“I begged for her in the streets; and they sent me to prison. When I came back, she was dying; and all the blood in my heart has dried up, for they starved her to death.”
Dickens writes from the husband’s point of view. Dickens states that they sent the man to prison for begging and the man also strongly believes that they starved her and they are the cause of her death. That was one specific case of the suffering of society caused by the authorities.
The authorities have very poor laws. The welfare system is also in a very poor condition. This is also a reason as to why the death rate is so high and why there are little hospitals to treat the many ill people. There is not much mentioned about the welfare system in the novel, the only time was when a private doctor came out to see Oliver. But there is no mention for a welfare system for the poorer part of society.
Working and living conditions are also very poor. Bad working conditions cause the spreading of disease and this increases the amount of ill people, which is why there is a high death rate. Also in the workhouse hygiene is terrible. There is not sufficient cleaning and washing facilities and the food needs to be healthier and of a better standard. The workhouse system needs to be drastically improved.
There are many children working in the workhouse. The children are suffering terribly as they have to work long hours in poor conditions. The children in the workhouse are controlled so they cannot therefore stand up for themselves; they also do not have anybody to stand up for them. The boss of the children can therefore take advantage of them. This advantage is used to use and abuse the children. This can sometimes result in the death of the children. The children are sometimes more severely punished. Having their lives taken, by hanging them may more severely punish the children. I think this is a very horrible form of punishment. Although today that type of punishment is illegal.
The children that work in the workhouse are mostly orphans. So they cannot stop working as they must and need to work to stay alive. The workhouse causes a lot of suffering for the workers, the poor condition and the long hours are very tiring. Also, as the workers are not properly taught how to use the machinery there are often many injuries.
Although the workers know all about the poor conditions, they end up in the workhouse, as they are homeless and have nobody and nowhere to turn to. Homelessness is another problem; there are not enough shelters for people to go to. The result of this is that more and more people become homeless and have to suffer outside in the cold streets. This can be very stressful and lonely for the homeless people; this can result with the community spirits dropping to a low level. This makes them even more unhappy.
As you can see there is a lot of suffering going on in the society. The authorities are partly to blame for this because it is their responsibility to ensure that everyone has a decent lifestyle. The authority has lots of power, but with power comes great responsibility. The authorities do not seem to be doing anything to improve the living conditions. I think they share some of the blame of the suffering that goes on, the bosses at the workhouses also share some of the blame too. As the bosses also have power to change the working conditions by giving higher pay to the workers, instead of exploiting them. Dickens includes this as a part of his novel because it goes on, not just to them but to other people. Dickens wants people to know what goes on, he wants the readers to know what the authorities are like and how they treat people. Similarly Andres Larreta wants the Chileans to care for the ‘disappeared’ and fight against the authorities and gain freedom.
James Watson wrote ‘Talking in Whispers’ after the military coup in 1973. In that time Chile, in South America suffered dictatorship. James Watson aims ‘Talking in whispers’ at teenagers. Which is why his language is not as intellectual as Dickens’ language. Dickens language is more intellectual, he writes in much longer sentences then Watson.
Charles Dickens wrote ‘Oliver Twist’ between 1837-1839. ‘Oliver Twist’ was firstly released in serial form in 1837. It was then released, as we know ‘Oliver Twist’ in 1839. ‘Oliver Twist’ was written in Victorian England. During the Victorians there was a distinct difference in societies. There was the upper class and lower class. The upper class people were wealthy; they had a stable home and a good education. The lower class people never had much of an education and unlike the upper class people they could not read. Dickens aimed ‘Oliver Twist’ at the upper class people, who could read.
I think Charles Dickens intention for the novel was to educate the upper class people about the life styles of the lower class people. He wants them to see how lucky they are. For the upper class people to appreciate what they have and not take it for granted. Dickens could also be using the novel as a cry for help for the lower class part of society. He may be pleading to the upper class to help the lower class.
It is easier to relate to Andres as he is a 20th century character. Andres has more similarities with people now than Oliver does, as Oliver is an 18th century character. The language used in ‘Oliver Twist’ is also quite difficult to understand as it was written in a different century. The original readers of ‘Oliver Twist’, Dickens original audience would be able to relate to the language much better. They may also interpret it in different ways to which we interpret it.
