Oliver Twist

Oliver Twist in relation to the Newgate Calendars Born into a poor English family in 1812, Charles Dickens worked his way up from a life of poverty and debtor's prison, to become a writer of national acclaim. In his Victorian era, he was an exception to the rule because it was very difficult to break through the barriers of social class and better oneself. Because of his bleak childhood, Dickens was one of the few writers of his time who could express the horrors of society as they really were. One of his most famous novels is Oliver Twist. This story centers on a young boy named Oliver whose real identity is unknown when his mother dies in childbirth. As an orphan, he is exploited by corrupt and selfish authority figures, and is forced into a life of poverty, hard labor, misery and crime. Oliver suffers horribly and often takes the blame for others' misdeeds. Dickens is showing that Oliver is a good person, and the bad things that happen to him are through no fault of his own, but because society and the people around him are bad.

From his earliest childhood days, Oliver is treated harshly by society. He was born in a workhouse where he is barely given enough food to live and is forced to do hard manual labor. Dickens satirically describes the authorities' view of the poor in this passage: "'Oho!' said the board, looking very knowing, 'we are the fellows to set this to rights; we'll stop it all, in no time.' So they established the rule that all poor people should have the alternative of being starved by a gradual process in the house, or by a quick one out of it" (34). The Board Members decide they are too lenient on the starving boys, so they decrease their rations and increase their labor. In Oliver's workhouse, the young boys decide to ask for a little more food. Oliver is picked to ask for more, and as a result, he is beaten and thrown in to a tiny, dark cell by himself. Dickens

vividly describes the torture this little nine-year old boy suffers in solitary confinement. "He only cried bitterly all day, and, when the long, dismal night came on, spread his little hands before his eyes to shut out the darkness, and crouching in the corner, tried to sleep, ever and anon waking with a start and tremble, and drawing himself closer and closer to the wall, as it to feel even its cold hard surface were a protection in the gloom and loneliness which surrounded him" (38). Right after this passage, Dickens even ironically suggests that Oliver might want to kill himself, except that he is too poor to have a handkerchief to hang himself with. The author represents society as turning a blind eye on the mistreatment and exploitation of orphans. Yet Oliver and the other orphans still manage to get by in spite of the situation Dickens puts him in. Oliver is surrounded by evil people and often takes the blame for another person's offense. He is taken from the workhouse, and apprenticed to an undertaker, Mr. Sowerberry, whose wife lives up to her name and is very mean to Oliver. He is blamed for getting into a fight with a cruel charity-boy who makes fun of Oliver and his mother. When Oliver protests that Noah called his mother names, Mrs. Sowerberry replies, "Well, and what if he did, you little ungrateful wretch?...She deserved what he said, and worse" (77). The charity-boy, Noah Claypole, receives no punishment for his heartless insults, while Mrs. Sowerberry insures that Oliver is soundly beaten. This passage follows the Newgate Calendar model of reinforcing the status quo, because Noah, who went to charity school, is above Oliver, therefore he is seen as having a higher social status. Later that night, Oliver runs away to the streets of London. By the time he gets there he is starving and falls prey to a strange-looking boy who offers him food and lodging. Although it seems bad that Oliver falls into the grip of criminals, it is actually the only time in his life he has had enough food and a little love. Given the situation, this again represents

how even in a horrible situation, Oliver still manages to somehow get by. The timely nourishment probably saves his life, even though he does not suspect how this borrowed time will cost him dearly when he is associated with Fagin's criminal boys. As Fagin says to Sikes when he gives Oliver over to him as a thief, "'And he will do everything you want, Bill, my dear,' interposed the Jew; 'he can't help himself. That is, if you frighten him enough'" (182). By frightening Oliver into a crime he is unwilling to commit, Fagin tries to take total power over the boy by using blackmail. Again, an evil person is attempting to corrupt Oliver's innocence and take away the life he is entitled to live. It quickly becomes clear to the reader, but not to Oliver that the Dodger and his friends are an unsavory bunch. The old gentleman Fagin, trains kids to be pickpockets, and then he sells off what they steal. But Oliver doesn’t realize what’s up until he’s actually out with the Dodger and another one of the boys, named Charley Bates. Not long afterwards, Bill Sikes and another thief say they need a small boy to help them break into a house outside of London; Fagin volunteers Oliver. The plan goes awry when the servants of the house wake up and catch Oliver in the act of sneaking in. The servants don’t realize that Oliver is there against his will, and was actually about to wake up the household to warn them about the robbers. So poor Oliver takes a bullet and is left behind when the rest are all running away. This can symbolize the Newgate Calendar convention of there being no such thing as a sympathetic criminal because they just leave Oliver vinge for himself. Oliver is tackled in the street, but by then a nice old man Mr. Brownlow has taken a better look at him. He realized that Oliver looks too sweet and innocent to be a pickpocket. In fact, Oliver isn’t so much a pick-pocket as he is a very sick little boy. So Mr. Brownlow takes Oliver home and cares for him until he’s well. This brings up the Newgate convention of how there is still some good

people in society despite the protagonists surroundings. Oliver is surrounded by evil forces and people who try to control him, Dickens' title character is not a strong or dynamic protagonist. Oliver evolves and changes very little over the course of the novel. He doesn't exert much control over the events of his own life or any other characters. Even Oliver's most famous and controversial line, "Please, sir, I want some more" (36), is put into his mouth by the other boys, and not an action he decides to do himself. Oliver speaks very little, and when he does, it is typically a yes or no response to a question. Through Oliver, who is a completely innocent and good person, Dickens is emphasizing how truly bad the society and authorities were. The author uses this constant, unchanging main character as a puppet which the other characters manipulate for their own ends. A perfect example of this is when Mr. Bumble instructed Oliver that "all he would have to do would be to look very happy, and say, when the gentleman asked him if he wanted to be apprenticed, that he should like it very much indeed" (43). Oliver very rarely goes against what he is told to do. Once is when he refuses to be apprenticed to the chimney sweep, and the second is when he runs away from Mr. Sowerberry. Oliver is a weak, but necessary protagonist in Dickens' view of the poor laws.
The character of Oliver Twist is a good person who is controlled by other people and forces around him in an evil society. He is exploited because he is a pauper and an orphan, and he is used as a shield by other people when he takes the blame for their misdeeds. Although Oliver is not a deep or dynamic character, Dickens uses him as a perfect foil to highlight the negative sides of a typical society. Throughout the novel, Charles Dickens uses many of his strengths of description to make his point on the condition of the poor in London. Dickens is able to touch on topics such as the conditions of workhouses, prostitution, and burglary. On top of all these things he also digs into each individual character and is able to find clever ways of making their inner-workings clear by using dialogue and relating them to their surroundings. All while doing these things, he scolds the bad treatment of the often forgotten lower class. Yet he also tries to use certain characters to set examples of good morals and values like those found in Rose Maylie and Mr. Brownlow. Oliver was very fortunate to find these people, considering how awful his life could have turned out. The charity and compassion that existed in these people’s hearts allowed Oliver to be saved from a certain and lonely death. Dickens related very much to the sufferings of the poor and in this novel was determined to show how wretched it could make people like Bill Sikes and even Fagin. All these reasons combined make Oliver Twist very crucial in showing the modern world how much things have changed yet, have also stayed the same. For example, although pick-pocketing has become a thing of the past, burglary and prostitution still exist today in our society. Charles Dickens expertly portrays life in the 1830’s full of the good, bad, and ugly as they all strived to make it in a world that was unforgiving and cruel. Although Oliver is not a deep or dynamic character, Dickens uses him to highlight the negative sides of a society.