Charles Dickens uses Oliver Twist to make social comments on attitudes towards crime and poverty in 19th century England. With particular reference to chapters one and two show how he achieves this.

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Ross Horn

10.6

Title: Charles Dickens uses Oliver Twist to make social comments on attitudes towards crime and poverty in 19th century England. With particular reference to chapters one and two show how he achieves this.  

Charles Dickens uses satire and irony in the novel ‘Oliver Twist’ to show his views on the controversial ‘New Poor Law of 1834’, and the corrupt workhouse system, ‘What a noble illustration of the tender laws of this farrowed country! They let paupers sleep!’ the poor law seemed to make poverty a crime with only the most desperate of the poor resorting to the grim and depressing conditions of the workhouses.

The Rich view the law as a good law believing that the poor are poor because they are bone idle and lazy, when normally they are a victim of circumstance. They also thought that this law made them look more “liberal”. Dickens satirises them to great effect, managing to keep his views on the poor and produces a book adored by the 19th century reader.

Dickens himself thinks that ‘the law is a ass, a idiot’ and he shows the 19th century readers this through the main figure of the eyes of a blameless and honest person called Oliver. Dickens made the reader focus on the prejudice and hatred that the rich had for the poor ‘a gentleman in a white waistcoat said he was a fool’, showing the impersonal ways of the workhouse system. Crime is committed due to poverty, arguments, evilness in people and misunderstandings, it was believed by the rich that poverty is why stealing and burglary crimes are committed so trying to do away with poverty would reduce stealing crimes in the 19th century.

In the 19th century the public’s favourite novels and theatrical styles a melodramatic. Dickens, knowing this, produced a satirical and melodramatic piece for the masses. Not exactly a vicious diatribe against the system but the public liked it and he kept readers wanting the next part in the ‘Oliver Twist’ serial. At this time Dickens was writing ‘Pickwick’ as well as ‘Oliver Twist’. ‘Oliver Twist’ was being written for Bentley’s Miscellany as a monthly serial, possibly making some of his writing a rushed attempt. This means that ‘Oliver Twist’ had some of Dickens’s best writing and some of his worst.

In the Novel characters in ‘Oliver Twist’ are used by Charles Dickens to present society in a variety of ways and to show his views on crime and poverty in 19th century England. Of course first we have Oliver Twist. In the story Oliver is a poor orphan boy. Faced with poverty and crime he keeps his innocence. Despite all the hardships he faces he remains decent and moral. His mother dies at the start of his life; he has been  and then is badly treated all his life. When he was first born he was referred to as ‘it’ by a surgeon which is impersonal and also called an ‘infant of mortality’, this shows how unlikely the child was to live and also how impersonal and uncaring the people involved with the poor are. To the people not enveloped in poverty, Oliver is just a statistical number and a burden to the workhouse. Dickens makes the reader empathise with Oliver and shows the reader how being born into poverty really is and how it affects the people in it.
                     

One of Dickens’s creations to show the dark side of crime is Monks. Monks is a mad and maniacal character, he is trying to get rid of Oliver so he can inherit a vast wealth when Mr Brownlow dies. He gets someone to go and kidnap Oliver for him and then orders them to kill Oliver to get him out of his way. He is a part of the hell of the criminal world that Dickens is showing the reader in this novel. He is also a feeble and melodramatic character who is captured thanks to the Rose Maylie and the mastermind of Mr Brownlow, he then confesses his plans.  

                 

In the novel, Dickens uses Fagin to help show the reader the darker side of crime. Fagin is a villain in the novel; he dominates the story with his manipulative and scheming ways. He is the leader of a group of vagabonds and receives the stolen goods. Even though Fagin has some undesirable traits such as selfishness, cruelty, greed and weakness he is a manipulative figure and has a hold over some characters like Nancy who fears and hates Fagin. Fagin’s evil is shown best with his willingness to work for Monks in bringing about of Oliver’s death. Dickens uses Fagin to show the darker side of crime that we don’t see and brings it to light, making the reader think that no one should have to do what these people do. This makes the reader hate Fagin and makes the reader believe that he gets what he deserves when he eventually dies in a dramatic scene at the end which can be scene as a payment for his crimes over the years.

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One character used by Dickens to show how crime affects children at a young age is Jack Dawkins. He is also known as ‘the Artful Dodger’, he is the best pick pocket that works for Fagin and is the person who introduces Oliver to the gang of thieves at Saffron Hill. Dickens tries to use this character to show how bad crime can be for kids. His appearance can have two ...

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