Oliver
Twist By Dickens
The story of an orphan boy without the “easy life” dares to take on the
world in his many journeys, and countless adventures. He goes from the lowest
part of London, to a part that he never knew existed. He makes many freinds and
a few enemys. No one can turn down his sensitive, helpless looks and you end up
caring about him whether you want to or not. Mr. Bumble is a rat man, is always
picking on people, and is very fond of bullying others. He likes to be in
charge. Halfway through the book, Bumble changes. When he marries Mrs.Corney,he
loses authority. Then she makes all the decisions. Jack Dawkins, known as the
artful dodger, is a charming rogue. Fagin’s best pupil. He is a dirty, wild,
hyper boy. Dickens makes Dodger look more appealing by describing his outrageous
clothes and untamed manners. Fagin is a master criminal, whose specialty is
selling stolen property. He employs a gang of thieves and is always looking for
new recruits. He is a man of high intelligence, although does not use it enough.
Mr. Brownlow is a generous man, concerned for other people. A very respectable
looking person with a heart large enough for any six ordinary men. Bill Sikes is
a bully, a robber and a murderer. He is an ally of Fagin. Fagin plans the crimes
and Sikes carries them out Monks, also known as Edward Leeford, is Oliver’s half
brother. He wants to destroy Olivers chance of inheriting their fathers estate.
Nancy is the the pupil of Fagin, and the abused mistress of Sikes. Although she
is a prostitute and an accomplice of crooks, she has the instincts of a good
person. Rose Maylie is very differnt from Nancey on the surface. Both were
orphans, but Rose grew up with more family values. She is sympathetic to Oliver,
but unlike Nancy, Rose is does not know of all the evils of the world. Oliver
Twist, a loving, innocent orphan child; the son of Edwin Leeford and Agnes
Fleming. He is generally quiet and shy rather than aggressive. Oliver’s kind
nature earns him the pity and love of the good people he meets. Dicken’s choice
of Oliver’s name tells a lot, because the boy’s story is full of
“twists” and turns. Dickens uses his skills at creating to make Oliver
a character for everyone Oliver Twist is orphaned at birth, he grows up in the
workhouse until he is apprenticed ,at an early age, to Mr. Sowerberry, the
undertaker. Unhappy and mistreated, Oliver runs away. In London, he meets The
Artful Dodger. The slightly older boy takes Oliver to the hideout of a London
gang of juvenile delinquents. Looked after by Fagin, an old Jew who teaches them
how to perfect pick-pocketing, the boys roam the city by day practicing their
trade. Also associated with the gang are the sinister Bill Sikes and his
soft-hearted girlfriend, Nancy. Oliver, too, learns to steal, but, on one of his
first lone attempts, he is caught. Oliver is taken to the police station, where
a kindly and wealthy old gentleman, Mr. Brownlow, intervenes on the boy’s
behalf. Planning to educate and care for the boy, Mr. Brownlow takes custody of
Oliver. Bill Sikes and his friend Monk learn of Oliver’s newly acquired position
and see an opportunity to rob the Brownlow house, using Oliver to let them in.
They kidnap him and return with him to the gang. When Nancy tries to return
Oliver to Mr. Brownlow, she is brutally murdered by Sikes. The attempted robbery
fails, and Sikes drags Oliver over the rooftops of London as he is pursued by
the police and an enraged torch-carrying mob. Sikes falls and hangs himself.
Oliver is rescued and returns to Mr. Brownlow to discover that he is the lost
grandson Brownlow has been looking for. The major action of Oliver Twist moves
back and forth between two worlds: The filthy slums of London and the clean,
comfortable house of Brownlow and the Maylies. London is a world of crime.
Things happen there at night, in dark alleys and in, abandoned, dark
buildings.Maybe he is suggesting evil dominates this world Charles Dickens grew
up in London, very poor. His father ended up in prison and the young Charles had
to start working at a factory. It only lasted for a few months, but he never
forgot the humiliation and the suffering. In the 1830s Dickens started to work
as a journalist in London. In 1837 he gained fame with the novel “The
Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club”. “Oliver Twist” came the
year after, and was followed by “Nicholas Nickleby”. Charles Dickens
is considered one of the greatest authors of the 19th century. I found this book
very interesting and got more out of it then I thought that I would. It was a
light on the real world today. Which is why I think Charles Dickens is such an
outstanding author because his work still reflects on the world we live in
today. So I say that if you have to pick any book to do a report on, let it be
Oliver Twist.
