Oliver Twist The Victorian Period
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Transcript of Oliver Twist The Victorian Period
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.