The government, the Junta controlled the newspapers, television and only let the people of Chile know the positive things that take place. They kill, torture and arrest in secret. Even people outside Chile do not know what is going on, foreigners who interfere in Chile are either killed or are not let out the country.
Similarly to ‘Oliver Twist’, Andres Larreta also experiences physical, emotional and mental suffering. For example, Andres suffers mentally and emotionally when he sees his father beaten into the ‘authorities’ car at gunpoint, knowing that he can not physically do anything to help his father.
Andres is worried about his father, he is suffering as he knows nothing about where he has gone and what has happened to him, he believes he is the only person who cares about his father’s ‘disappearance’. At this stage Andres is suffering mentally as he can not physically help his father all he can do is stand and watch him being taken away. Andres must feel helpless knowing this. As Andres could not help his father when he was being taken, he tried to overcome the Junta and gain freedom for Chile in tribute to his father. I think that his will power to do this came from the love for his father. He also suffers emotionally as he loves his father and does not want him to be tortured, Andres wants his father with him. He worries about his father because he loves him. Naturally, no child would like their parents to be tortured and taken away from them.
Not only does Andres experience emotional and mental suffering, he also experiences physical suffering. When the authorities are torturing Andres for information, he is severely beaten. They physically hurt Andres by beating him and electrocuting him. “A charge of electricity shuddered his body”, “He beat him”, “A last kick hurtled Andres into unconsciousness”. James Watson explains to the reader what they did to Andres in the torturing. The quotes are quite physical and create threatening images in the readers’ mind. It is quite a vivid description. I think James Watson put these descriptions in his novel because, like Charles Dickens, he wants people to know what goes on in the torture room and how the authorities treat people. I think this has quite a shocking effect in the novel. I say this, as it is a very traumatic and horrific experience.
The physical suffering Andres receives is much more violent than the physical suffering Oliver receives. Although, Oliver’s opinion on his physical suffering, for him is probably quite violent and scary as Oliver is a very young child. James Watson describes Andres beating is some detail, he does make it seem quite violent. This creates lots of images in the readers mind and also creates sympathy for Andres as he is experiencing lots of pain.
If anybody disobeys the Junta’s rules and regulations, or go against the junta in any way, like the way Juan did when he sang offensive songs about the junta, they like Juan will become one of the ‘disappeared’. The disappeared are usually tortured and severely punished. They are taken to the house of laughter. It is quite an ironic name, ‘the house of laughter’ as in the house of laughter nobody is laughing, but doing quite the opposite, crying. This suggests that the Chilean people are excepting their situation and are trying to make it as easy as possible for themselves. It also suggests that they are expressing their feelings about what is going on without attracting attention. It is also quite a sarcastic comment.
The disappeared are electrocuted beaten severely and executed. The punishments are very severe and dangerous; this is also a reason as to why the Chileans do as the Junta say, as they are scared of the consequences. The torturing causes a lot of physical suffering that can result in the loss of many lives. All the belongings of the disappeared are also taken and burnt. Things like photographs are burnt; this takes away memories they may have had in the good times in their life before the Junta became. When Andres was taken to the house of laughter. All of his belongings, memories of his father and books were burnt. When Andres was released he had to start a new life for himself and build up a new collection of property. He could not even return back to his home as the Junta had invaded into him and his life.
The title ‘Talking in Whispers’ is very significant to the lives of the Chileans. As they are told what to think, say and do. The society suffers as all their freedom has been taken away from them. The authorities, the Junta control everything. The Junta even go as far as to put “Chile under Curfew”, “until further notice all the public assemblies are banned”. The Junta are dictators, they dictate the Chileans life styles. This causes suffering for the Chileans. The society suffers as they are living a nightmare. Their lives are being controlled for worse. If the society do not do as the Junta say they will become ‘disappeared’. In ‘Talking in Whispers’ the society are dictated on more areas i.e. speech, freedom and even timetable. Whereas in ‘Oliver Twist’ although they left a woman to starve to death, they never killed her directly, they killed her indirectly by not giving her any food. In ‘Talking in Whispers’ the Junta make the Chileans disappear, whilst the disappeared are being tortured, some have been very severe that it results in their death. The Junta kill the ‘disappeared’ directly. They physically harm them, they make physical contact with the ‘disappeared’.
