From the day that he was born, Oliver Twist has been treated badly by almost everyone in his life. He was brought into the world by a surgeon and a drunken nurse who was more interested in taking sips from her drink then pay much attention to the birth of Oliver “…the nurse having once more applied herself to the green bottle…” This increases the reader’s sympathy for Oliver because he is left in the care of an old lush who doesn’t care much for his well-being.
Later on in the novel when Oliver turns nine, he taken away from where he is living by a Mr. Bumble, a beadle, who again isn’t interested in Oliver’s welfare, but does on occasion appear to be seemingly pleasant towards Oliver “Mr Bumble regarded Oliver’s piteous and helpless look…” “…bade Oliver dry his eyes and be a good boy” This increases our sympathy for Oliver because although Mr Bumble takes pity on Oliver because of a look, he is actually still quite unpleasant.
Further along in the novel Oliver is taken to work in a funeral place where he works alongside a boy who is slightly older than Oliver called Noah Claypole. Noah takes great pleasure in winding Oliver up until he snaps “It’s a great deal better, work ‘us that she (Oliver’s mother) died when she did…” This increases the reader’s sympathy for Oliver because he never knew his mother and to hear someone speak out of turn about her makes the reader feel sorry for Oliver and empathise with him. But it is here in the novel that Oliver decides to take action of his situation, not being a push over and loses his temper with Noah, but then Oliver is locked in a cellar where he ceases his opportunity to run away.
On his travels towards London, Oliver encounters a lad around the same age as himself named Artful Dodger who takes Oliver to meet an acquaintance of his named Fagin. Fagin is seemingly pleasant towards Oliver, when he first meets him; Fagin greets Oliver as if they were old friends just catching up “We are very glad to see you, Oliver, very.” Although Fagin looks as if he is being welcoming to Oliver he actually has an ulterior motive for his amiability, he has intentions for Oliver to join his gang of criminals. This increases our sympathy for Oliver because his past experiences of unscrupulous characters have lead him into believing that anyone who shows him a little bit of compassion is genuine.
Whilst in the company of Fagin and his gang, Oliver meets a young gentleman called Bill Sikes who is the most unpleasant person towards Oliver out of all the other characters in the novel. Dickens refers to Bill as “growling” at Oliver. This makes the reader feel sympathy for Oliver because he can’t stand up for himself and doesn’t have anyone else to either.
Then again not everyone that has interacted with Oliver has mistreated him, there are characters that have been pleasant to Oliver, but very few. The day he was born, Oliver’s mother held him in her arms long enough to kiss him for the first and last time. “She imprinted her cold white lips passionately on its forehead…shuddered fell back and died” Oliver’s mother dying makes the reader feel sympathy for him because he will never know her or have anything to remember her by.
Whilst living with Fagin and his gang Oliver meets a young lady who once used to work for Fagin called Nancy who has a thing for Bill Sikes. Nancy doesn’t spend much time with Oliver but she does care for him and doesn’t want to see anything bad happen to him “‘I have saved you from being ill-used once, and I will again, and I do now’…She pointed, hastily, to some livid bruises on her neck and arms” Nancy’s feelings for Oliver make the reader feel sympathy for him because she’s protecting him as his mother would if he had she hadn’t died all those many years ago.
After being trialled for a crime he didn’t commit, Oliver was taken in by a Mr. Brownlow who kept a roof over his head whilst he was being nursed back to health by his housekeeper Mrs. Bedwin. Mr. Brownlow made sure that Oliver was seen by a doctor and made sure he was fed and watered. “Have you given him any nourishment, Bedwin? Any slops, eh?” Mr. Brownlow’s care for Oliver increases our sympathy for him because the short time that he spent with Mr. Brownlow was the happiest Oliver had been, and felt like he belonged to a family.
In conclusion I think that Charles Dickens characterisations makes the reader feel sympathy for Oliver because during the Victorian times life was hard for poor people like Oliver, and they didn’t get much sympathy they were treated as if they didn’t matter. Dickens exaggerates the portrayal of his characters in the novel to increase sympathy for characters like Oliver; there are nice characters that are totally pleasant and don’t have a mean bone in their body like Mr Brownlow and in contrast there are mean characters who are really horrible like Bill Sikes.
By Tahira Noble-10SP
