i always want to argue the merits of dead white men!

Hahahahahaha! I love it. I'm most familiar with Huck Finn, which feels like SUUUUCH an indictment of America. Every single white person in the book is hella racist, violently racist, and the narrative gets us to hope that maybe? somehow? ONE little white boy MIGHT half-figure out that Jim is human.

i guess to really compare the two i'd have to separate their stories from their technical craft. i like Dickens's writing voice more but that might be just because of how much i dislike the southern white male narrator voice (i know Twain was from new york dont fucking @ me lol).

Oh, I'm definitely not going to @ you on that one. :) Dickens is easier to read, absolutely. The flow of his syntax feels better, if that makes sense. But yes, they both are social critics. Scathing social critics. (looks around) It feels like we could use some literary heavyweights these days.

i just love David Copperfield so much lol that book flipped my wig hard

(grins) You have impeccable taste.

but they both wrote critiques of their societies but in ways that were relevant to their specific audiences.