Why is Nancy such an important character in the novel Oliver Twist?

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Why is Nancy such an important character in the novel Oliver Twist?

There are many reasons Nancy’s character is such an important one in

the novel.

One of these reasons is that when you first see her you are told

that she wears a lot of make up and that she has a great deal of hair

and she is ‘not very tidy about her shoes and stockings’. At that time

this was not a respectable way to dress for a young, respectable

woman, so it gives you the idea that she is a prostitute .At this

moment you think that she is just a low- life woman trying to make a

living.

Even though most people would recognise Nancy for what she is, Oliver

does not and thinks of her as a nice lady. This tells you that Oliver

is meant to be innocent and does not have a clue on what is going on

around him.

Slowly as the story starts to develop, you get the idea that Nancy has

another, more caring, side to her. You find out about this side on

page 142 where she says to Bill Sikes that he’ll have to go through

her if he wants to attack Oliver with his dog, Bullseye. At this point

she also says to Bill that she doesn’t care if he splits her head

against the wall but she still won’t get out of his way. This tells

you that she is caring and does not want Oliver to suffer.

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

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