Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist, a poor, innocent orphan boy, stands out in this story as the main character, but it is the supporting characters that allow this novel to develop a much more satisfying and believable theme. With "Good V.S. Evil" as one of the major conflicts, in such categories are the secondary characters found as well. Three supporting characters of Oliver Twist aid the elaboration of the story; these significant characters are Mr. Brownlow representing purity, integrity and goodness, Nancy as partially righteous, partially villain and lastly on the other extreme of the scale: Fagin, the symbol of evil, corruption and manipulation. Throughout the story we are introduced to each of these characters through an omniscient point of view, and are able to categorize them according to their personalities, thoughts and actions. With their differing levels of honesty and social status, each of them play a crucial role in the development of the story's theme.
As most of the author's characters, Mr. Brownlow too, is brought out with an indirect presentation but it is not long after introducing him that his wholesome goodness is revealed to us. Though at first he accuses Oliver of stealing, his concern over Oliver's welfare on the street is a direct hint of his innocence which successfully helps him convince Oliver to board at his house. A generous and trusting man he was, perhaps too good a man to be true; but with all the malicious characters in the story, a pure persona was needed to ensure a happy ending. With honesty and great wealth as his prime qualities, he assists Oliver in his times of need and demonstrates to society with an exemplary touch, the attributes of a perfect citizen. As the positive extreme in both social status and benevolence, Mr. Brownlow is a definite aid in the development of the theme throughout the novel. Nancy, for us, must be the weakest character. Trapped between wanting to help Oliver evade Fagin's exploitation and her dedicated love for Sikes; she fails to survive to the end as she is convicted and ironically murdered by her own husband: Sikes, a brutal and abusive man. But there is a great need for this secondary character in the story, she serves not only as a tie between the scenes at the different house holds but as well she is the only hope of salvation for Oliver. Without her, Oliver may have never had...
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...ty in the midst of England's nineteenth century. As revealed throughout the tale, England's nineteenth century was an period of much poverty and great social problems which resulted in a society of two opposing classes: the wealthy and the poor. Within these two classes lay two other opposing forces: the good and the bad. In the same way that good and bad exist within all classes in the novel, the same thing can be said about real life. What the theme of this story says about reality is that in today’s society, it doesn't matter whether you are rich or poor, educated or not, most competent human beings possess the ability to judge right from wrong and are therefore free to make whatever choices in their lives they wish to make, provided though, that they can live with the consequences of their decisions. In Oliver's case, even just as a very young boy, he too was able to judge right from wrong and ends up choosing not to steal. As a result of his decision, young Oliver is given a happy home and a promising future. On the other hand, Fagin's judgment is not so proficient, and concluding, he remains with nothing but insanity and a solemn life in jail until his last day comes about.
It appears that Deborah’s mother is the one responsible for hiring the gang members to go see Oliver. The mother thought Oliver was a nice young man introduced him to Deborah. If nothing else, this should teach parents a lesson not to meddle in their child’s life. The mother suggested getting the local gang to help Deborah to end Oliver’s abuse, which resulted in his death. Although it is tragic that Deborah put in this situation, she is not the first, or the last.
The next character is the man who Brown meets up with in the woods. This man is described as, "one who knew the world, and who would not have felt abashed at the governor's dinner table or in King William's court" (Kelly, 191). This man can be seen as the devil. He possesses features that illustrate him as the devil. For example his walking staff is described as having "the likeness of a great black snake, so curiously wrought that it might almost be seen to twist and wriggle itself like a living serpent" (Kelly, 191-192).
How Charles Dickens Portrays the Murder of Nancy in Oliver Twist "Oliver Twist" was written by Charles Dickens. He was born on February 7th 1812in Landport which is situated in Portsmouth, England. He worked in a blacking factory where shoe polish is produced and Dickens job was to paste labels to the bottles of polish. The working conditions then were dreadfully poor, He was doing this job when he was 12 years old which meant that in those days children had little childhood where they can have fun like nowadays. This was the same age when Oliver worked in the workhouse and because Dickens had experienced working in poor conditions when he was young he made the book more dramatic and more real life and also expresses Oliver's feeling well.
