Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens

In Chapter 13 of Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens, the reader is effectively encouraged to resent Squeers and view him as the villain, while Nicholas is portrayed as the hero and Smike and the other boys are depicted with sympathetic feelings. The chapter begins with a dismal portrayal of the boys' sleeping conditions. Dickens uses words such as "feeble," "ragged," and "dull" to describe it. This powerful description evokes a sense of hatred towards Squeers in the reader. Squeers is the headmaster at the boarding school "Dotheboys Hall," where Nicholas was sent to work by his uncle after his father's death. His father had only a small amount of money, so he left it to his brother and trusted him to look after his family, consisting of Nicholas's mother and Sister Kate. Nicholas's uncle is a hard, remorseless man and sends Nicholas and his sister to work to earn their keep. The family is moved into a small, dirty flat and given little money to live on. During Nicholas's time at Dotheboys Hall, he meets one of the boys, "Smike," and befriends him. Smike has no parents to speak of, so he is kept on as a servant to the family. Nearing the end of the chapter, Nicholas inspires Smike to run away. Unfortunately, he is caught, resulting in the chapter's climax. Squeers is about to beat Smike, but then Nicholas steps in, and following a fight, they make off together. Throughout the chapter, Dickens enhances the reader's negative feelings towards Squeers. Dickens uses verbs to describe Squeers's actions, adding greater depth to his character. Words like "retorted," "bounced," and "feasted" show the rage in Squeers's character and the way he goes about daily life. They give the reader a sense of his disrespect towards the boys and other characters around him, showing how uncouth and disrespectful Squeers is towards the boys and Nicholas. Squeers is a sadist: "With hands trembling with delight, Squeers unloosened the cord." He treats the boys in an appalling manner, deliberately overworking, underfeeding, and poorly housing them to fulfill his sadistic tendencies. He also looks forward to beating the boys at every opportunity: "beat him until the little urchin in his writhings actually rolled out of his hands." This is also indicated in the case of Smike. During the fight between Nicholas and Squeers, it becomes apparent that when Squeers is deprived of fulfilling his ambitions, he becomes very enraged: "Sit down, beggar!" screamed Squeers, almost beside himself with rage, and seizing Smike as he spoke. This confrontation is very important as it is the climax to the chapter and a large portion of the book so far. It also justifies any doubt the reader has in the roles the characters play, with Nicholas as the hero and Squeers as the villain. Dickens used stronger descriptive language and lots of well-written dialogue in this section of the chapter. "Screamed," "miserable," "daunted," and "helpless" are all examples of this style of writing that Dickens has adopted or created for this piece, adding emotion to the moment. Mrs. Squeers (Mrs. S) plays a less effective role in the chapter, acting almost as a sidekick to Mr. Squeers (Squeers), often encouraging him and backing up his insults. When the voice of Squeers was heard calling from the bottom of the stairs, "You lazy hounds?" added Mrs. Squeers, finishing the sentence. This suggests that Mrs. S is of the same or at least a similar nature to Squeers as far as the treatment of the boys is concerned. Squeers likes taking control and is quite taken aback when his wife takes over: "Stupid!" said Mrs. Squeers angrily. "He hadn't any money, had he?" When Mrs. S takes over, she becomes Squeers and Squeers becomes her, still of the same opinion. Although Squeers never talks to his wife in the same manner as he does to her, it may be that he is too frightened.