormously to my life and work. 'David Copperfield' by Charles Dickens would be one of several contenders for 'most influential.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-mendelson/many-books-have-mattered-enormously-to-my-life-and-work-david/) [Cheryl Mendelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-mendelson/) > [“(from his random observations after reading David Copperfield by Charles Dickens) In the Old Curiosity Shop I discovered that in the character of Dick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/from-his-random-observations-after-reading-david-copperfield-by/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“Do you have any old copies of Dickens? Bookseller: We've got a copy of David Copperfield from 1850 for $150. Customer: Why is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-campbell/do-you-have-any-old-copies-of-dickens-bookseller-we-ve-got-a-copy-of/) [Jen Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-campbell/) > [At the age of 9, I read David Copperfield by Dickens. At 14, I read War and Peace by Tolstoy. They're both books I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-berge/at-the-age-of-9-i-read-david-copperfield-by-dickens-at-14-i-read-war/) [Pierre Berge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-berge/) > [I started reading Dickens when I was about 12, and I particularly liked all of the orphan books. I always liked books about young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyne/i-started-reading-dickens-when-i-was-about-12-and-i-particularly/) [John Boyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyne/) > [I think one of the few faults in Dickens is that mostly his lead characters are blanks - who is David Copperfield, who is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-gatiss/i-think-one-of-the-few-faults-in-dickens-is-that-mostly-his-lead/) [Mark Gatiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-gatiss/) > [Where would David Copperfield be if Dickens had gone to writing classes? Probably about seventy minor characters short, is where. (Did you know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/where-would-david-copperfield-be-if-dickens-had-gone-to-writing/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [An adaptation I was working on of Trollope's 'The Pallisers' has been axed by the BBC... I was also going to do Dickens' 'Dombey…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davies/an-adaptation-i-was-working-on-of-trollope-s-the-pallisers-has-been/) [Andrew Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davies/) > [“I’m not sure I’d have put Charles Dickens next to Isaac Newton except at a dinner party, and then only if Nellie Melba hadn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-kinsey/i-m-not-sure-i-d-have-put-charles-dickens-next-to-isaac-newton-except/) [T E Kinsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-kinsey/) > [My father read Charles Dickens to us as children, and at the end of virtually every novel he would choke up and start to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/my-father-read-charles-dickens-to-us-as-children-and-at-the-end-of/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [If you look at Charles Dickens's time, there were so many different levels of society and everybody understood their place in it, it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-horowitz/if-you-look-at-charles-dickens-s-time-there-were-so-many-different/) [Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) > [“Mr. Charles Dickens was serializing his novel Oliver Twist; Mr. Draper had just taken the first photograph of the moon, freezing her pale face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/mr-charles-dickens-was-serializing-his-novel-oliver-twist-mr-draper/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [On the day long after childhood when I suddenly heard of his death, the sky grew dark above my head. I was walking on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-elizabeth-sangster/on-the-day-long-after-childhood-when-i-suddenly-heard-of-his-death/) [Margaret Elizabeth Sangster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-elizabeth-sangster/) > [“Dickens's humanity and compassion made an extraordinary impact on Victorian England through his writings, which remain immensely popular. This bicentenary should help renew our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dickens-s-humanity-and-compassion-made-an-extraordinary-impact-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“(On Charles Dickens) It has been the peculiarity and the marvel of this man’s power, that he has invested his puppets with a charm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/on-charles-dickens-it-has-been-the-peculiarity-and-the-marvel-of-this/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) ## More by Ruskin Bond > ['live long my friend,be wise and strong, but do not take from any man his song'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/live-long-my-friend-be-wise-and-strong-but-do-not-take-from-any-man/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [Unhappy and unsettled childhood helps in writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/unhappy-and-unsettled-childhood-helps-in-writing/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [“As Grandfather used to say, 'In a crowd, everyone plays follow-the leader, even when they don't know who's leading.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/as-grandfather-used-to-say-in-a-crowd-everyone-plays-follow-the/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [I don't travel so much now, I get tired](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/i-don-t-travel-so-much-now-i-get-tired/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [I was a bookworm in school, and in those days it was easy to get books. Bigger cities had book shops.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/i-was-a-bookworm-in-school-and-in-those-days-it-was-easy-to-get-books/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [I won't usually just sit down to write. I'd have done it in my head already. I visualise a story just like a film…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/i-won-t-usually-just-sit-down-to-write-i-d-have-done-it-in-my-head/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [There was Uncle Ken of mine about whom I wrote a lot of stories. I can always write stories about uncles and aunts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/there-was-uncle-ken-of-mine-about-whom-i-wrote-a-lot-of-stories-i-can/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [“All of us need just one good accomplishment in order to get by. Obviously he can't spend the rest of his life climbing trees,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/all-of-us-need-just-one-good-accomplishment-in-order-to-get-by/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [I