How effectively does Charles Dickens use language to portray 19th centuryLondon society in his novel "Oliver Twist"?

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How effectively does Charles Dickens use language to portray 19th century
London society in his novel "Oliver Twist"?

In the 19th century England was transforming into a heavy industrialized country. The
industrial revolution caused many changes to the people living in rural areas. There was a great exodus from the villages to cities because of rapid industrialization. Many people lost their jobs and had to populate the streets of London. People who lived in the dirty streets of London had little choices in life and many of them joined the criminal world, while others had to cope with the poor conditions of the workhouses. The differences of lifestyle between the lower and upper classes were sharp. The poorer sections of society had little food and were plagued by famine and dirt. The upper class lived comfortable lives and enjoyed luxuries that the lower classes had not even laid eyes on. Their comfortable lives caused them to be ignorant of the burden that the poor people had to shoulder; this inevitably caused social unrest in Victorian London as the richer people looked down at the lower class as born outlaws.

The novel "Oliver Twist" is about an orphan who wanders through Victorian
society facing both misery and fortune. Oliver was a child endowed with natural
goodness and an instinct for survival. He fights against committing evil actions to
establish his identity in Victorian society.

Charles Dickens, in his famous novel "Oliver Twist" criticizes London
society, He criticizes the workhouses that the "paupers" had to live in. He
shows that middle class people such as Mr. Bumble and Sowerberry are insensitive to
the feelings of the poor, and he shows the readers the horrors of living a criminal
life, which some people had resorted to. Dickens uses great detail when describing
events in his novel. This descriptive writing makes the novel seem very realistic and maintains the interest of the reader. Through his language we get a view of London society. Dickens often uses exaggerations in his writing to emphasize his point and make it more effective. He also uses sarcasm to punch his messages to the readers. Reference to nature in the novel often paves the roadway to what would happen soon afterwards. Dickens also uses nature to symbolize the conditions of the lower class section of society.  

When Dickens was twelve, his family fortunes were on the decline. Charles was sent to work in a boot- bleaching factory and to hoard with other unwanted children in Mrs.Roylance's house. Charles Dickens found life miserable as he walked daily from the factory to the boarding house. Keeping Dickens's history in mind, we could view him as a spokesman to the poor. He had gone through hardships when he was still at youth. This gives a lot of credibility to his views in Oliver Twist, has actually gone through an orphan-like life for a while.

Charles Dickens reveals three sections of society in his novel. These are the
lower class, the middle-class and the Victorian upper class. The lower class is divided
into two sections, the poor section of society and the criminal world. Characters like Fagin and Bill Sikes belong to the criminal world. They are hard core criminals who
recruit poor people who are forced into crime due to their conditions. The middle
class consists of characters like Mr. Bumble and Mrs. Sowerberry who are tactless to
of the poor and are insensitive to their feelings. The Victorian upper class has a few exceptions on their attitudes towards the poor. These exceptions are represented by characters like Mr. Brownlow and Rose Maylie. They have high moral values and self-dignity. They welcome Oliver when he is in dire conditions and take care of him. Most of the upper class people, however, do not trust lower class people, such as Mr.Grimwig.

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The novel "Oliver Twist" is set in London and its surrounding districts.  The main
character, Oliver Twist, spends his initial years of his lifetime in workhouses Dickens
uses satire to criticize the conditions in the workhouse. We can't help but to praise Dickens' style of portraying the hunger of the orphans. He tells us that in the
workhouses the orphans lived "without the inconvenience of too much food" which was
quite enough "to overload" one's stomach and "make it uncomfortable". The orphans
in the workhouse had very little food to eat. They were extremely thin and pale. The
intensity of hunger is shown in the novel ...

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