Oliver himself is an example of how miserable the orphans were treated during the 19th century. The callous attitude of society invites the writer’s special attention and hunger. Oliver was “flogged” and “kicked”. The authorities at the workhouse showed lack of humanity. He lacks the qualities and abilities ordinarily expected in a central character, whose acts and decisions have at least some influence on the course of events. Instead of being an active participant of his own destiny, Oliver becomes the prize for which the opposing forces contend. The boy does take one crucial step when he flees from bondage to Sowerberry.
Oliver is sold to the parish undertaker, and he realizes does not have a proper house, loving parents, and basic necessities, even relatives. The 19th century orphans are victims of exploitation and “a systematic course of treachery and deception”. They were made to feel that the very fact that they are born has made them a burden on society so they never expected any love. “His heart was heavy, notwithstanding; and he wished, as he crept into his narrow bed, that were his coffin, and that he could be laid in a calm and lasting sleep in the church-yard ground.” Oliver longed for death and so did every other orphan of the time. Although Oliver was moved to another place he did not feel better at all, he was constantly laughed at and made fun of by Noah and Charlotte, “Oliver Twist, as he sat shivering on the box in the coldest corner of the room, and ate the stale pieces which had been specially reserved for him.”
Oliver gains extensive experience in undertaking. His master dresses him well so that he can march in the processions. Oliver sees that the relatives of deceased, wealthy, elderly people quickly overcome their grief after the funeral.
Noah becomes increasingly jealous of Oliver’s speedy advancement and one day, he insults Oliver’s dead mother, “Work’ us, that she died when she did, or else she’d have been hard laboring in Bridewell, or transported, or hung; which is more likely than either, isn’t it?” Oliver attacks him in a fit of rage after keeping his patience. We see that Oliver is also strong; a boy who was so quiet couldn’t take the insult of his mother any longer and choked cowardly Noah to the ground. Charlotte and rush to Noah’s aid, and the three of them beat Oliver and lock him in the cellar.
Noah rushes to fetch Mr. Bumble, sobbing so that his injuries from his confrontation with Oliver appear much worse than they are. Mr. Bumble informs Mrs. Sowerberry that feeding meat to Oliver gives him more spirit than is appropriate to his station in life. Still enraged, Oliver kicks at the cellar door. Sowerberry returns home, beats Oliver, and locks him up again. Oliver’s rage dissolves into tears. Early the next morning, Oliver runs away. On his way out of town, he passes the workhouse where he used to live and sees an old friend, Dick, in the yard. Dick vows not to tell anyone about Oliver’s flight and bids him a warm farewell. “Good-b’ye, dear! God bless you!” “The blessing was from a young child’s lips, but it was the first that Oliver had ever heard invoked upon his head; and through the struggles and sufferings, and troubles and changes, of his after life, he never once forgot it.” Dickens proves to us that the under privileged never expected love but they were desperate for love and compassion, like Oliver they never forgot it but they cherished and remembered it as it was little in their life.
Dickens shows the other side of London that is a contrast to the workhouse and the undertaker’s place. Here he shows us the different types of society. Oliver has entered a new world, a world of criminals. Now after Oliver runs away from the undertakers place he wanted to seek his fortune in the heart of London. Oliver decides to walk seventy miles to “the very place for a homeless boy”. The next morning as Oliver was buying some bread for himself, his feet were sore, and his legs so weak that they trembled beneath him. The next morning he waited at the bottom of a steep hill till a coach came up to him. Oliver begged his heart out but very few of them took notice of him. They said they would give him his half pence only if he ran up the hill with them, but he could not keep up because of his sore feet. Seeing this, the rude and arrogant people in the coach put their penny back inside and labeled him calling him “an idle young dog”. The under privileged were often labeled and Dickens has again showed to us how the more privileged behaved towards orphans.
People like Noah Claypole who is also poor, doesn’t receive much appreciation from his parents and get jealous of a person who is much more lower in society, insults Oliver. Dickens shows us that lower class people also treat the under privileged badly. But there were some like the turnpike man and a benevolent lady. “the turnpike man gave him a meal of bread and cheese” and the old lady “gave him what little she could afford and more, with such kind and gentle words, and such tears of sympathy and compassion, that they sank deeper into Oliver’s soul, than all the sufferings he had ever undergone.” Dickens message here is that wherever or whenever you feel left out there is always someone there for you. So you must never give up hope and belief, just what Oliver needed. But there were very few children like Oliver who found the strength to cling on to their faith.
Finally, Oliver limps into a small town just outside London and collapses in a doorway. A boy approaches him about his own age named Jack Dawkins, who dresses and acts like a grown man. Jack purchases a large lunch for Oliver and informs him that he knows a “gentleman” in London who will let Oliver stay in his home for free. Oliver learns that Jack’s nickname is “the Artful Dodger.” He guesses from the Dodger’s appearance that his way of life is immoral. He plans to ingratiate himself with the gentleman in London and then end all association with Jack. Oliver had never seen such a boy as Jack. He had all “the manners of a man”, “he wore a mans coat, which reached nearly to his heels” and a “hat which was stuck on his head”. He was altogether a roistering and swaggering young man. Jack represents those boys who were introduced to crime at an early age. Dickens shows us that children associated with crime grew up before their time. They did not enjoy the innocence of childhood.
