Nancy’s death
Nancy was sleeping in the comfort of her bed, who felt safe from the outside. Bill Sykes came into the bedroom quietly where Nancy, his wife was sleeping. He shut the door behind him, double locking it by putting a heavy table in front so no one could get in. Bill drew the curtain which was hung in front of the bed and there laid Nancy half dressed. She suddenly woke up. Bill blew the candle out and hurled it under a grate. Nancy was about to get up when Bill Sykes grabbed Nancy by the throat and head and dragged her in to the middle of the room. She pleaded Bill not to hurt her and tried to convince him to move away from London to a foreign country but Bill didn’t care. He grabbed his pistol and was about to shoot Nancy, but realised the gun shot would make a loud noise and someone outside might hear it. Instead he hit her on the forehead twice leaving a deep gash. Nancy was blinded with the blood that rained down from the wound. With all the strength she could muster she folded her hands and prayed for mercy. But with one final blow to the head Nancy was dead.
The reason why Bill Sykes murdered Nancy was because of the conversation Nancy had with Mr Brownlow and Rose. Noah Claypole stood around the corner listening to every word of the conversation. He went back to the house where Fagin and the boys sheltered and told Fagin about the conversation. When Bill came into the room Noah told Bill that Nancy had betrayed him and the gang. So Bill murdered Nancy to keep himself and the gang safe from the police.
Dickens makes us sympathise with Nancy in this scene. For example, Nancy is referred to as the girl. “The girl was lying half dressed upon it”. This emphasises her vulnerability and her innocence. In comparison Dickens refers to Bill, he uses terms which relate to the crimes he has committed. This shows Bills identity is so wound up with the crimes he has committed, that Dickens ceases to call him Bill but refers to him as “The murderer”, “The housebreaker” and “The robber”. Bill has lost his humanity and his name. Dickens does this to make us feel sympathetic to Nancy but not to Bill. When Bill hit Nancy on the forehead. Nancy looks up to Bill’s eyes like a child “upon the upturned face that almost touched his own”. When Bill comes in and draws the curtain Nancy replies innocently like nothing happened.
Before Nancy dies she prays for mercy. This shows that in death Nancy had dignity and the courage to stand up to Bill and not run away like a coward. In comparison, when Bill dies he runs way from the angry people like a coward.
Dickens brings out the violence in this scene. When Bill Drags Nancy into the middle of the room. “Grasping her by the head and throat, dragging her into the middle the room. He places his hand on her mouth to prevent her from screaming. “Placed his heavy hand upon her mouth”. This shows the force of Bill Sykes. Later Bill hits Nancy on the head with his pistol. “And he beat it twice with all the force he could summon”. This left Nancy blinded with the blood that came from the wound. “Nearly blinded with the blood that rained down from a deep gash in her forehead”. This image is explicit, shows the brutality.
The way Bill Sykes died was very different from Nancy’s death. Nancy was murdered privately and Bill died full view of the crowd and horrifically.
Bill Sykes death
Bill Sykes staggered back into the room where Fagin and the boys sheltered. He had to find a way to escape because the house was surrounded by an angry mob. Dickens uses an extended metaphor which runs throughout this passage to describe the crowd. The unity of the crowd is emphasised by describing the angry people as water. The person filling all the streets is just like a river bursting its banks, flooding the land and destroying anything in its path. This emphasises the power of the angry people. In the room Bill ordered for the longest and strongest rope the boys could find. He climbed the stairs to the top of the house. He had to get up on to the roof top but all the windows had been long bricked up. Except for one passage he could fit through. The dog followed Bill all the time up the stairs up to the roof top. He got up on to the roof top and tied the rope around the chimney and around himself tight. Bill started to make his way across the roof top gradually. Suddenly he lost his balance and fell thirty five feet accidentally hanging himself. He hung lifelessly for the entire crowd to view. This would have been the ending for Bill Sykes if he was caught alive.
This public death was a suitable end for Bill Sykes because he died in full view of the crowd. This makes all the cruel and nasty things he has done in his life public. This includes cruelty to his wife and being the leader of a pick pocketing gang. The crowd was desperate to catch Bill Sykes alive or dead. “I will give fifty pounds to the man who takes him alive”. This would have motivated the angry mob to get Bill Sykes dead or alive. Dickens presents Bill’s death in the way he did to make us feel sympathy for Nancy and to make us feel Bill deserved to die for what he did.
Dickens makes sure we feel no sympathy for Bill in this scene. Bill Sykes does all his actions in the dark and privately so no one can see him do it. When he murdered Nancy it was in his own house and he blew out the candle and closed the curtains so no one could see him do it. Bill is a nasty and cruel. Dickens shows us the cruelty or his punishment with the strong language he uses to describe it. “There was a sudden jerk, a terrific convulsion of the limbs. He is referred to as “The man” in this scene. Denies Bill’s his name, and is in contrast to the vulnerability of Nancy. In those days people who committed crimes were referred to as “the man”.
Dickens emphasises the anger and the hatred in this scene. Bill Sykes dead or alive for the crime he has committed. The crowd is referred to as a lion “There was another roar”. Dickens uses similes to emphasise the anger of the crowd. The lion is big and powerful like the unity of the crowd. “Twenty guineas to the man who brings a ladder”. This would have made people do something to capture Bill.
The dog was Bill’s companion and friend. The dog followed Bill where ever he went like up on to the roof top. In the story Bill treated the dog like dirt. At one point Bill tried to drown the dog but the dog ran away in fear. In the end of this scene the dog was up on the roof top with Bill and when Bill fell down the dog jumped at his lifeless body. The dog missed and his head hit the stones bellow and died. Bill’s crimes have punished even his dog, who comes in death to represent Bill.
