Review: Our Mutual Friend Novel by Charles Dickens

 

 Title of the book          : Our Mutual Friend

Writer                           : Charles Dickens

Retold by                      : Margaret Tarner (1978)

Publisher                     : Dian Rakyat

Year of published        : 1995

Printing                       : Third

Pages                           : 106 Pages

Synopsis

There was a wealthy old man who had a son named John Harmon. The son had been abroad for 14 years. One time, the old man died then most of the property goes to John but he can only get the money on one condition: he must marry a certain girl named Bella. The old man saw this girl once when she was only 4 years old. John returned to England by ship. On the ship, he met a sailor named George Radfoot. Then, John made a plan. He changed clothes with George to impersonate. The aim of this impersonation is to make an approach to know about Bella. Arriving in London, George took John to a house of a man called Rogue Roderhood to buy a sailor uniform.

 Actually, George wanted to kill John to get the property his father left for him. In the other hand, Rogue also wanted to kill John and blame that killing on George. By doing that, Rogue would get a reward. Because George wore John’s clothes, he was attacked by Rogue. George was dead, while John was drowning in the river after being knocked down. Fortunately, he could survive. Then he used Julius Handford as his name and stayed for a while in a hotel.

Later on, a man named Jesse Hexam and his daughter, Lizzie, found the body of George. Because George wore John’s clothes, so they assumed it as John Harmon’s dead body. Then, Charley, Jesse’s son, sent a message of ‘John Harmon’s’ death to Mr. Mortimer Lightwood and Eugene Wrayburn who were lawyers. Then they did an investigation. They suspected the stranger Julius Handford who suddenly disappeared as the murderer.

Because ‘John Harmon’ was dead, all his father’s money went to the old servant, Noddy Boffin. When Noddy and Mrs. Boffin moved to a bigger house, they also took Bella. They did it because they had sympathy on her that she had lost a husband and all the money too. When Mr. Boffin needed a secretary to handle his businesses, a man named John Rokesmith came and was accepted to be his secretary. John Rokesmith was actually the real John Harmon. He came to the house in order to investigate and know better about Bella. Mr. and Mrs. Boffin did not know that John Rokesmith was the real John Harmon.

So Bella had changed from a poor girl into a beautiful girl who joined the very best society, with Mr. and Mrs. Boffin. Meanwhile, while working as a secretary, John started to make an approach to Bella. One day, John expressed his love to Bella and asked her to marry him, but she rejected him because of his lower social status. Honestly, Bella also loved him. Mrs. Boffin saw this rejection. Then she saw John sitting lonely and sad by his fire. At that moment, when looking at John’s face, she realized that he was the real John Harmon.

 So the Boffins knew that John Rokesmith is John Harmon. Next, they made a plan. One day, Mr. Boffin pretended to dissipate John Rokesmith because he had been so cheeky to ask Bella for marry him. Finally, Bella realized that money had changed Mr. Boffin. She said to Mr. Boffin, “When I came here, I loved and respected you. But your money has changed you. I used to love money, but now I hate it. And I hate you too.”

Bella left the house with John Rokesmith. Bella had been happily married to John Rokesmith for more than a year. One day, they were walking happily along together. Suddenly they met Mr. Lightwood. Mr. Lightwood recognized John as Julius Handford, who was assumed as the murderer of John Harmon. Then he took John to the police station. There, John revealed his real identity as John Harmon to Mr. Lightwood. Being free from punishment, he took Bella to the Boffins’ house. There, he revealed his secret to Bella that he and the Boffins had pretended to her and explained that John Rokesmith and Julius Handford are the same man: John Harmon. Bella was surprised, but she did not change her feeling to John.

"Intrinstic"

1. Theme         : The main theme as this novel is money and its impact in people's lives for good and ill.

2. Characters :

- John Harmon      : a.k.a Jullius handford, John Rokesmith, the protagonis one. He fakes his death because he wants to know more about Bella.

-Noddy Boffin      : the servant in Harmon's family. He is kindhearted and generous man

-Mrs. Boffin         : Boffin's wife. Also good and kindly

-Bella Wilfer        : she detest being poor and wants nothing but money

-Jesse Hexam      : a Thames boatman who scavenger the river corpses and other floatsam at night

-Lizzie Hexam    : Hexam's daughter, a sweet and kindly girl who hates what her father does for living

-Charley Hexam : Lizzie's brother, he is selfish and graceless

-Mortimer Lightwood : a young lawyer who hanles the affairs of the Harmon's family

-Eugune Wrayburn     : an aimless lawyer without ambitions or clients, also a friend of lightwood

-Bradley Headstone   : Charley's teacher, a dull and imaginative man who falls in love with Lizzie

3. Place                 : Most of  this story takes place on or near the River Thames, where it flowed through London. The Thames was dirty and crowded with boats and shift of all kinds.

4. Language Style : This novel use a style that is a bit difficult, and a lot of vocabulary that is rarely used  in daily language.

"Extrinstic"

1. Plus                 :  This novel is a reflection of people's lives in the 19th century and tells of money that can make  human being. Many moral messages that cen be retrieved by reading this novel. Moreover, the life that is told in the novel is not far from public life in 20th century. This novel was already shortened, although there are a few characters and events that eliminated, but doesn't alter the excitement, the core story, and the tension arising from this story. The novel is also equipped with illustrations that enrich the reader's imagination when reading it.

2. minus            : This novel use some difficult vocabularies and grammar

3. Conclusion    : This story is colored by a complicated love. Love Rokesmith to Bella, where he was an ordinary person that should not expect Bella that has become part of 'society', the competition between mr. Wrayburn and mr. Bradley, were equally love Lizzie, wealth that changed mr. Boffin, the death mystery of John Harmon, and all the conflict that was ccolored with love, wealth, revenge, hatred and also murder.