At first Fagin doesn’t want Oliver to know what he is really like. He uses repetition of the word “very” in the context of him being glad to meet Oliver. He also refers to Oliver as “my dear” which is an endearing term. Surely, only a kind-hearted man, who loved children, would refer to a small boy as this. However, we see that the Jew deliberately put Oliver to sleep by drugging him with “a glass of hot gin-and-water”. It would suggest that Fagin wanted Oliver to get a good first impression of him, before it was too late for Oliver, and then he was able to see the real side of him.
Fagin is a liar. Oliver is caught looking at the handkerchiefs, but the Jew reassures him by saying “we’ve just looked ‘em out, ready for the wash; that’s all, Oliver”. Clearly, though this is not true, and we find out later in the book that Fagin orders the boys to pickpocket these possessions. This could indicate once again that Fagin wanted to firstly show a different personality that Oliver would like, before he showed his real self.
Fagin is very cautious of his belongings and the things which make him feel wealthy. “He turned round and looked at Oliver” to make sure he was not going to be disturbed. He “stepped gently to the door: which he fastened”, demonstrates the precautions he takes, and the fact the he wants to be alone. His selfishness is displayed if he is going to keep all his treasures for himself, especially since he has not really earned them.
Fagin appears a horrible person as he thinks that putting people to death is a good thing. The Jew tells us “What a fine thing capital punishment is! Dead men never repent; dead men never bring awkward stories to light.” He is basically saying that he has got his wealth through other people, and if any of the boys were to find this out, he could just “strung ‘em up in a row”. This is an awful image to think that anyone would execute children because they found out the truth.
Fagin is a very angry man. When he realises that Oliver may have seen his treasures there is a “loud crash” which he makes as he closes the lid of the box. His “scowling fiercely” and “threatening attitude” shows that his temper has been released when things don’t go the way he wants. Fagin’s praising of capital punishment when he picks up a “bread knife” and “started furiously up”. This implies that he would murder for wealth because if he found out Oliver had seen him looking at his jewels, and thought that he might tell someone, Oliver would die.
Dickens portrays Fagin as very self-centred since he only thinks of himself. The Jew has all these “pretty things” which he says “They – they’re mine, Oliver; my little property”. This misled Oliver because Fagin said “All I have to live upon in my old age” suggesting that because he is old he is also poor and Oliver would feel sympathy for him.
Fagin is a man full of tricks. He tells Oliver after he has seen the contents of his box to get a “pitcher of water”, while the Jew would get a basin for him to wash him. But, “When Oliver turned his head, the box was gone”. This shows that even if Oliver had seen Fagin’s treasures, the Jew didn’t want the boy to know where they were hid. Therefore, he tricked Oliver by hiding the box of treasures when he wasn’t looking.
When Fagin thinks that Oliver has told someone of his trade, we see a violent side to him. For example “The Jew inflicted a smart blow on Oliver’s shoulders with the club”. The reader is left wondering what fate would have come to Oliver if Nancy had not stopped Fagin at this point.
Nancy is a character that has become a thief and a prostitute by Fagin’s teaching. She uses words like “thief”, “devil”, “liar” and “wretch” to describe the Jew. Surely, if Nancy grew up working for Fagin before she was the age of Oliver, it would be true to say that she would know him very well. This would mean that the way she describes Fagin must be accurate.
Now that Fagin has acknowledged Nancy betraying him, he intends to provoke Sikes into killing her. At first he uses a mixture of lies and half-truths to aggravate Sikes and build up his anger. For example, the Jew says “Suppose that lad was to peach – to blow upon us all” to Sikes. He was basically saying what would Sikes do if he were betrayed. “Cried the Jew, his eyes flashing with rage” builds up the tension in the climax probably making Sikes angrier. Fagin is being very manipulative towards Sikes by making him believe something that isn’t fully true.
Fagin puts words into Noah’s mouth while he is half asleep. For instance, “You followed her?’ ‘Yes’ ‘To London Bridge’ ‘Yes”. This suggests Fagin wants to get information out of Noah in a way that would make Nancy seem wrong. It would also make Sikes feel more frustrated by what he believes Nancy has done.
