Nancy feels sorry for Oliver because she recognises his innocence and does not want him to get involved in the criminal underworld as she did. She is reminded of how she got involved in the criminal underworld at such a young age and does not want Oliver to waste his life as she did. When this happens the reader starts to feel a bit sorry for Nancy.
Nancy also helps to develop the story. It could have ended when Oliver meets Mr.Brownlow but Nancy kidnaps him, allowing the story to progress. After kidnapping him, she tries to reunite Oliver with Rose Maylie so this also helps the plot. By this stage of the story, Nancy’s life is near its end so Charles Dickens begins to build up sympathy towards Nancy.
He does this by writing up a cruel end to her life. It starts with the Jew, Fagin, employing Noah Claypole (whom Fagin knows as Bolter) to go and spy on Nancy.
Throughout the story, Dickens uses the word ‘Jew’ when referring to Fagin. This tells you that the anti-Semitic nature of the British does not change until after world war two. The play ‘Merchant of Venice’ was written approximately 250 years before and that also had a very anti – Semitic nature to it. In approximately 250 years, there is no difference in their attitude towards Jews.
Once having employed Noah, Fagin finds out that Nancy has been meeting with Rose Maylie. Fagin is furious with Nancy and intends to get her killed in some way or another. Nancy by this stage of the novel is starting to see so called ‘signs of death’. She sees things such as coffins and church bells. All of these things are somehow linked to death in at least one way. By doing this Dickens builds up even more sympathy for Nancy, because she is now almost about to be brutally murdered by Bill Sikes.
In this book there are some characters who are too good to be true and some who are too bad to be true. For example, Mr. Brownlow and Rose Maylie are too kind to a boy who has just tried to rob them. On the other hand, Fagin and Sikes are just too bad, to be even a bit realistic. For example, Fagin, even though Sikes is his comrade, wishes dearly to poison him. Sikes is also made out to be too bad as well. He is always talking in a cruel and harsh manner towards his so- called ‘girlfriend’ Nancy,whom he, in the end, murders in such an unbelievable way, that you couldn’t possible believe that he is a realistic character.
Throughout the book you really only meet two believable characters, who are Nancy and Mr. Brownlow’s friend, Mr. Grimwig. I think they are the most believable because they have two sides to them. For example, Nancy is both kind and caring, but also is part of a criminal organisation, while Mr. Grimwig is said to be a good person but doesn’t trust Oliver with the books that Mr. Brownlow has given to him. Who would anyway? This boy has just been in court for having been pick pocketing ,so Mr. Grimwig in my opinion is right, to not trust Oliver.
Fagin gets his own way in the end and gets Nancy killed by Bill Sikes, by provoking him into it. He says such things as ‘you won’t be-too-violent, Bill?’and ‘I mean, not too violent for safety .Be crafty, Bill, and not too bold’. When he knows perfectly well that he doesn’t care about being violent and is not ever crafty, but he still says it to him to get him fired up so he will feel no remorse when it comes to killing Nancy. Fagin also wants Bill Sikes to kill Nancy quietly so they are not caught.
Even when Nancy is about to be killed she is glad to see Bill. Dickens writes ‘It is you, Bill’ said the girl, with an expression of pleasure at his return’. This makes the reader sympathize with Nancy even more. This also proves that she has two sides to her character. Even though she has had a meeting with Rose Maylie, She has not betrayed any of her friends.
This makes Nancy probably the most believable in the entire novel. Nancy is an important character mainly because of her two sided personality and because of how she cares for Oliver and this helps develop the plot of the story.
Lastly because of her being a not too bad and not too good character she helps to make the whole story more realistic and believable. She is the only member of the underworld to be liked by the reader and is also the only one who is nice to Oliver.