“People
who have good relationships at home are more effective in the marketplace” - Zig
Ziglar
Show
me the home of a boy, and I will prophesy concerning his future without a
tremor of uncertainty. Show me a man's home, and I can account for his
peculiarities, his cheerfulness, or his despair. A quiet home, on whose altar
the flame of love and confidence never goes out, is as close to heaven as
mortals can get on this side of the grave. A home which lacks love and
confidence breeds germs of misery, which multiply until ruin has done its awful
work.
One
of the greatest writers and social reformers of medieval England was Charles
Dickens. With his exposure novels, such as Oliver Twist, Dickens attacked the
working of the poor law of his Victorian Age. Bleak House is another novel of
social realism, replete with social analysis and protest. And, with the use of
pathos and melodrama Dickens, nevertheless, manages to weave an assessment of
the corruption at the heart of Victorian society. Dickens also introduced to
many readers the historical novel as well as the detective novel and the
thriller, genres that maintain their popularity and widespread appeal to this
day.
One
historical novel, A Tale of Two Cities was written by Dickens after having read
Thomas Carlysle's The French Revolution: A History. Carlysle's study of the
oppression of the poor greatly influenced the themes of A Tale of Two Cities in
which Dickens draws parallels between France at the time of the Revolution and
England. Dickens, of course, was concerned that something like the revolution
could occur in his own country. Dickens was enormously successful. He was a
real rock star in his day. In addition to everything he accomplished in his
life, I think one of his greatest accomplishments is that he was able to write
books that still touch us today, and still make us stop and think about the
issues he raised.
Charles
Dickens once addressed a letter to his son Henry while he was at college,
advising him to keep out of debt and confide all his perplexities to his
father. The letter concluded as follows: "I most strongly and
affectionately impress upon you the priceless value of the New Testament, and
the study of that book as the one unfailing guide in life. Deeply respecting
it, and bowing down before the character of our Savior, you cannot go very
wrong, and will always preserve at heart a true spirit of veneration and
humility.
Similarly, I impress upon you the habit of saying a Christian prayer
every night and morning. These things have stood by me all through my life, and
remember that I tried to render the New Testament intelligible to you and
lovable by you when a mere baby. And so God bless you!"
The influence of family in charting the course of destiny can never be
overemphasized, little wonder; it was Michael J Fox that said “Family is not an
important thing. It's everything”
