Oliver Twist - Board Scene

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How does Charles Dickens Treat Poverty In the Board Scenes Chapters Two and Three?

“Oliver Twist” is a novel written by Charles Dickens in the 1830s, Victorian times, it was so famous that even Queen Victoria herself read it. It tells the story of a boy named Oliver Twist, as it is suggested by the title. Many themes are covered, the most evident being poverty, throughout the novel the reader is shown what conditions certain people were in Victorian times. In this essay I will be concentrating on a certain part of the novel, the board scene in chapter two and three. I am focusing on this certain part of “Oliver Twist” as it shows the greatest examples of class division and wealth, which are the most important and main themes of the novel. Dickens uses characters to aid the readers’ understanding of the attitudes of life in that current time. Dickens extensive use of language and metaphors make for an interesting and occasionally comical read. The boardroom represents the difference in class and wealth and demonstrates to a high level the many problems of the time. I am, finally going to talk about Dickens use of language and images imposed by him.

The board scenes are the main focus point of the essay and thus I will explain first the way in which the events unfold as to have a better understanding of the happenings. Oliver Twist is brought up in the workhouse and at the age of nine he is presented to the board; this is the first time he has heard of such a thing and is puzzled by it. After the harsh and stressful board scene Oliver is told that he must pick oakum as a new job and he is taken to a new workhouse, he is then underfed and treated with slow starvation. Because of the effects of this one night a boy tells the others what he might do if he was too hungry, “Hinted darkly to his companions, that unless he had another basin per diem, he was afraid he might some night happen to eat the boy who slept next to him” this shows the conditions they were in, they were so underfed that it even crossed their minds to eat others. It fell to Oliver to ask for more food the next day, he did as he promised, the master was insulted and astonished by this request and called the beadle immediately for him to be removed from the workhouse “The master aimed a blow at Oliver’s head with the ladle, pinioned him in his arms, and shrieked aloud for the beadle.” He is then sent in confinement and put on sale with a reward of five pounds for anyone that would take them off the hands of the parish. A chimney sweeper passes by the workhouse and notices the sign on the gate and thus, seeking an apprentice, speaks to the board and manages to strike a deal with them, but of course Oliver Twist must see him first and this is when the board scene unfolds.

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The first board scene is in Chapter two, whereupon Oliver meets the board for the first time, he has no idea of what the board is “Not having a very clearly defined notion of what a live board was, Oliver was rather astounded by this intelligence, and was not quite sure whether he ought to laugh or cry.” Dickens describes the boardroom excellently, “A large whitewashed room where eight or ten fat gentlemen were sitting round a table.” By reading this sentence one can quickly understand the great wealth of those inside the room, a large whitewashed room was only ...

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