Picture two eight-year-old boys at night sleeping. The first going to bed with great excitement awaiting tomorrow because he had a new bicycle or toy train set. His soft chubby hands spread widely across the bed, for he lay on it big frame alone, and if ever he was to wake up it did probably be his mum come to give him a goodnight kiss or his nanny come to see if he was alright and even if he was not alright all he had to do was draw himself closer to his big comforter and soft pillows, completely warm, and totally happy dreaming about the promises of tomorrow. Whereas as the second ‘…He only cried bitterly all day and when the long, dismal night came on, he spread his little hands before his eyes to shut out the darkness and crouching in the corner tried to sleep, even and anon waking with a start and tremble, and drawing himself closer and closer to the wall as if it to feel even its cold hard surface were a protection in the gloom of loneliness which surrounded him…’
(Pg 17-18). Which text would rather fit a boy of this century or the Victorian times if you had wealth. Oliver Twist was fated to the second text with harsh social conditions, distressing events that take place in the life of an eight-year-old boy unlucky enough to be born in a workhouse In the Victorian age.
Oliver Twist had born ill by a young woman who walks into a workhouse, with no information about her life, dies soon after delivery. He seemed unfit and the figures of authority thought he died. Dickens makes his readers understand that perhaps death would have been a better option for him. A boy born into a workhouse, labeled an item of mortality and whose cry of being alive will be seen as another burden to the parish. After all he had only an old alcoholic nursemaid and a surgeon who wanted to be anywhere but his side, after a while Oliver came through with a loud cry. He was then brought up as a parish orphan by Mrs. Mann who took advantage of the children. If you were poor the best place to live in was the workhouse which also feeds and sometimes offers you a job. It was simply a case of the poor having no choice. Their social condition was so poor Oliver’s first nursemaid lost eleven out of thirteen children to die. The figures of authority were corrupt and despised the poor so much they made up the law of 1834 which cuts down the amount of food the poor ate. They thinned out and eventually died leading to the advantage of the undertakers. Dickens makes it seem as if this law was some sort of punishment for being poor. How the poor dressed can also be seen as one of their worst social conditions since it labeled the poor. In short they had no belongings as most of their hard earned money goes to buying food for themselves. Dickens tells of Oliver’s property in all his eight years living in Mrs. Mann’s house fitting into a small paper bag. In short their power of dress labels them to be despised by all and pitied by none. It is seen as a stamp in their society.
Almost all of the figures of authority Charles Dickens uses are corrupt and do not care much for the orphans they are being paid to care for. We see in the story one after the other that they do not seem what they are expected to be and live by helping only people who help them. An example is Mr. Bumble and Mrs. Mann. We see from the second chapter (Page 9) that as Mrs. Mann coaxes Mr. Bumble to relax and accept the drink she is offering and buttering him up by how intellectual he is creating names for the orphans in alphabetical order. Mr. Bumble who is quite pleased offers to put in a good word for her to the board. The drink gets him a bit tipsy and does not infact check how the children are faring. He turns a blind eye which goes to show how good Mrs. Mann is at drawing attention from matters at hand. Mr. Sowerberry whose wing Oliver eventually goes under had to flatter Mr. Bumble about his button when he learns Oliver is put up as an apprentice just so he would put a word in for him (page 29). Dickens makes us see bribery plays a big in the authorities trying to achieve something. One other person we see whose appearance is very deceptive is the man in the white waist coat who’s being clad in white does not explain the evil he has inside of him towards the poor. He is evil and expects nothing good to come out from the poor but become deviants, ‘…I say he shall be hanged…’ (Page 22). This is an example of Dickens irony at work. He inverts the symbol of the man in the white waist coat being evil rather than angelic as white represents. This is the same case as Mr. Bumble. He sees himself as an important educated man and yet he makes mistakes when speaking ‘…I inwented it…’ Mr. Bumble tells Mrs. Mann about coming up with the orphans names (page 8). He does not seem at all the intelligent inspector he looks. Also this is another way of Dickens trying to tell us the type of people who governed the children and express the irony of it all.
“‘So lonely, sir-so very lonely’, cried the child, ‘Everybody hates me. Oh! Sir, don’t be cross to me. I feel as if I had been cut here, sir it was all bleeding away.’” (Page 32). Oliver says to Mr. Bumble as he is headed towards his new master and Mr. Bumble takes out his whip to strike him. What more can we say about how the poor boy feels in this simple text describing his feelings. As the story unfolds we see how Oliver is treated and the turmoil he goes through being a workhouse orphan. Oliver leaves in fear of facing tomorrow. The people supposed to protect him, rather threaten and abuse him. Mrs. Mann raises her fist at him to quiet him down about what goes on behind the parishes back in her workhouse when Mr. Bumble comes for him (Page 9). Oliver takes the hint at once which goes to say he has been threatened too many times not to recognize one when it came. We also see that the poor are unfortunate in numerous ways. They are prey to being criminals, die at a young age and punished for a mere thing like asking for food. As in the famous scene when we see Oliver being shut in confinement just because he asked for more food. We share Oliver’s grief with him at that point but Dickens uses his irony to express Oliver missed nothing whilst being in confinement (pg 18). He explains his benefit of exercise was bathing in the cold weather in a stone yard whilst Mr. Bumble canes him; his pleasure of society was to be brought into public and flogged serving as an example; his religious consolation was to listen to the other children pray to be made good, virtuous, contented and obedient unlike Oliver. Oliver Twist is being mentally and physically abused as a child of eight years. He has to settle for the poor social conditions the Victorian age had to offer for the poor.
Lastly we will note Dickens use of language is often sardonic. He narrates the story of being on the side of the poor. He brings out the brutality of the harsh system of justice and makes the poor seem helpless with no urge to change the circumstances they find themselves in. the tone in which he often use to describe the figures of authority is filled with mockery, ‘What a noble illustration of the tender laws of our favored country! They let the poor go to sleep.’ (Page 13). He uses examples to give us the specific view of what the characters are really like. In the case of Mrs. Mann he uses the story of the experimental philosopher who starves his horse to death (Page 8). Dickens is quite clever naming his character to express his views. Oliver’s surname tells us of someone being twisted in the neck to death in other words he tells us through this name how he detest capital punishment. Also Mr. Sowerberry the undertaker’s name pronounced ‘sour berry’ goes to say he is not a very pleasant man. This is another way of Dickens irony.
In short the first four chapters of the book gives us an in depth knowledge of how it felt to be poor living in a workhouse in the Victorian age. We see Oliver representing all underage poor children living in the Victorian age, working and despised by all. Dickens gives us a clear insight on how life was like for them in the 19th century.