Collectively, these major novels overflow with orphans, adoptive parents, guardians, and failed parent-child relationships. Oliver, the main character in Oliver Twist, must forget about his "infantile past" (Marcus 182) in order to seek "the idyllic future" (Marcus 182). He gets hurled from orphanages to foster parents and so on until he finds himself a portion of the "wrong crowd." The pickpockets take him under their authority and attempt to show him the ropes of the embezzling operation. The orphan adapts well to the swindling lifestyle of Fagin and the boys, and through a series of mischievous choices, authorities apprehend him for stealing (although Dodger was the true felon), and Oliver must live with the consequences. Great Expectations also emphasizes the process of growing up through Pip, the main character. Pip's mother and father passed away while he was young, and he was forced to reside in the house of his older sister and her husband. The boy obtains many idealistic fathers, including Joe, Magwitch, Jaggers and Pumblechook, but none of these men can give him what he needs from a predecessor. Dickens demonstrates to the reader the consequences that bad parenting has on children. Some children are warped by the "knottiest roots" (Lucas 141). Pip, Estella, and Magwitch are all examples of hurt children. The bitter children dwell on their past, or "what has been forgotten" (Marcus 182), and blame the parents for their sufferings. Other children such as Joe and Herbert survive bad parents and go on with their lives, not letting the history affect the outlook.
...d by a difference in wealth. The difficulty to provide for a family, much less make more money to rise above the working class, caused children born into working class families to feel like they were “stuck” because they did not have the extra time or money to devote to an education. Instead of being able to learn and grow during childhood, children in the working class focused on the survival of themselves and their family. This contrasts the middle class where children had the possibility to earn an education before working in the future. Horatio Alger argued that anyone can change their situation by a little extra work and by improving their behavior, but Ragged Dick was an unrealistic character. Children born into poverty often faced a cycle, where guidance and luck could not even help the escape the working class because they were committed to their families.
Fagin is the mastermind among the criminals; he is described as an “Old Jew” he has an ugly appearance although he is described as “shrivelled” he is selfish and has been corrupted by poverty yet unknowingly shows sympathy towards Oliver, as it has shown in the novel when Oliver is told to make a robbery in Mr. Brownlow’s house, until Oliver gets shot and then Fagin shows his love towards him, this makes the reader feel that even criminals may do the unlawful work they still have some emotions and love for other humans, also in this scene Fagin reveals himself t...
The novel ‘Great Expectations’, by Charles Dickens, follows a young, socially inexperienced orphaned boy called Pip, through his journey, emphasizing his inability to adapt to life and relationships around him. His story is told through the eyes of the older Pip and highlights the aspects of society which Dickens disapproves of. His techniques throughout the novel help to give a better understanding of Pip's life. When Pip first encounters the escaped convict in the graveyard, the tense relationship between them is obvious to the reader, but all is revealed in chapter 39, where the readers meet both Pip and the convict again, and witness a role-reversal between them. The weather in the novel is significant; Dickens describes it in such a way that it creates an atmosphere using foreboding ominous imagery. This story of a lonely orphan in a mixed up world provides plenty of opportunities to consider the difficultly of an impoverished childhood in the nineteenth century and how hard it might have been for such a naïve and gullible young boy to survive in this time, especially with such harsh family circumstances. The theme of injustice, which is inherent throughout, explains some of the reasons why he has so many ‘great expectations.’
Dickens' Criticism of the 1834 Poor Law in Oliver Twist Dickens criticised the 1834 poor law in many different ways within the first five chapters. He does this firstly by cleverly portraying the Victorians attitudes towards the poor. He does this in chapter 1 by referring to Oliver as 'the item of mortality' suggesting how lowly his position in society is. Also the difficulty of Oliver's birth and the fact his mother dies, gives us some idea of the dangers of child birth in Victorian society and the amount of negligence his mother receives from the surgeon.
Our Mutual Friend, Dickens' last novel, exposes the reality Dickens is surrounded by in his life in Victorian England. The novel heavily displays the corruption of society through multiple examples. These examples, that are planted within the novel, relate to both the society in Dickens' writing and his reality. In order to properly portray the fraud taking place within his novels, Dickens' uses morality in his universe to compare to the reality of society. He repetitively references to the change of mind and soul for both the better and the worst. He speaks of the change of heart when poisoned by wealth, and he connects this disease to the balance of the rich and the poor. This is another major factor to novel, where the plot is surrounded by a social hierarchy that condemns the poor to a life of misery, and yet, condones any action that would normally be seen as immoral when it occurs in the aristocracy. It expands on the idea that only an education and inheritance will bring success in society, with few exceptions. Lastly, Dickens expands his opinions of society through his mockery of ...