That night, the Dodger takes Oliver to a squalid London neighborhood. The Dodger conducts Oliver into a filthy, black back room where an “old shriveled Jew” named Fagin and some boys were having supper. Silk handkerchiefs hang everywhere. The boys smoke pipes and drink liquor although none appear older than the Dodger. Oliver takes a share of the dinner and sinks into a deep sleep. Oliver had to join Fagin’s band of thieves to survive. Dickens description of the underworld, tells us that London was a city of contrast. Oliver’s innocence is a striking contrast to the boys in Fagin’s den.
The innocent little Oliver knows that Fagin is evil when he sees him going through his jewelry. Fagin threatens Oliver, “Speak out, boy! Quick-quick! For your life”.
The children from the underworld were treated as badly as Oliver. Just as Fagin punishes Dodger and Charlie when they returned empty handed, Dickens shows us the treatment. Dickens’s characterization of Fagin through Jewish stereotypes is one of the more uncomfortable aspects of Oliver Twist. Dickens characterizes Fagin as a “very old shriveled Jew” with a “villainous-looking and repulsive face.” Fagin used people for his wealth. Fagin represented the criminally getting rich part of society and use innocent little children for his purpose, for crimes.
Mr. Fang is an aptly named representative of the English legal system. The law has fangs ready to devour any unfortunate pauper brought to face “justice.” Without hard evidence or witnesses, and despite Brownlow’s testimony that he does not believe that Oliver is the thief, Mr. Fang convicts Oliver and sentences him to three months of hard labor. Dickens shows us that even the educated and highly ranked people thought wrong of orphans. Mr. Brownlow shows sympathy towards Oliver, “Poor boy, poor boy!”. Mr. Brownlow represents that section of society that is dignified and respectable
Oliver once again escapes from trouble, but still has gone through it. First he escaped from the workhouse, and then from the undertaker’s house, then from Fagin’s den, then from the chase of the policemen and Mr. Brownlow and now he goes into Mr. Brownlow’s house. Oliver is delirious with a fever for days. When he awakes, Brownlow’s kindly housekeeper, Mrs. Bedwin, is watching over him. He says that he feels as if his mother has come to sit by him. Oliver is at peace. Oliver has entered a different surrounding where people care for him and he has a house to live in with caring and loving people.
Oliver enters a new world when Brownlow takes him home. The English legal system and the workhouses represent a value system based on retribution, punishment, and strict morals. The Brownlow household, in contrast, operates on a basis of forgiveness and kindness. Oliver at last has come to a place where there is no trouble and punishment, but a place where he can be peaceful. “they were happy days, every one was kind and gentle, that after the noise and turbulence, it seemed like heaven itself.”
Mr. Grimwig, is a crotchety old man, and hints that Oliver might be a boy of bad habits. Brownlow bears his friend’s eccentricity with good humor. Mrs. Bedwin brings in a parcel of books delivered by the bookstall keeper’s boy. Brownlow wishes to send his payment and some returns back with the boy, but Oliver had already gone. Mr.Grimwig suggests that Brownlow send Oliver but hints that Oliver might steal the payment and the books. ” he won’t come up to you tomorrow morning. I saw him hesitate. He is deceiving you, my good friend.” Wishing to prove Mr.Grimwig wrong, Brownlow sends Oliver on the errand. It grows dark and Oliver does not return. Mr. Grimwig represented the higher class of society that did not trust orphans at all. Mr. Brownlow was the complete opposite. Mr.Brownlow is a man who allows the ends to justify the means. But still, Mr.Brownlow is an unselfish man for whom benevolence is an active principle. To have good intentions is not enough for him; he must express his impulses in energetic action. It is as an activist that Mr.Brownlow prosecutes Oliver’s cause. After the old gentleman, Fagin takes over the management of the boy’s affairs; he becomes the acknowledged leader of the honorable company gathered around Oliver.
Dickens shows us the contrast in the upper class societies. Mr. Brownlow is a contrast in character in front Mr.Grimwig. Mr. Grimwig is against the under privileged society thinking that they are not trustworthy but Mr. Brownlow trusts Oliver and sends him to return the books. Mr.Brownlow perhaps does not judge people from looks and background but from the heart and innocence. “Speak the truth, and you shall not be friendliness while I live,”, these very lines prove the love and compassion of Mr Brownlow.
