Chapter 47 in Oliver Twist - Fatal Consequences

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Chapter 47 in Oliver Twist – Fatal Consequences

        The opening paragraph of chapter 47 in Oliver Twist – “Fatal Consequences” sets the scene for the rest of the chapter. We are also given a detailed description of the character Fagin.

        Straight away this demonstrates to us one of the techniques Dickens’ uses in his books. Giving the chapter the title “Fatal Consequences” immediately gives the impression that something dark and evil is going to happen. He tends to do this quite a lot – throughout the chapter he hints to us, almost in riddle, what is going to happen.

        Dickens uses phrases such as “the streets are silent” to describe the place and time. This sets up and eerie, mysterious atmosphere creating a sense of tension which helps to prepare the reader for the dramatic events later on in the chapter. This is because they become suspicious that something is going to happen.

        When read again after reading the entire chapter, the phrase “dead of night” can also be seen as a warning of what is to follow. It would be an example of retrospective irony and as I said before, this tends to be a common technique Dickens uses. In this phrase, the word dead obviously refers to Nancy’s death. Another word that does this is “clots” found a few paragraphs later on. This gives us the image of blood, an image that runs throughout the whole chapter.

        Another way that Dickens makes it seem very tense is by using the technique of alliteration. For example the “still and silent hour”

        The chapter is set “two hours before day break” which along with the tense atmosphere suggests to us it is a time when evil might dwell. This also gives us the impression Fagin is evil because he is up at this time as if he too is a creature of the night.

        Dickens’s description of Fagin in the opening paragraph makes him sound like a monster. He uses adjectives such as “distorted” and “hideous” to give the reader the intended twisted image of what Fagin looks like. Fagin is again made to sound evil by Dickens by being compared to a “phantom moist from the grave”. This emphasises how bad he must look, either suggesting he looks like a ghost or someone that has come back from the dead. (Or possibly both!) Another way he could be described as inhuman is by Dickens describing his eyes as being “red”. It is quite unlikely this was Dickens’s intention, but it could suggest he is like the devil. This would be even more of an insult to Fagin back in the time the book was written because people were much more religious and the devil would be regarded as a much stronger figure of evil as it is now.

        This isn’t the only part of the chapter that Fagin is referred to as not being human. He is also described as being similar to an animal. We first notice this when Dickens speaks of Fagin’s “long black nails” and then soon after when he talks about his teeth which “should have been a dogs or rats”

        As well as the time Fagin is up making him sound evil, the way his home is described as a “lair” does this too. It could also sound like the place an animal would live – Dickens is constantly giving hints to the reader about how evil Fagin is and we continue to notice this more and more throughout the chapter.

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        However, as the book was written a long time ago, the word “lair” could have been a common work used to describe a place where someone lives.

        Something that seems quite unusual about Fagin is his choice of home. We know Fagin must be quite well off financially because of his successful “pick pocking” business where he trains up people like Dodger to work for him as a “pick pocket”. It must have been his own choice to live as if he is poor – we can tell he lives like this because it says his only light is ...

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