This shows her loyalty to Bill Sikes and maybe Fagin and this could be a problem for her and Oliver later on in the novel.
Nancy is seen rescuing Oliver many times but then dragging him back into trouble just when he is about to get out. She is confused because at first she kidnaps Oliver and, then, she protects him from Bullseye (Bill’s dog). Then Nancy collects Oliver from Fagin so he can be used on a burglary with Bill Sikes. Then Nancy has a discussion with Fagin and later overhears a conversation between him and Monks about Olivier which
again changes her mind! Nancy then visits Rose Maylie and then a few days later she is planning to visit her again but Sikes won’t let her out of the house. After meeting Brownlow and Rose, Fagin suspects something, and Nancy is brutally murdered by the psychotic Bill Sikes!
Nancy is such an important character in the novel ‘Oliver Twist for many reasons, the most important being that because she helps Oliver escape from the criminal underworld she is risking her own life to save his. She gets whacked by ‘Bill Sikes’ for trying to help Oliver and trying to hide him and it is at this point she is realised as an important character. It’s like that saying ‘everyone gets famous after they die!’ Nancy is important to the plot development because she is shown as double sided in the novel but when Fagin employs Noah Claypole to spy on Nancy it builds up sympathy for Nancy showing that she is trying to help Oliver and do the right thing whilst the odds are stacked against her! She also gains sympathy for the way she dies in the novel.
When she meets Brownlow and Rose, Dickens builds up the sense that something evil is about to happen, because he sets the scene at midnight when there is mist, church bells, coffins, and it’s deserted, everyone ignoring each other. This sets the scene showing that there is going to be a death. Noah Claypole hears the meeting between Nancy and Rose and reveals all to Fagin. Fagin lets Sikes know about Nancy’s double-dealing and Sikes is far from pleased. Fagin cleverly winds up Sikes knowing his reaction and this shows that Fagin is evil because he wants Nancy dead and that he can get her killed by Sikes. This also shows that the relationship with Fagin and his thieves is like that of brothers, because Fagin can make them do basically what he wants. Later on Nancy returns home and falls asleep. When she is woken by Sikes she is actually pleased to see him. This is because she thinks she’s done nothing wrong because, even though she told Rose the truth, she never gave away their hiding place and names of the thieves. This shows her in a good light as she thinks what she has done is right, and this, builds up support for Nancy at this part of the novel. But then Sikes drags her to the middle of the room and tells her what she has done. She pleads with him to spare her and he is still in two minds, then she clings to him and doesn’t let go. Sikes listens to her say that she wants to see the people she met one more time and then Sikes draws his pistol. He doesn’t want to fire because Fagin warned him about the noise it would make so alternatively she is bludgeoned to
death by Sikes. Again this shows Fagin as an evil character because he did not care about Nancy, but only about the noise that it would make if Sikes shot her. This builds up sympathy for Nancy and it is at this point Nancy is realised as an important character in the novel.
The reader likes Nancy despite her faults mainly because she helps Oliver, and Oliver is supported by the reader because of the way he is treated at the start of the novel. Nancy helps Oliver out of many tricky situations including Oliver’s run in with Sikes’s dog Bullseye, Nancy not telling Fagin and his gang of thieves where Oliver is, Nancy leaking inside information about Monks to Brownlow and Rose for Oliver’s benefit. She refuses to tell on Fagin and his gang which again shows her undying loyalty to Fagin and his gang of thieves. The reader also likes the fact that Nancy risks her life in many parts of the novel and that also that she is showing her loyalty for both sides, Oliver’s and Fagin’s. When she risks her life it builds up excitement for the reader especially when she is being pursued by Fagin’s spy. The reader likes this. The reader also likes that Nancy protects Oliver. She does because firstly she doesn’t want him to have the same hard life that she has had, and she doesn’t want him working in the criminal underworld along with Fagin and Sikes. Especially because he is so young.
The readers also sympathise with Nancy because she seems very nice compared to others such as Fagin and Sikes. This is because even though she seems double-sided she comes through in the end on the side of good whilst Fagin is planning to poison one of his own people: Bill Sikes. They also empathise with her because of the brutality and harshness she receives from Sikes. And then she allies herself with people such as Mr. Brownlow and Rose who are really kind to a boy (Oliver) who tried to rob them which shows Nancy is on the same side as them( the side of good).
So why is Nancy such an important character in the novel Oliver Twist? The main reason Nancy is such an important character is because she risks her life to save Oliver and goes through many hardships and brutalities to ensure that Oliver stays alive and doesn’t get dragged into the criminal underworld that she hates and doesn’t wish to be part of!
It is a typical ‘good VS evil’ scenario and when good prevails the reader really enjoys this. This is what is happening with Nancy, she represents good in a struggle with Fagin and Sikes who represent evil. She dies but
for a just cause, when she frees Oliver from the criminal underworld and lets him know about his undiscovered riches.
So that is why Nancy is such an important character in the novel ‘Oliver Twist’.
