How effectively does Dickens use language to portray the misery of orphans in the novel 'Oliver Twist'?

Authors Avatar

        Page --  

Name: Chirag Sabhnani

Class: Sr. 4F

Date: 10TH March 2003

Subject: English Language. Oliver Twist Course Work 

________________________________________________________________________

Q. How effectively does Dickens use language to portray the misery of orphans in the novel ‘Oliver Twist’?

Ans.  Orphans in the 19th century were children who have had no parents and required special effort to develop and are “left to the tender mercies of churchwardens and overseers.” They were “juvenile offenders”, “culprits” who were not shown any mercy. They were mistreated, abused, isolated, bullied and neglected by various sections of society. These children were “pitied by no one”, “despised by all,” kept “half starved” and were never respected in society. They were the victims of betrayal and disloyalty, were called “dirt of society.”

        

        ‘Oliver Twist’ is the story of a boy who passes through many difficulties and troubles through life’s journey each time becoming stronger from it. The novel fictionalizes the experience of the writer ‘Charles Dickens’ and reflects the social evils existing in the 19th century. In the book ‘Oliver Twist’ Dickens brings to life the terrible hardships faced by the orphans at that time. He shows how England’s society changes from a slow paced one to a fast paced mechanized one, where the typical rule applies- the poor becoming poorer and the rich becoming richer.

        As a boy Dickens suffered economic security and humiliation. At the age of twelve he was sent to earn money to support his family, he worked in a factory and earned about six shillings in a week. He was also sent away to live with other unwanted children. “Those few month for Dickens were a time of complete misery, humiliation and despair. The memory of which, as he confessed later, he could never quite shake off.” These childhood experiences of Dickens have been transferred into the early pages of the novel ‘Oliver Twist’, where we see the feeling of desperation that the author had experienced as a child.

        At that time in the 19th century when there was demand for labour, children were often made to work under miserable conditions with little or no wages. Orphans were treated very badly and were left to the mercy of their caretakers who were not even bothered about them. Dickens himself was exposed to such hardships in a young age, in his novels he usually writes about the troubles faced by the middle and lower class people of society. In this novel he brings to life the troubles and horrible hardships faced by the orphans of the 19th century.

         In the novel Dickens narrates a story of an orphan who makes his way in the world and encounters prejudice and hatred that he does not really understand. In this book he uses a very descriptive style of writing to convey to his audience how terrible conditions were in the 19th century. He creates a vivid and descriptive picture in the readers’ minds of the most pathetic and disgusting situations just to make the readers aware that there are also people in this world who live such miserable, unhealthy lives in the most unhygienic conditions.

        

        In the book he exposes the British Society as a society of classes that ignored the lowest level of the ladder. Through his language he wants people to realize how certain members of the society were ill-treated. Throughout the book exaggeration is also used to further intensify the conditions of the orphans; “they established the rule, that all poor people should have the alternative… of being starved by gradual process in the house, or by a quick one out of it,” this referred to the Poor Law Act, through which many children died of starvation and the others were thrashed for “presuming to be hungry.” Exaggeration is especially evident where the description of the setting is concerned, where Dickens paints horrific pictures in the readers’ mind. The language that Dickens employs to convey the true misery of orphans lies heavily on the use of satire, sarcasm and mockery. The characters in his book reveal a great deal about the orphans of that time and the way they were treated. Oliver is the main character who directly represents the orphans at that time; and other characters like the “Artful Dodger (Jack Dawkins)”, “Bill Sikes” and “Nancy,” play an important role in the book representing different characteristic in society. 

Join now!

        In the book, Dickens uses sarcasm to expose the cruelty practiced on the innocent children. Also we see the use of pathos in Dickens writing, “If he could have known that he was an orphan, left tom the tender mercies of churchwardens and oversees, perhaps he would have cried louder.” Also the quote “So lonely, sir! So very lonely! ‘Every body hates me. Oh! Sir, don’t, don’t pray be cross to me!’ the child beat his hands upon his heart; and looked in his companion’s face, with tears and real agony” is full of such pathos and tender emotions that we ...

This is a preview of the whole essay