Suffering of society is similar in both novels, ‘Talking in Whispers’ and ‘Oliver Twist’. The authorities mainly cause the suffering of society. They dictate to the people of their country and do nothing to help improve their life styles. In ‘Talking in Whispers’ the authorities do a lot to make the Chileans’ lives hell.
In my opinion, I would say both characters are heroes, Oliver Twist and Andres Larreta. I say this as both characters have survived their suffering. Oliver is living happily with his family. Andres has continued to live in Chile but has done what he wanted, which is let everybody know about the Junta. For them to overcome their suffering was difficult and caused them a lot of physical suffering, but they managed to overcome it. For them to do this I would regard them both as heroes.
Oliver deals with his suffering quite well. For example, when Oliver has an argument with Noah he gets beaten. Oliver does not let this incident bring him down. Oliver is a quiet boy, he does not really seem as affected as Andres with the suffering he is given. Throughout the novel ‘Oliver Twist’, Oliver seems strong and fairly positive. He also stands up for himself and his beliefs. For example, when Oliver hears Noah being disrespectful about his mother, Oliver confronts Noah and tells Mrs Sowerberry “He called my mother names”. Although Oliver knows Mrs Sowerberry would agree with Noah, Oliver tells Mrs Sowerberry what Noah said as he believes it is wrong. When Oliver stood up for his mother, Mrs Sowerberry broke into a flood of tears and Mr Sowerberry beat Oliver in defence for his wife. As a result of Oliver standing up for his mother he was beaten. Similarly, if Andres was to stand up for himself the authorities would also beat him. However, Andres beating would be far more severe and dangerous.
Andres deals with his suffering in silence like all the other Chileans who are not allowed to speak out against the Junta. Andres overcomes the Junta and lets everybody know what they are like. Andres did this by printing out leaflets for the Chileans and newspaper articles for abroad. Andres stood up to the Junta just like Oliver stood up to Noah.
Andres is very strong in ‘Talking in Whispers’ even after he is tortured for information. Andres being tortured has made him stronger and made him want to overcome the Junta even more. Andres deals with his suffering well, it seems the more Andres suffers the stronger he becomes.
In ‘Talking in Whispers’ Andres does not know many people. The closest people to Andres – since his father became one of the ‘disappeared’ – are Isa and Beto, the twins. I think the twins regard Andres as quite a strong, determined character. I think they regard him as determined as Andres was determined to overcome the junta and gain freedom for the Chileans. Andres’ determination began when his father was kidnapped. I think it began here as before his father was kidnapped Andres could live and handle his life under dictatorship even though he disliked it. Now that his father has been kidnapped Andres feels he owes it to his father. He is going to carry on fighting against the Junta just the way his father did. Andres love for his father also contributes to his determination.
Isa and Beto seem to be on the same level as Andres. They all want the same thing, which is to overcome the Junta and gain freedom for Chile. I think James Watson had this story line in the novel as he wants to tell the readers of ‘Talking in Whispers’ what the Junta are all about. James Watson is like Andres in the novel, they both have the same aims, to overcome the Junta. Watson uses Andres to show and inform everyone what the Junta is all about. James Watson uses Andres to create awareness. In the novel Andres informs everybody about the Junta, even foreigners. James Watson also informs the foreigners as he has readers from all around the world.
Similarly to James Watson, Charles Dickens also wants people to know what life is like for young children like Oliver Twist. Both authors want to inform and educate the readers. Although the novels were written at different times they are very similar. Both novels want to inform the reader how people suffer, and show different kinds of suffering. The novels also have their differences; in ‘Talking in Whispers’ the suffering is a lot more severe and harmful and covers a wider variety of people, which is the whole of Chile although some foreigners are also affected. In ‘Oliver Twist’ the novel mainly shows the suffering of children. The novel is based around Oliver’s life. In the same way that James Watson uses Andres to show and inform everyone what the Junta is about, Charles Dickens uses Oliver Twist as an example for the life style of an “infant orphan”.
