The Abuse of the Poor in Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

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The Abuse of the Poor in Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens shows notable amounts of originality and morality in his novels, making him one of the most well-known novelists of the Victorian Era and preserving him through his great novels and short stories. One of the reasons his work has been so popular is because his novels reflect the issues of the Victorian era, such as the great disregard of many Victorians to the situation of the poor.

The reformation of the Poor Law in 1834 brings even more unavoidable problems to the poor. The Poor Law of 1834 allowed the poor to receive public assistance only through established workhouses, causing those in debt to be sent to prison. "Workhouses were in existence before 1834, but only the very old, the very sick, or the very young occupied them. The choice was clearly defined: live in a workhouse, find work, or starve to death outside. Many chose death" (Epstein 93) Unable to pay debts, new levels of poverty were created. Dickens recognizes theses issues with a sympathetic yet, somewhat, critical eye, due to his childhood experiences with debt, poverty, and child labor. He notices that England's politicians and people of the upper class try to solve the growing problem of poverty through the Poor Laws and what they presume to be charitable causes, but Dickens knows that these things will not be successful; in fact they are often inhumane.

Dickens' view of poverty and the abuse of the poor can be seen in Oliver Twist, the 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 hopes to change society's views by combini...

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...he workhouse as Dickens does with satire in Oliver Twist.

Perhaps now you have a better view or insight of what Oliver went through. Oliver Twist is just a story. However it holds many good points. Children were never meant to be abused while adults sat around nonchalantly. Dickens wanted the rich hypocrites to have a little taste of what they put out, from a different point of view. He did it in a very lengthy, almost annoying book, but he did it and it was published. Despite the fact that he can be a very exhausting author. He must be given at least some credit for writing an entire book to show the people of his time how cruel and harsh they really were. After all these years one can still read his work, Oliver Twist and have a deep sense of what it must have been like to live in the Victorian Era when poverty was very real and very distressing to deal with.

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