Before Fagin is to allow Sikes to kill Nancy he uses euphemism to make sure that he wont get into trouble because he doesn’t want to get his hands dirty. He says “You wont be – too – violent, Bill?” indicating that he wants Sikes to kill her but not involving the law. However he doesn’t want it to sound too obvious that he wants Nancy dead, and is prepared to use self-preservation for that.
In contrast the reader can relate to Fagin. as he looks at the box and takes precautions with his possessions. He “gently” closes the door and “carefully” puts the box on the table. Obviously, if he loves his box, he is going to do all he can to make sure it is not damaged in any way. Any person would do this with a possession that meant a lot to them.
When Oliver meets Fagin it is clear to him that the Jew does actually like the children. Oliver sees “His fondness for the Dodger and the other boys”. Even though the Jew gets them to steal for him, he still does like them. It would be true to say that first impressions count. Dickens explains Oliver’s feelings that Fagin is capable of showing affection in some way.
Similarly, when Fagin is facing up to his death, we see a very different side to him. The reader starts to sympathise as we hear about his experience. In prison, he is described with a “haggard face” suggesting he is exhausted. However, he doesn’t show his emotions when he is in court. He stands for his sentence “Like a marble figure, without a motion of a nerve”. Here, the reader gets the impression that he must be very strong if he shows no emotions when being condemned.
Furthermore, we read Fagin’s last thought was of isolation. For example, “There was nobody there to speak to HIM”, suggesting that as he passed through all the crowds, there was not one person there that loved him. The crowd hated Fagin. They “Screeched and hissed” as he walked past. The reader begins to imagine how the Jew must of felt, since he is all alone.
As Fagin walks through the crowds, he is untouchable. “Prisoners fell back to render him more visible to the people who were clinging to the bars.” No one can get to him.
Fagin is now betrayed as pathetic. He is left in a cell, on a “stone bench” and tries “to collect his thoughts” recalling what the judge has said “though it had seemed to him at the time, that he could not hear a word”. The reader has great concern for Fagin now, and it becomes highly disturbing the way he is treated.
Fagin is seen here as being a ordinary man. His thoughts “gradually fell into their proper places, and by degrees suggested more”. Humans are the only living things that can anticipate death and this shows that Fagin has understood how little time he had left. Dickens uses repetition to portray to the reader what is happening to Fagin. He repeats, “To be hanged by the neck, till he was dead”. At this point the reader has great sympathy for the Jew since he is going to die in an awful way.
Dickens uses imagery to make the reader feel sorry for the Jew. “From strong and vigorous men to dangling heaps of clothes”. This shows that once they are hanged they exist no more. They change from men to nothing rapidly. Once again, here we have great sympathy for the Jew.
Fagin dreads every minute that passes in the cell. Most people enjoy the passing time since it tells of life and the coming day, but to Fagin “They brought despair”. This shows that he realises as every second passes, he is getting closer to death. This contrasts with the feelings of other people, since they value time. Fagin knows he is close to dying. There is a sense of fear. For example “There was no day…and short in its fleeting hours”. We get the impression that to Fagin his life is already over, time is passing and his death is getting closer.
In this chapter Fagin is seen to have feelings. For example, “Withering sense of his helpless” and “desperate state came in its full intensity upon his blighted soul”. Inevitably, if Dickens describes him with senses he can be seen to be having humane characteristics. It also shows that maybe because of the torture of the environment, his soul has been destroyed. All of these words are written illustrating great pity for the Jew.
In conclusion, there is much evidence to show that Fagin is a stereotypical person since he has all the characteristics of a Jewish thief with his avaricious, miserly, and ugly nature. The way he abuses the children and other people is totally wrong. However, we can see that Dickens is not totally anti-Jewish since he also describes decent Jews as “Venerable men”. As his humane character comes to light at the end of the novel, we come to feel that Fagin is the product of an unfortunate upbringing rather than a stereotypical Jew.
