Analysis Of Oliver Twist

General Introduction

The tale of Oliver Twist is legendary to British culture. The story of the novel centers round an orphan named Oliver Twist, whose mother died immediately after his birth in a workhouse. The novel focuses on the social injustice done to the orphans in the

Victorian period. The main thread of the plot unravels the nature of the criminal world consisting of characters like Fagin, Sikes, Jack Dawkins, Nancy and Betsey. Dickens’s aim of writing the novel was to show in the boy Oliver the principle of good surviving through every adverse circumstance and triumphing at least. This object is achieved through the fact that Oliver remains uncontaminated by evil and vice around him. The filthy localities in which the criminals have

Fagin, Sikes, Nancy, Bates, and Dodger form this criminal world of London.

The cases of juvenile delinquency seem to have very frequent in those days. However,

Dickens suggests for the uprooting of all forms of social injustice and child-abuse as well as all types of criminal activities.

Plot and Structure in Oliver Twist

The plot in Oliver Twist is very complicated and unsatisfactory. The novel certainly has a traditional plot, which concerns a wronged woman, an illegitimate child, a destroyed will, a wicked elder brother, criminals and finally the defeat of the evil forces and the victory of good. Thus, this plot contains sensational incidents, which make the novel fully absorbing.

The novel lacks in organic unity. The unity of impulse is there but the impulse is moral and didactic. The opening chapters are continuous enough but suddenly the action moves to London, which affects the unity of the novel. Again, Dickens has portrayed some mysteries, which baffle us as well as the plot of the novel. The mystery of the birth of Oliver keeps the plot in a static situation. Brownlow’s discovery of the

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resemblance between Oliver’s face and that of the woman in the picture is

Sowerberry’s terrible beating of Oliver is terrifying. The dramatic situation include the kidnapping of Oliver by

Nancy, Nancy’s intervention when Oliver is being severely beaten by Fagin; the murder of Nancy, death of Sikes and the hanging of Fagin create an atmosphere of horror in the novel. The whole novel is pervaded by an atmosphere of horror, dramatic situation, and suspense. Suspense lies in the fact that when Sikes is almost on the verge of

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torturing Oliver, Nancy saves him. Another instance of suspense is that Oliver has been pushed through the window, which Sikes has come to commit burglary.

Poverty, Oppression and death in Oliver Twist

The world portrayed by Charles Dickens is certainly a cruel, ugly, depressing, nauseating, poor and oppressive. The seamy side of life in the novel is mainly depicted through Oliver’s life in the workhouse and outside. He begins his life in the workhouse as an orphan and grows up through utter poverty. He would put on cloth just to cover his body. The orphans and the children are sometimes driven to a life of crime. The boys namely Arful Dodger, Charley Bates and Tom coming from Poor