Oliver Twist Literary Analysis

‘Oliver Twist’ was written by Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist has been the subject of numerous film and television adaptations, and is the basis for a highly successful musical play and the multiple Academy Award winning 1968 motion picture made from it. Throughout this novel Dickens makes use of irony, satire and humour which culminates to form Oliver Twist, a classic of 19th century fiction. Dickens mocks the hypocrisies of his time by surrounding the novel's serious themes with sarcasm and dark humour. This is a constant feature throughout the novel and not only pokes fun but reveals the terrible treatment of orphans and the anti-Semitism, which culminates in the stereotypical Jew- Fagin, at the time this book was written. This book is a true classic of 19th century fiction.

Irony is present throughout Oliver Twist and is one of the main literary devices that Dickens uses. Dickens uses a lot of really sharp irony in Oliver Twist to satirize the various institutions (the parish workhouse system, the justice system, the poor laws, etc.) that he thought were inhumane and unjust.

Dickens uses irony to convey the dire circumstances Oliver and the other orphans find themselves in. Dickens gives accounts of the lower classes living conditions and ironically refers to Oliver and his fellow orphans to be “without the inconvenience of too much food or too much clothing,” when truthfully the young children are starving and wearing rags. This is what leads to Oliver being forced to ask for more gruel and his eventual removal from the workhouse.

Chapter five was one chapter that stuck out in my mind because of Dickens use of irony. Upon Oliver’s first encounter with Mr. Noah Claypole we witness Dickens’ use of witty irony and satire. Mr. ...

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...ns and differences between the upper and lower classes in Victorian London. Dickens’ use of Irony emphasizes these differences and the oppression that the lower classes experience.

Dickens’ satire and use of irony and humour throughout the novel describes the charitable institutions as places that breed corruption, inhumanity, and alienation. The treatment Oliver received is a prime example of this. In Dickens’ time society’s failure to recognize these problems destroyed the lives of many innocent children. Dickens highlights these problems extremely effectively throughout his novel using various literary techniques such as irony, satire and humour and also uses his characters to represent such corrupt institutions. By exploring the problems of the past, perhaps we will be more capable of identifying the downfalls that may arise in the institutions of our time.