Dickens describes Oliver’s life well in the novel. Dickens makes his life seem lonely, traumatic and filled with suffering. He also makes Oliver seem quite a sweet and genuine little boy. Which is very unusual as in those days little boys were thought upon as naughty, spiteful and rude. Dickens makes Oliver seem sweet as he makes the reader feel sorry for Oliver. He creates a lot of sympathy for Oliver on a number of occasions. Sympathy is created when Oliver goes on his expedition to London. “Poor Oliver tried to keep up with the coach a little way, but was unable to do it, by reason of his fatigue and sore feet”. Dickens says Oliver has “sore feet” and is “fatigue”. I think this creates sympathy, as Oliver is young and walking to London only with his hope to find fame and fortune. London was then believed to be paved with gold, but as people now know that that story was a myth. The reader will sympathise with Oliver as he is young and is being put through an experience he should not be experiencing at his age. Although, the readers will not only have sympathy for Oliver but they will also feel proud, as he has not given up, with his pain he carried on walking to London.
Oliver is small and vulnerable, which is why he was dragged into the criminal underworld. I think that event will also make the reader sympathise with Oliver as he is moving from bad to worse. It is very weird, as Oliver is a good boy doing bad things. The reason for this is because he is very vulnerable.
Sympathy is also created for Oliver when Dickens states, “the boy had no friends to care for, or to care for him”. Dickens describes Oliver here as lonely. This also makes the reader sympathise with Oliver, as it is not fair and unusual nowadays for a young child to have no family or friends.
Oliver has quite an unusual and different life from other ‘happy’ children. His life style is very different to the children that are ‘luckier’, the upper class children. Other children are usually provided for by their parents or family, whereas Oliver has to provide for his own living. Oliver must work to keep alive. If Oliver does not work he will probably die of starvation or, as he will not have shelter the weather may also make him very ill.
Fortunately for Oliver, all turns out well in the end. Oliver reunites with his family, has a stable home and a decent life. Although everything goes well for Oliver, Oliver’s suffering still happens to other children, Oliver had made a lucky escape.
Similarly, ‘Talking in Whispers’ also has a happy ending. Andres’ “mission” is accomplished. Andres, with help from Isa, Beto, Don Chailey, Mr Normanton and Diego. They showed everyone what the Junta are like and how the Junta operate.
Andres is recognised as a heroic figure by the Chileans. I think Andres is regarded as a heroic figure as he has gained freedom and the human rights they are entitled to back to them. It has been dangerous for Andres and his friends to do this. He risked his life on a number of occasions such as when he was acting as a porter to collect the printing equipment or when he was out at curfew hours. Andres had, many times in the novel, heroic behaviour.
Oliver is also regarded as a heroic figure by his family and friends. I think his family and friends regard him as heroic figure because they are the only people who know what Oliver has been through. They also know how much pain Oliver experienced to get through his suffering.
Although, to an extent I think they may not be regarded as heroes. I say this, as they are not the only people that have been through that much suffering. Other Chileans have experienced what Andreas has experienced and other poor children have been through what Oliver has experienced, if not much more. Although Andres and Oliver are the main characters in the two novels, and from the readers’ point of view they are probably the principal characters because they are the two characters that the novels focus on. There are more people similar to Andres and Oliver who suffer much more.
I think that Andres physically suffers more than Oliver does, as his physical suffering is far more violent and severe. However, I think Oliver mentally and emotionally suffers more than Andres. Because he is a young child and has not yet had much of a life experience. Andres is also much older then Oliver and can handle more suffering than Oliver.
I also think that as Oliver is much younger than Andres, sympathy is easier to create. Sympathy is easier to create as people tend to have more feelings for young little children, especially the less fortunate children like Oliver. Even though more sympathy is created for Oliver I think that Andres is regarded as more of a hero. The fact that today more people know about the less fortunate children in the orphan homes people have grown to except it although they disagree with it. Whereas Andres’ situation is more difficult to imagine and put yourself in. There is more awareness about orphans then there is about dictatorship and the situation Chile is in. This makes Andres’ situation more shocking to the reader; it makes the situation unimaginable.
I have analysed both novels and think that there is a lot of sympathy being created and suffering taking place in both novels. I also think that both characters are to be regarded as heroes. In my opinion I think both novels have effective ways in educating the reader and creating awareness.
