Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens, a nineteenth century writer, tells a story about a

young boy in England and the adventures that happen to him. In reading

the book the reader becomes entwined in the plot by Dickens^Òs expert

writing and style. Using different scenes and scenarios, Dickens

displays his characters' personality in a way the few other writers

could. In the book Oliver Twist, Dickens uses different events that

happen around Oliver instead letting Oliver decide his own fate. In the

book, other characters determine Oliver^Òs path in life, and Oliver is

the subject around which the story revolves. The accidents in the story

give depth to Oliver and add depth to the story that increases elements

of mystery and suspense.

In the beginning of the book, Mrs. Thingummy is helping Oliver^Òs mother

give birth to the young child. Mrs. Thingummy takes charge of Oliver^Òs

life just as he is born by stealing Oliver^Òs only link with his father,

his mother^Òs husband. Stealing the mother^Òs ring also commits Oliver to

a life of lower social status because of his supposed illegitimacy.

Oliver moves to the dark forces in the book when he starts with

absolutely nothing from his very birth. The sides of good and evil,

light and dark respectively, are also devices used by Dickens to display

different sides of the social coin in England. Accidents tie in closely

with this device because it is by accident that Oliver transferres to

one side or another. After spending time in the dark forces, Oliver

then switches back to the light side by a run in with Mr. Brownlow, a

compassionate citizen who pities Oliver and later takes care of him. Of

all the people that Oliver could run into Mr. Brownlow happens to be one

of those people who Oliver desperately needed and who could and would

provide for Oliver. In another example of an accident, and a shift back

into the dark forces, Oliver happens to make a wrong turn and end up in

the hands of a band of crooks who earlier had taken possession of

Oliver. By chance the appropriate person was in the alley that Oliver,

by chance, walked into when he was passing through the city of London.

In the last transition of chance, Oliver is caught breaking and entering

into a house that the band of crooks intends to pillage. This house

contains another compassionate and tender character that becomes like a

mother to Oliver. Luckily, and by chance, the shot that one of the