Nancy represents the lower class of society, which has to bow down for criminals such as Fagin and Bill Sikes. Nancy cares for Oliver, even though she is a criminal, who also kidnapped Oliver. Just as Nancy assumes a middle-class identity by changing her clothing, Oliver sheds his identity as a orphan pickpocket when he leaves behind his pauper’s clothes. Oliver now has found two people that care for him. Although most major characters in Oliver Twist are either paragons of goodness, like Oliver and Mr. Brownlow, or embodiments of evil, like , Fagin, and Sikes, Nancy’s behavior spans moral extremes. Dickens’s description of her manner as “remarkably free and agreeable,” combined with her position as a young, unmarried female pauper, strongly implies that she is a prostitute. Even though she is involved in crime she cares for Oliver. She also spearheads the scheme to bring Oliver back into Fagin’s fold. But her outburst against Sikes and Fagin for seizing and mistreating Oliver demonstrates her deep and passionate sense of morality. Most other “good” characters we meet are good because they have no firsthand experience with vice and degradation. Nancy knows degradation perfectly well, yet she is good. Her character is a forum for the novel to explore whether an individual can be redeemed from the effects of a bad environment. Nancy represents all those little young girls who were forced into a life of crime, taken advantage of by Fagin and Bill Sikes. Dickens shows us the traumatic effects it has on children and how Nancy cares for Oliver and does not want him to be in her state. Nancy also has some good qualities. When Nancy hears about Oliver being shot, hopes that Oliver is dead because she believed living with Fagin was worse than death. “ The child, is better where he is, than among us; and if no harm comes to Bill from it, I hope he lies dead in the ditch, and that his young bones may rot there.” “ I shall be glad to have him away from my eyes, and to know that the worst is over. I can’t bear to have him about me. The sight of him turns me against myself, and all of you.” Dickens now with proof portrays Nancy’s image as a caring, understanding kind and gentle person. A contrast to all lower class society.
Bill Sikes represents the ultimate outcome of a brutalizing existence. He has almost completely lost any sign of human sensitivity or tenderness. Sikes is so harsh and brutal in his ways that he treats Oliver with no care. He threatens the little boy that if he wakes the family up he would get shot, and that’s what happened. Bill Sikes was threat to all orphans as he didn’t care who any one was. When Sikes grabs Oliver in front of the beer shop he threatens Oliver “ Here, Bull’s –eye!”, threatens to set his vicious dog on him. Bill Sikes represented the dominant lower class of society. They were criminally rich and would use children for their ill purposes.
Mr Bumble is again introduced to us in the latter half of the novel. Mr Bumble represented the Middle class of society who wanted to have a high post.. Mr. Bumble notices a reward for the where about of Oliver Twist in the paper. He quickly goes to Brownlow’s home. Mr. Bumble states that, since birth, Oliver has displayed nothing but “treachery, ingratitude, and malice.” Bumble tells Brownlow that Oliver “attacked Noah Claypole without provocation”, and Brownlow decides Mr. Bumble is nothing but an impostor. Mrs. Bedwin refuses to believe Mr. Bumble. Dickens again and again shows us the trust Mr. Brownlow has in Oliver in spite of all the others evil people that tell him stories about Oliver.
, the mistress of the house at which is shot. She is a kindly, old-fashioned elderly woman. Her niece, Miss , is an angelic beauty of seventeen. , the eccentric local bachelor surgeon, arrives in a fluster, stating his wonderment at the fact that neither woman is dead of fright at having a burglar in their house. He proceeds to attend to Oliver for a long while. When he returns, he asked the women if they had seen the thief. They had not, and, since had enjoyed the commendations for his bravery, he had not told the women that the thief he had shot was a small boy. Upon seeing Oliver, Miss Rose exclaims that he cannot possibly be a burglar “unless older, evil men have forced him into the trade”. She begs her aunt not to send the “child to prison.” Mrs. Maylie replies that she intends to send him to prison nonetheless. They wait all day for Oliver to awake in order to determine whether he is a bad child or not. Oliver relates his life history to them that evening, bringing tears to the eyes of his audience. Even though Oliver was involved in the robbery the house members did not want to give him up to the police, as they knew he was innocent. Dickens shows us the compassionate and loving attitude Rose Maylie has towards Oliver. She knows what happens to the unfortunate and so supports him.
Oliver Twist is a novel that takes the reader through different sections of London society. We are presented with the comfort and luxury of the upper class and the plight and the hardships of the lower class along with the dangers of the underworld. Dickens is a very successful storyteller with effective language skills and creative imagination. Oliver is portrayed as an embodiment of the principle of good who resists all evils in spite of all his challenging circumstances comes out untarnished. Dickens ‘Oliver Twist’ is not just life like , we feel it is alive because of his extraordinary ability to make us visualize the19th century London. Characters such as Mr.Brownlow, Nancy, Ms. Rose, all give comfort to Oliver’s life but filthy characters such Fagin and Sikes never allow Oliver to be in peace.
Dickens shows us how society can change the life of a person. The different classes of society all have good and bad. But in the end we know that good prevails over evil. The novel has made me realize that I can survive under any circumstances if I keep hope and keep praying like Oliver did, have more faith. The novel also inspires me as good prevails over evil and always will. The novel is also an eye opener for me as it teaches me to appreciate the comforts of my life as I have a home to live in, love from my parents, food to eat everyday and it teaches me to be more understanding and gentle towards younger people who are less fortunate than me.
