When his father suddenly dies, Nicholas Nickleby is sent by his uncle to Dotheboys Hall to work as a teacher, but when Nicholas discovers that the headmaster, Wackford Squeers, maliciously bullies the students, he must decide whether to stay, or leave and allow his uncle to cut off support for his family.

When David Copperfield's widowed mother remarries, David suffers from his stepfather's abuse. At age 8, David is sent away to a harsh school where the principal routinely beats the students. David's circumstances become even worse when he is removed from school and, at age 10, forced to labor from morning to night in a London warehouse. David then decides to take desperate action. He will run away to his great-aunt, who lives in Dover. Having never...