Oliver Twist :: English Literature

Oliver rickOliver Twist - As the child hero of a histrionic novel of socialprotest, Oliver Twist is meant to appeal more to our sentiments thanto our literary sensibilities. On many levels, Oliver is non abelievable guinea pig, because although he is raised in corruptsurroundings, his purity and virtue are absolute. Throughout thenovel, Dickens uses Olivers character to challenge the Victorian ideathat paupers and criminals are already evil at birth, arguing insteadthat a corrupt environment is the source of vice. At the same time,Olivers incorruptibility undermines some of Dickenss assertions.Oliver is shocked and horrified when he sees the Artful slyboots andCharley Bates pick a strangers pocket and again when he is forced to put down in a burglary. Olivers moral scruples about the sanctityof piazza seem inborn in him, just as Dickenss opponents thoughtthat corruptness is inborn in poor people. Furthermore, other pauperchildren use rough cockney slang, but Oliver, oddly enoug h, speaks inproper Kings English. His grammatical fastidiousness is alsoinexplicable, as Oliver presumably has non been educated well. Evenwhen he is abused and manipulated, Oliver does not become angry orindignant. When Sikes and Crackit force him to assist in a robbery,Oliver merely begs to be allowed to run away and die in thefields. Oliver does not present a complex picture of a person partbetween good and evil instead, he is goodness incarnate.Even if we world power feel that Dickenss social criticism would comport beenmore effective if he had focused on a more complex poor character, comparable the Artful Dodger or Nancy, the audience for whom Dickens waswriting dexterity not have been receptive to such a portrayal. DickenssVictorian upper-middle-class readers were likely to hold opinions on thepoor that were only a detailed less extreme than those expressed by Mr.Bumble, the beadle who treats paupers with great cruelty. In fact,Oliver Twist was criticized for portrayin g thieves and prostitutes atall. Given the strict morals of Dickenss audience, it may have seemednecessary for him to make Oliver a saintlike figure. Because Oliverappealed to Victorian readers sentiments, his story may have stood abetter chance of effectively challenging their prejudices.Nancy - A major concern of Oliver Twist is the skepticism of whether ornot a bad environment can irrevocably poison someones character andsoul. As the novel progresses, the character who best illustrates thecontradictory issues brought up by that question is Nancy. As a childof the streets, Nancy has been a thief and drinks to excess. Thenarrators reference to her vindicate and agreeable .