Summary Of Oliver Twist By Charles Dickens

Famed author Charles Dickens knew exactly what he was writing about when he wrote his second novel titled Oliver Twist. Dickens connected events from his horrific childhood to the book itself. This time in history also was a key element in his famous work. Although this story was written well over one hundred and fifty years ago, it continues to make people see life from a different perspective. Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth, England in the year 1812 to a fairly large family. He was the second of eight children in a family that dealt with many financial issues (Info). In order to reduce living expenses, his father, John, a clerk in a payroll office for the navy, moved the family to a smaller house when Charles was only four months

However, one reason in particular, is evident. Oliver was a young boy from a struggling family. His mother died when he was young and he was forced to work. Dickens is telling parts of his own real life story, in a different manner though. Dickens’ father was arrested and Oliver’s mother passed away. Both cases would be very difficult for a young boy. Then, both Dickens and Oliver had to get a job to help support themselves. Oliver meets a man who helps. His name is Fagin. Mr. Fagin also is the name of a man who helped Dickens in the blacking factory during his childhood. Although the names are the same, these two Fagin men are different. In the novel, Fagin is seen as a type of villain, whereas in the shoe-shine factory, Fagin helped and taught Charles his everyday work. Dickens’ time spent at the blacking factory was the worst time of his entire life. Because of his embarrassment of this time in his life, he kept it a secret from all but a few people (Info.). While the real life Fagin introduced him to the ways of the factory, the character Fagin taught Oliver the correct way to pick pockets (Info.). Both situations were about survival. Maybe both men, the real Fagin and the character Fagin, showed both boys, Charles Dickens and Oliver Twist, the darker side of life and how to deal with it (Info.). This could be the real reason why Dickens wrote Oliver Twist. He wanted to show people all over the world that a darker side in life is always present. No matter what era or generation it is, people always suffer. Since this was very personal to Dickens, he was able to portray it very effectively in his writing. Even in today’s society, the media could do a much better job of portraying the struggles of the poor in this country and how others can assist them while helping them to maintain their dignity. This is probably one of the reasons that Dickens’ work is still relevant