Oliver Twist 2

A detailed Summary of Oliver Twist 2

With all of the symbolism and moral issues represented in Oliver Twist, all seem to come from real events from the life of its author, Charles Dickens. The novels protagonist, Oliver, is a good person at heart surrounded by the filth of the London streets. Filth that Dickens himself was forced to deal with in his everyday life. But through morals and mere chance Oliver becomes a living symbol.

Itıs probable that the reason Oliver Twist contains so much fear and agony is because itıs a reflection of occurrences in Charles Dickens' past. During his childhood, Charles Dickens suffered much abuse from his parents. This abuse is often expressed in his novel. While at the orphanage, Oliver experienced a great amount of abuse. For example, while suffering from starvation and malnutrition for a long period of time, Oliver was chosen by the other boys at the orphanage to request more gruel at dinner one night. After making this simple request, the master (at the orphanage) aimed a blow at Oliver's head with the ladle; pinioned him in his arms; and shrieked aloud for the beadle. The whole beginning of Oliver Twist's story was created from memories which related to Charles Dickens' childhood in a blacking factory (which was overshadowed

had grown up in.² (Walder 299) However, no matter how tempting the evil may have been, Oliver stood by his beliefs. Therefore, he can be referred to as:

Aside from satire, Dickens uses various other devices in writing this novel. One of the most common is that of coincidence. For example, Oliver just happened to end up, first, at the house of Mr. Brownlow, who at one time was a really good friend of Oliver's father. Then, later on, Oliver ends up at Rose Maylie's house, who, as it turns out is his aunt. Both of these occurances are also even more rare just because of where they happened. In Dickens time, London was not as huge a city as it is now, but it was still one of the larger places at the time. So, coincidence? Maybe in a town like Plainsville, TX (pop. 75), but not in London. (Rosales 927) "Written in abrupt, truncated chapters," (Winans 238) Oliver Twist took the form of a new type of English prose. It depends heavily on the use of abstraction, or the avoidance of various facts. However, the novel has itıs own form of narration. Oliver Twist is written in the third person, therefore the reader gains a view of the story from the position of an onlooker or outsider. They form their own opinions about the characters from "watching them."

city is described as a maze which involves a "mystery of darkness,

by the Marshalsea Prison ). While working in the blacking factory, Dickens suffered tremendous humiliation. This humiliation is greatly expressed through Oli

Some common words found in the essay are:
Oliver Twist, Twist Oliver, Charles Dickens, Bill Sikes, Marshalsea Prison, Filth Dickens, Charles Dickens', London Rosales, Dickens London, oliver twist, Rose Maylie's, charles dickens, satire dickens, blacking factory, charles dickens', individual institution, social injustices, dickens suffered,

Approximate Word count = 1002
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English