Highlight what the character of Bill Sikes brings to the novel 'Oliver Twist'.

Nineteenth century London was a city brimming with life .The largest city in Europe, it housed an ever-increasing population, many of whom had come to London from the poorer rural areas of England and Ireland. Large groups of poor people would live together trying to make ends meet and often turning to a life of crime in order to survive. The respectable classes were often completely oblivious to the plight of these people, who lived in a hidden world of squalor.

Dickens wrote ‘Oliver Twist’ to bring to people’s attention the suffering of the poor. His writing was considered controversial and was full of irony and sarcasm. He showed a great sympathy and understanding for the poor people of London.

The book is written in the third person because Dickens is not involved in the story, he is writing about the lives of many other people.

The focus of my essay is to highlight what the character of Bill Sikes brings to the novel ‘Oliver Twist’. Bill Sikes is a very cruel and violent man with a short temper, but he does have a sensitive side as well which he occasionally shows to his girlfriend Nancy, and his dog Bullseye. He makes many of the characters in the novel feel very uneasy and scared around him. This terrorisation is just one of the feelings he brings to the novel.

Throughout the novel, Sikes provides a sense of what Victorian life was like for the under-privileged. He highlights the life that the lower class citizens had to lead, a life of crime often being the only way to survive. He is a king among thieves, who fear his violence and his temper, but Sikes is a very insecure person and trusts no one. Because he is such an aggressive, cruel and unpopular man he is never certain whether the people around him will betray him or not. He always carries a weapon, and it almost seems that he is scared of the world he lives in. He shows a perfect example of how people had to think in the nineteenth century. He is a product of society and shows the best way of survival.

“He was utterly and incurably bad”

Although Sikes is a housebreaker and a thief, he also lives off the illegal earnings of Fagin and his ‘boys.’ His selfishness and desperation to survive is shown when he becomes too ill to ‘work’ but makes sure that he is adequately fed, by eating Nancy’s share of food and letting her almost starve to death.

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“He was utterly and incurably bad”

Bill Sikes injects a sense of drama, tension and suspense throughout the narrative. Every time any aspect of the other characters’ lives is going well Sikes comes along and ruins it. He creates the most suspense when Oliver has been taken by Nancy to Mr Brownlow. Anxiety and apprehension are created when reading on and trying to find out if Oliver manages to get away. When Oliver is caught, Sikes also creates tension and suspense while the reader is finding out what is going to happen to Oliver.

“The man struggled violently to release his arms, but those of the girl were clasped round his and tear her as he would, he could not tear them away” pg 44.

A second time when Sikes causes tension is when he comes to collect money from Fagin. Fagin was always in a position where he could not say no nor say how much money because of the tension between them. He was fearful of Sikes.

**Quotation**

Sikes brings out many of the other character’s real sides, which makes them appear more complex. Although Fagin acts the boss around his boys and makes out that he is not afraid of anyone he is, and has always been, scared of Sikes. Sikes brings out the real Fagin and shows everyone that Fagin is not as confident as he makes himself out to be, and that he is scared of others, especially Sikes.

“ “Only me Bill, only me my dear,” said the Jew looking in.” Pg.168

This quote demonstrates that Fagin does not feel comfortable enough with Sikes. He can’t even walk into his house without having to tell Sikes who it is and poke his head around the door. He feels worried that Sikes may even attack him if he does not identify himself. This only goes to show Sikes’ unpredictability and the violence he is capable of. Moreover, additional information about Sikes is provided through his reaction to Nancy. Sikes shows a sensitive and loving side to Nancy when he is at his weakest point. Sikes is also revealed as being very insecure and vulnerable. The fact that he constantly carries around a weapon with him shows that he is scared of something and highly insecure. Nancy brings out the other side of his personality. However this is very difficult for her to do and these episodes are short lived. Sikes does love Nancy but considers it would be showing a weakness to display his emotions in front of others. He is never able to say or show how much he loves Nancy, for fear of loosing respect, but when they are alone together his body language shows intimacy towards her.

“ Sikes locking her hand in his, fell back upon the pillow: turning his eyes upon her face, they closed; opened again; closed once more; again opened.” Pg 366.

The behaviour of the other characters in the presence of Sikes changes as the story unfolds. At the start of the novel they act very scared around Sikes and don’t do anything to get in his way. But by the end of the novel the characters become more rebellious and start to stand up to Sikes. This is the dramatic crescendo of the novel. It seems that the characters have become so angry with Sikes after the murder of Nancy that they don’t care anymore what they say or do. They have realised that he is vulnerable right then and if they unite against him they could be free of him. A key example of this is Charley Bates:

“ ‘Witness you three’ cried the boy, shaking his clenched fist…’you’ll help me. Murder! Help! Down with him! ‘ “ Pg 475.

The different emotions and characteristics that Sikes brings out in the other characters encourage the reader to read on. Sikes makes it easier for the reader to see the other sides of the characters, whether it is the scared and quiet side or the loud and rebellious side.

Bill Sikes compounds the moral sentiment of the text. He does this most when he dies because he shows the real consequence of his actions. He shows the moral of the story, from all the mistakes throughout his life, that basically good will triumph over evil. His life of crime and violence, which ultimately led to Nancy’s murder and Sikes’ death, is proof of this.

After careful consideration, I have concluded that Bill Sikes brings violence, horror and drama to the novel. He is the reason that nearly every character that he interacts with has a terrible life, but by the end of the story he also invokes the reader to be sympathetic and understanding of the situation he is in.

Bill Sikes is capable of a huge amount of violence, which has always forced other characters to back down, and this has therefore made their lives worse. This violence eventually leads to the death of Nancy and ultimately Sikes’ own death. Sikes could also be seen as the anti-hero. He ruins every aspect of Oliver’s life that is good for him. When Oliver goes to live with Mr Brownlow, and is happy, Bill Sikes takes him away. Sikes murders Nancy the one person Oliver loves most in the world.

In conclusion, the character of Bill Sikes brings gloom to this novel. His character is the reason for many parts of the novel being emotional and depressing. Even his death upsets the reader, as at that point the reader can finally see how defenceless he is. Sikes is a victim of circumstance and the reader finally begins to sympathise with him.

Bill Sikes brings negative emotion, violence, horror and depression to this novel.