Title: Nicholas Nickleby
Author: CHARLES DICKENS
Publisher (level): OXFORD (2)
Summary:
In England, there was one man. His name is Nicholas. His father died and left many debts behind him, his mother and his sister – Kate. They became to have no money. He depended on his uncle – Ralph – and he introduced one work to Nicholas. Nicholas went to London to work as a teacher. But, the principal of the school – Squeers – loved making the boys there suffer, and he beat hard and often. One of the boys – Smike – suffered especially. Although he lost his work, such behavior disposed Nicholas to help Smike. They run away from the school. They continued to walk a great distance, at last arrived his house in England. His mother and sister were pleased with tears in their eyes. Next day, he went to the Employment Office to look for a job. He met old accounts clerk – Cheeryble brothers – and they gave him some works and helped his family. At the same time, Squeers looked about for Smike to suffer him and discovered him at last. Squeers dragged him to his school secretly. Nicholas’s family was very worried and didn’t know where he went. In the school, Squeers pushed Smike into the room at second floor and locked the door. After, at once, Squeers’s friends – Fanny and John – visited him. He told them the occurrence about Smike. Because John pitied Smike sincerely, he pretended illness and went to the second floor, and set Smike free stealthily. John take him to Nicholas’s house. They thanked him greatly. But, after some months, Smike died of all those years of being cold, hungry, and dirty in the school. Smike said Nicholas, ‘I know that we’ll meet again. Now I can die happily.’It was as if they are real parent and child.

Evaluation: 4 stars
This is a very sad story. I couldn’t forgive Squeers for all his cruel behavior. But this was an impressive and a warm story. I don’t know whether his life was happy for Smike, but I think that he learned that there ware person who pitied and helped him in the world. However poor he was, Nicholas had the most important thing that human being must have.