Charles Dickens

Oliver TwistThe Victorian Period

Bibliography• Oliver Twist (1837)• David Copperfield• Great Expectations• A Christmas Carol• etc

Biography• Born in 1812 in Portsmouth• Moved to London 1823• Worked in factory (labelling bottles of shoe

polish)• Father arrested for debt: family moved to

Marshalsea Prison• Marked for life by these experiences…

Biography• First novel (The Pickwick Papers)

successful• Immediately started publishing Oliver Twist

(serial)• A Christmas Carol (1843) huge hit• In his books, he assaulted the

establishment and bureaucracy• Stood up for the underprivileged• Worked himself to untimely death (1870)

Oliver Twist- summaryBorn in a workhouse. Mother dies giving birth.Raised in workhouse orphanage by ill-

tempered Mrs Corney and Mrs MannAge of nine: moves to workhouse to workSold when he asks for more gruel

(havermout)Works for Mr Sowerberry (undertaker)

Oliver Twist- summaryFlees the undertaker’s after a rowWalks to LondonPicked up by Artful Dodger, and taken in by

Fagin, who learns him to be pickpocketArrested on the first nightMr Brownlow exonerates Oliver and takes

him inTreated with sympathy for first time

Oliver Twist- summarySees portrait in the nurse’s room of a woman

who looks just like himFagin desperate for Oliver’s return (potential

informer)Oliver kidnapped by Bill Sikes and NancyFagin sends Oliver with Bill for a burglaryOliver is shotMrs Maylie (housekeeper) takes care of

Oliver

Oliver Twist- summaryOliver treated kindly, also by Mrs Maylie’s

niece, RoseOliver spied on by Monks, an agent of

Fagin’sAlso, Fagin himself spies on Oliver, looking

for an opportunity to abduct himNancy reveals the plans for a new kidnapBill Sykes clubs Nancy to death

Oliver Twist- summaryFagin arrested in police raidSykes accidently kills himself while fleeing

from his former gang-matesFagin condemned to death, Artful Dodger

goes to prisonBrownlow takes custody of Oliver and

reveals all:Monks was Oliver’s half-brother

Oliver Twist- summaryOliver inherits his father’s money with a

spotless reputation (which is why Monks tried to discredit him)

Mr Bumble (of the workhouse) is reduced to the poverty of the workhouse system because of plotting against Oliver

Happy ending, but not realistic

The book: style

• Exaggeration, vivid style, comedy• Unbelievable sentimentality• Claims to be realistic, but isn’t (too

exaggerated)• Only mild social criticism: his humour

sold books

Good vs evil• Original setting: an innocent boy against

the forces of evil• But Dickens enjoys writing about the

criminals too much: detailed descriptions• No character development: good remains

good, evil remains evil• Oliver is always the polite, sweet boy,

even in his contacts with evil-doers

Good vs evil• Fagin only bad guy for whom reader has

little sympathy (rest victim of circumstances)

• But…sometimes he is a father-figure for the boys

The first chapter

We will now read the first chapter, to give you an idea of Dickens’s style of writing.