This article is about the Dickens character. For the musical band of the same name, see Uriah Heep (band).

Uriah Heep is a fictional character created by Charles Dickens in his novel David Copperfield.

The character is notable for his cloying humility, obsequiousness, and general insincerity. His references to David Copperfield as “Master Copperfield” are repeated so often that they quickly seem insincere. He is the central antagonist of the later part of the book. David first meets the 15-year-old Heep when he is living with Mr. Wickfield and his daughter Agnes. Uriah has been employed as clerk to Wickfield for four years, since he was eleven. Uriah's father, who instilled him with the need to be humble, died when Uriah was ten, and for the first part of the novel he lives alone with his mother in their "umble abode". Uriah is repeatedly mentioned as ugly and repulsive, even in his youth - tall, lank and pale with red hair and lashless eyes. Dickens negatively emphasizes Uriah's movements as well, described as jerking and writhing; this leads some literary scholars^[1] to believe Dickens is describing a form of dystonia, a muscular disorder, to increase Uriah's snakelike character. Uriah explains in another part of the book that his ambition and greed are fueled by resentment from the double-standard of his schooling and from his treatment as a child, and by encouragement from his parents. As Uriah works for Wickfield for the next five or so years, he teaches himself law at night, and by blackmailing Mr. Wickfield, gains control over his business.

He eventually succeeds in having himself made a full partner in the business. His eventual ambition is to marry Agnes and gain control of the Wickfield fortune. Like most of Dickens’s villains, greed is his main motivation. Heep is eventually stymied by Mr. Micawber and Tommy Traddles, with help from David and Agnes. Once his fraud and treachery are unmasked, he persists in hounding Micawber and Copperfield. Towards the end of the novel, he is last seen in Mr. Creakle’s prison where we find that he has returned to his “umble” ways, and puts himself forward as a model prisoner. He is said to be sentenced for transportation for life, which likely means he will eventually be sent to the penal colony Australia.

Contents 1 Origins 2 Film and television 3 Cultural references 4 External links 5 References

[edit] Origins

Much of David Copperfield is autobiographical and some scholars^[2][3] believe Heep's mannerisms and physical attributes to be based on Hans Christian Andersen whom Dickens met shortly before writing the novel. Uriah Heep's schemes and behavior are more likely based on Thomas Powell^[4], employer to a friend of Dickens, Thomas Chapman. Powell "...ingratiated himself into the Dickens household" and was discovered to be a forger and a thief, having embezzled 10000 pounds from his employer. He later attacked Dickens in pamphlets, calling particular attention to Dickens' social class and background. Powell was later deemed a lunatic.

The characteristics of grasping manipulation and insincerity can lead to a person being labelled “a Uriah Heep” as Lyndon Johnson is called in Robert Caro’s biography. Seymore Fleming, a character in the play Babes in Arms, is also called thus.^{[citation needed]} Author Norman Mailer once compared President Richard Nixon to Uriah Heap.

[edit] Film and television

In film and television adaptations, the character has been played by, amongst others, Roland Young (1935), Colin Jeavons (1966), Ron Moody (1970), Martin Jarvis (1974), Paul Brightwell (1986), Nicholas Lyndhurst (1999), and Frank MacCusker (2000). In the forthcoming 2009 film, he will be played by Simon Pegg^[5].

[edit] Cultural references

The British rock band Uriah Heep is named after the character^[6]. In the BBC television series Blake's 7, the computer character Slave was described by Peter Tuddenham, who voiced it, as "...a Uriah Heep type of character...". ^[7]

[edit] External links

• Information, Illustrations, Analysis, Select Resources on the novel

[edit] References

1. ^ "WiseGeek: Who is Uriah Heep?". http://www.wisegeek.com/who-is-uriah-heep.htm. Retrieved 2009-10-01. 
2. ^ "Who's who in Dickens", by Donald Hawes. Thursday 1 Oct 2009.
3. ^ "Masterpiece Theatre: David Copperfield". http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/archive/programs/davidcopperfield/. Retrieved 2009-10-01. 
4. ^ "The Extraordinary Life of Charles Dickens". http://www.charlesdickensonline.com/Gallery/g322.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-02. 
5. ^ "Velvet Octopus Distribution: David Copperfield". www.velvetoctopus.com. http://velvetoctopus.com/copperfield. Retrieved 2009-07-08. 
6. ^ Kirk Blows. "Uriah Heep Story". www.uriah-heep.com. http://www.uriah-heep.com/newa/heepstory1.php. Retrieved 2007-03-15. 
7. ^ Tony Attwood et al (1994). Blake's 7: The Programme Guide. London: Virgin Books. p. 225.