Wilkins Micawber is a fictional character in which novel by Charles Dickens?

Wilkins Micawber is a fictional character from Charles Dickens' 1850 novel "David Copperfield". The character is a friend of David Copperfield. He is very amusing and generally short on funds. Micawber is the one that uncovers Uriah Heep’s plot against Mr. Wickfield. Micawber emigrates to Australia along with his wife and children. He becomes synonymous with being a kindhearted, incurable optimist. He isn's seen as a sycophant like Uriah. Micawber is a key characters in the book.

Micawber is comic relief – in the grimmest part of the novel, when David has been cast out by his stepfather and is basically roaming the streets of London, in steps Mr. Micawber to lighten the tone of the novel a bit. David meets Mr. Micawber when he first moves to London to work at Murdstone and Grinby. David finds a place to live by renting him a room in Micawber's house. David and Micawber become instant friends, primarily because Micawber cannot seem to remember that David is only ten years old: he constantly brings his financial troubles to David, as though David is able give him sound advice or assistance.

Much of "David Copperfield" is autobiographical. Dickens related early personal experiences that had meant much to him—his work in a factory, his schooling and reading, and (more cursorily) his emergence from parliamentary reporting into successful novel writing. In the novel, the story is told in the first person by a middle-aged David Copperfield, who is looking back on his life.