Oliver Twist :: English Literature

Oliver TwistOliver Twist - As the child hero of a melodramatic novel of socialprotest, Oliver Twist is meant to appeal more to our sentiments thanto our literary sensibilities. On many levels, Oliver is not abelievable character, because although he is raised in abusesurroundings, 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 preferablythat 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 Dodger andCharley Bates pick a strangers poke and again when he is forced toparticipate in a burglary. Olivers moral scruples about the sanctityof property seem inborn in him, incisively as Dickenss opponents thoughtthat corruption is inborn in poor people. Furthermore, other pauperchildren use rough Cockney slang, but Oliver, oddl y enough, speaks inproper Kings English. His grammatic fastidiousness is alsoinexplicable, as Oliver presumably has not 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 tornbetween good and evil instead, he is goodness incarnate.Even if we might feel that Dickenss social criticism would take on beenmore effective if he had centre on a more complex poor character,like the Artful Dodger or Nancy, the audience for whom Dickens waswriting might not have been receptive to such a portrayal. DickenssVictorian middle-class readers were likely to hold opinions on thepoor that were only a little less extreme than those verbalized by Mr.Bumble, the beadle who treats paupers with great cruelty. In fact,Oliver Twist was criticized for portraying thieves and prostitut es atall. Given the strict morals of Dickenss audience, it may have seemednecessary for him to make Oliver a seraphic 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 question 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 free and agreeable .