get inspiration from a lot of things around me - nature, hills, people, and even insects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/i-get-inspiration-from-a-lot-of-things-around-me-nature-hills-people/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [I fortunately have a good memor, and that helps a lot in the way I write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/i-fortunately-have-a-good-memor-and-that-helps-a-lot-in-the-way-i/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [“Nandprayag is a place that ought to be famous for its beauty and order. For a mile or two before reaching it we had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/nandprayag-is-a-place-that-ought-to-be-famous-for-its-beauty-and/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [I had a bad habit of falling in love with any girl who was nice to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/i-had-a-bad-habit-of-falling-in-love-with-any-girl-who-was-nice-to-me/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [I did all kind of jobs to sustain myself. I worked at a grocery store, in the public health department, and what was then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/i-did-all-kind-of-jobs-to-sustain-myself-i-worked-at-a-grocery-store/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [But the trees seemed to know me. They whispered among themselves and beckoned me nearer. And looking around, I noticed the other small trees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/but-the-trees-seemed-to-know-me-they-whispered-among-themselves-and/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [“A good monk would know that contentment is easier to attain than happiness, and that it is enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/a-good-monk-would-know-that-contentment-is-easier-to-attain-than/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) [Explore all 199 Ruskin Bond quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) ## More Dickens quotes > [Something that comes to us, some gym shoe that comes to us as a result of child labor from a brutal dictatorship, where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/something-that-comes-to-us-some-gym-shoe-that-comes-to-us-as-a-result/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [“(On Charles Dickens) It has been the peculiarity and the marvel of this man’s power, that he has invested his puppets with a charm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/on-charles-dickens-it-has-been-the-peculiarity-and-the-marvel-of-this/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [Tolkien is as good as Dickens at sketching a scene.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mckellen/tolkien-is-as-good-as-dickens-at-sketching-a-scene/) [Ian Mckellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mckellen/) > [Old Flossie settle down on the other side of What-the-Dickens and dragged some handiwork out of a sack. She armed herself with two thorns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/old-flossie-settle-down-on-the-other-side-of-what-the-dickens-and/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [I was a complete and typical only child. I was bookish, and sport was out of the question anyway. I had read all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/i-was-a-complete-and-typical-only-child-i-was-bookish-and-sport-was/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) > [I'm sure I've been influenced by every fine writer I've ever read, from Dickens and Austen to Auden and Jane Hirshfield. And also, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/i-m-sure-i-ve-been-influenced-by-every-fine-writer-i-ve-ever-read/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [In spite of their obvious differences, folk art and popular art have much in common; they are easy to understand, they are romantic, patriotic,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-seldes/in-spite-of-their-obvious-differences-folk-art-and-popular-art-have/) [Gilbert Seldes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-seldes/) > [“Dickens's humanity and compassion made an extraordinary impact on Victorian England through his writings, which remain immensely popular. This bicentenary should help renew our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dickens-s-humanity-and-compassion-made-an-extraordinary-impact-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The Victorian era was an age of superlatives and larger-than-life characters, and as far as that goes, Dr. Wildman Whitehouse fit right in: what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/the-victorian-era-was-an-age-of-superlatives-and-larger-than-life/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [On the day long after childhood when I suddenly heard of his death, the sky grew dark above my head. I was walking on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-elizabeth-sangster/on-the-day-long-after-childhood-when-i-suddenly-heard-of-his-death/) [Margaret Elizabeth Sangster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-elizabeth-sangster/) > [Great books are readable anyway. Dickens is readable. Jane Austen is readable. John Updike's readable. Hawthorne's readable. It's a meaningless term. You have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/great-books-are-readable-anyway-dickens-is-readable-jane-austen-is/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“As I know only too well, anticipation od happiness can sometimes be as gratifying as its consummation. Even during the first months of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaynor-arnold/as-i-know-only-too-well-anticipation-od-happiness-can-sometimes-be-as/) [Gaynor Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaynor-arnold/) > [ \[President Johnson\] had the political will to say that having one in five Americans living in the kind of abject conditions their fellow citizens… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/president-johnson-had-the-political-will-to-say-that-having-one-in/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Something went wrong with my right arm. I no longer could throw hard, and it hurt like the dickens every time I threw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dazzy-vance/something-went-wrong-with-my-right-arm-i-no-longer-could-throw-hard/) [Dazzy Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dazzy-vance/) > [“‎Whoever was the person behind Stonehenge was one dickens of a motivator, I'll tell you that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/whoever-was-the-person-behind-stonehenge-was-one-dickens-of-a/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) [Browse all 324 Dickens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dickens/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As a schoolboy, I loved Charles Dickens. 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