Use of Language to Portray 19th Century London Society in Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Use of Language to Portray 19th Century London Society in Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

The world's most popular author and novelist who belonged to the

Victorian era requires no introduction. Charles Dickens is the man

behind great novels like, 'Oliver Twist,' 'Hard Times,' 'Great

Expectations,' and many other fascinating and insightful novels that

are considered, and quite rightly so, works of true genius. The man,

himself was a worker in a blacking factory during his childhood. His

father was unable to pay off the family debts so young Dickens was

left without a proper education and so spent his childhood and most of

his youth in poverty. This left an indelible wound on Dickens.

Needless to say, in each of his novels, we see that Dickens reflects

on his own life and highlights the miseries of the Industrial

Revolution because of which he was robed of the best years of his

life.

Dickens was a social critic. This is quite expected because of the

life Dickens led and what he had experienced. He manages to portray

society exactly how it was during the Industrial Revolution. At the

time many authors only portrayed the positive aspects of the

Revolution but Dickens highlighted even the negative aspects of the

changes that were taking place. Dickens was not particularly moved by

the changes caused by the Revolution. He claimed that the world he

lived in was one of 'sorrow and trouble.' This is quite true because

he lost his childhood helping out in factories, another 'innovation'

of the Revolution. He was a life-long supporter of the poor. Each of

his novels involves some characters who belong to the lower branches

of society so that when people read his novels, they realize what

exactly society was li...

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... he moves along with the

story and has also been quite effective at certain times because of

its ability to draw sympathy. It tells us how the characters react to

various circumstances and how they are influenced by society. Perhaps

this is one of the reasons that the novel continues to remain an

enduring classic.

The society that has been depicted is of quite different from today.

It was difficult adjusting to the workhouses, factories in the city

but we finally manage to get tuned with Dickens' novel. It is one of

the best books ever written. This is because it has a great reader

appeal even two centuries later. It is because the description and the

language used have helped the reader all throughout, so we do not feel

stranded at any point. Dickens saw to it that his readers got the best

of his work and we can't disagree after reading 'Oliver Twist.'