How Does Dickens present the theme of childhood in Oliver Twist. This essay shows the theme of childhood in Charles Dickens in the book Oliver Twist. Oliver Twist's story begins with his birth in a workhouse. His mother dies shortly after giving birth to him, though long enough to kiss him on the forehead. As an illegitimate workhouse orphan
There are many factors that contribute to what a person’s life is like, and will end up like. Of those many factors, the influence of others, especially between a father and son, is particularly impactful. In the book Great Expectations; Pip had no father but had many fatherly supporters. Some of his most important influences were: Joe Gargery, Abel Magwitch, Mr. Jaggers, and Matthew Pocket. All four of these father figures had a hand in the shaping of Pip’s personality and destiny. They made Pip the kind, bold, educated, and beloved gentleman he turned out to be in the end. Without these characters, Pip’s story would be unrecognizably different. In Charles Dickens’s novel, Great Expectations; Joe, Jaggers, Matthew, and Magwitch played important parts that contributed to Pip’s personal development and life story.
As the anchor of character development, Oliver helps reveal the redeeming qualities of Dickens’ Mr. Brownlow. Dickens moves through a series of developments with Mr. Brownlow and it is only when he comes into contact with Oliver that his character is fully developed. He is initially described by Dickens as an “old gentlemen” with a “very respectable-looking personage, with a powdered head and gold spectacles” (114). The reader is left to draw their own conclusions about him as he is only described one dimensionally. When Mr. Brownlow gives chase to Oliver after being robbed by Olivers’ associates, it seems as though Mr. Brownlow might have little respect or mercy for the lower class. Instead, the reader finds that Mr. Brownlow is a kind and merciful man. He takes pity on Oliver, telling the policeman not to hurt him and arguing for his release inside the court house. Mr. Brownlow takes Oliver to his house where he is very well cared for by Mrs. Bedwin. When Oliver recovers from his fever, he goes to speak with Mr. Brownlow. During their meeting Mr. Brownlows character is further developed. He reveals a sad past to Oliver saying,
Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels presents a narrator, Lemuel Gulliver, who recounts his various sea voyages to fantastical lands. During each voyage, Gulliver encounters different societies and customs to which Gulliver must adjust to. in order to be accepted into their society The entire novel serves as a commentary on how people everywhere have a tendency to abuse the power given to them.
can be seen in Oliver Twist, a novel about an orphan, brought up in a workhouse and poverty to demonstrate the hypocrisy of the upper class people. Oliver Twist shows Dickens' perspective of society in a realistic, original manner, which hope to change society's views by "combining a survey of the actual social scene with a metaphoric fiction designed to reveal the nature of such a society when exposed to a moral overview" (Gold 26). Dickens uses satire, humorous and biting, through pathos, and stock characters in Oliver Twist to pr...
An orphan named Oliver Twist is forced into robbery, but with the help of kind friends, he escapes into a better future. Oliver Twist, another famous book from Charles Dickens, portrays a young boy named Oliver Twist is born in a workhouse, brought up in a child farm, and returns to the workhouse. There, he almost starves to death, but then he is brought to Mr. Sowerberry; but he escapes because he is mistreated, and walks to London, where he meets Fagin. Fagin gives him a place to stay and food, but he also teaches Oliver how to steal. When other people see Oliver running, they think he’s a thief and brings him to jail. Mr. Brownlow and Mrs. Bedwin notice that Oliver isn’t that kind of person, and house him kindly. When Oliver finally goes out with expensive books and clothing, Fagin takes him back, for fear that he will tell. Sikes, a burglary partner with Fagin, forces Oliver to go and help them steal, but the owner of the house shoots Oliver in the arm. Sikes runs away without him, so Oliver goes back to the house, and surprisingly, the owners of that house, Rose Maylie, her family, and others, treat him kindly because he did it against his will. With his new patrons, he again meets Mr. Brownlow, who had formed a bad opinion of Oliver after he left so abruptly. Later, Nancy, who works for Fagin, meets Rose and tells them what she knows about Oliver’s past. Later, she gets killed by Sikes for telling them, and he is haunted by this murder. Dialect and different types of characters make Oliver Twist all in all more interesting and striking to read.