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| English Literature books summaryFactory. The horrific conditions in the factory haunted Dickens for the rest of his life. In 1836, he married Catherine Hogarth, but after twenty years of marriage and ten children, Dickens fell in love with Ellen Ternan, an actress. Soon after, Dickens and his wife separated, ending a long stream of marital difficulties. Dickens, always a prolific writer, continued to work long hours in his later years. He died of a stroke in 1870. Dickens worked as a newspaper reporter as well as a professional fiction writer. Many of his works were published in serialized magazine installments. Throughout his life, Dickens combined his work in journalism and literature with a liberal helping of editorial work. He often worked on several books at the same time. Some people have accused Dickens of writing so much simply because he was paid by the word. However, it seems more likely that he had an insatiable passion for writing. Dickens's childhood experiences with the draconian English legal system made him a life-long champion of the poor. His novels are filled with downtrodden figures like abused, impoverished orphans. He had a profound sympathy for childhood suffering that touches his work at almost every level. These themes heavily influence Oliver Twist. The title character, a poor orphan child, wanders through Victorian society as the child of fortune or misery depending on the disposition of those he meets. He faces the malice of State institutions as well as the malice of violent criminals. His story reflects the experience of poverty in the England of his era. While the novel is often fanciful and humorous, it also has recognisably bitter undertones. Perhaps those undertones echo the voice of the humiliated and resentful twelve-year-old Dickens who had laboured in the atrocious conditions of the Warren Blacking Factory. Characters Barney is one of Fagin's criminal associates. Like Fagin, he is also Jewish. Charley Bates Charley Bates is one of Fagin's pickpockets. He is ready to laugh at anything. After Sekisui’s murder of Nancy, he changes his criminal ways and leads an honest life. Mrs. Edwin Mr. Brownlow's kind-hearted housekeeper. She is unwilling to believe Mr. Bumble's negative report of Oliver's character. Bet Bet is one of Fagin's former child pickpockets. Mr. Brittles a sort of handyman for Mrs. Maylie's estate. He has worked for Mrs. Maylie since he was a small boy. Mr. Brownlow Oliver's first benefactor. He owns a portrait of Oliver's mother, and was a close friend of Oliver's father. When Oliver disappears on an errand, he offers a reward of five guineas for anyone who has information about his history or his whereabouts. Mr. Bumble the pompous, self-important "beadle" (a minor church official) for the workhouse where Oliver is born. He delivers a bad report of Oliver to Mr. Brownlow. He marries Mrs. Corney because he hopes to gain financially as her husband. He becomes the workhouse master, giving up his office as parish beadle. He regrets both marrying Mrs. Corney and becoming the workhouse master. He and his wife accept a bribe from Monks to conceal Oliver's identity. Grimwig and Brownlow ensure that he never holds public office again after his role in Monks' schemes comes to light. As a result, he lives the rest of his life in poverty. Bulls-Eye Bill Sikes' dog. As brutal and vicious as his master, he functions as Sikes' alter-ego. He leaves bloody footprints in the room where Sikes murders Nancy. Sikes tries to drown him after the murder because he is afraid the dog, who follows him everywhere, will give him away to the legal authorities. Charlotte the Sowerberrys' maid. She becomes romantically involved with Noah Claypole, Mr. Sowerberry's charity-boy apprentice. She mistreats Oliver when Oliver is also an apprentice to the undertaker. She runs away with Noah to London after they rob the Sowerberrys. After Fagin's hanging, she helps Noah live as a con man. Noah Claypole Mr. Sowerberry's charity boy apprentice. He is an over- grown, cowardly bully. He mistreats Oliver when Oliver is Sowerberry's apprentice. He runs away to London with Charlotte after robbing the Sowerberrys. He joins Fagin's band as a thief. After Fagin's execution, he lives as a con man. Mrs. Corney the matron of the workhouse where Oliver is born. She is hypocritical and callous. She marries Mr. Bumble but soon regrets it. She accepts a bribe from Monks to conceal Oliver's identity. As a result, Grimwig and Brownlow ensure that she never holds public office again. She ends by living in poverty with her husband. Toby Crackit He is one of Fagin and Sikes' associates. He participates in the attempted burglary of Mrs. Maylie's home. Jack Dawkins (a.k.a. The Artful Dodger) f Jack Dawkins, The Artful Dodger, the Artful Dodger, Dodger, the Dodger g The Dodger is one of Fagin's pickpockets. He is an intelligent, humorous little thief. He introduces Oliver to Fagin. Du_ and Blathers Du_ and Blathers are the two bumbling police Officers who investigate the attempted burglary of Mrs. Maylie's home. Fagin a conniving career criminal. He gathers homeless boys under his wing and teaches them to pick pockets for him. He also serves as a fence for other people's stolen goods. He rarely commits crimes himself because he employs others to commit them for him. He schemes with Monks to keep Oliver's identity a secret. Dickens portrays Fagin using extremely negative anti-Semitic stereotypes. Mr. Fang the harsh, judgmental, power-hungry magistrate who presides over Oliver's trial for pickpocketing. Agnes Fleming She is Oliver's mother, who gave birth to Oliver out of wedlock. To save her father and her sister from the shame of her condition, she ran away during her pregnancy. She died immediately after giving birth to Oliver in a workhouse. Mr. Gamfeld Mr. Gamfeld is a brutal chimney-sweep. Oliver almost becomes his apprentice. Mr. Giles Mrs. Maylie's butler. He shoots Oliver during the attempted burglary of Mrs. Maylie's home. Mr. Grimwig Brownlow's pessimistic, curmudgeonly friend. He tells Brownlow that Oliver is probably a boy of immoral and idle habits. Mr. Leeford Oliver and Monks' father. His first marriage was forced on him by his family for economic reasons. He separated from his wife and had a love affair with Agnes Fleming, Oliver's mother. Mr. Losberne He is Mrs. Maylie's family physician. He conceals Oliver's role in the attempted burglary of Mrs. Maylie's home from the legal authorities. Mrs. Mann She superintends the juvenile workhouse where Oliver spends the first nine years of his life. She steals from the stipend meant for the care of the children living in her establishment. She physically abuses and half-starves the children in her care. Mrs. Maylie She is a kind, generous woman. She takes pity on Rose when she finds her as a nameless, penniless orphan child. She welcomes Oliver in after he shows up on her doorstep, half-dead from the gunshot wound he suffered during the attempted burglary of her home. Her son, Harry, marries Rose. Harry Maylie He is Mrs. Maylie's son. He gives up his political ambitions in order to marry Rose. Rose Maylie She is Agnes Fleming's sister. Agnes and her father died when she was very young. Mrs. Maylie took her in and raised her as her own. She is kind and forgiving. She marries Harry Maylie. Mr. Monks He is Leeford's first son, and Oliver's brother. He schemes to conceal Oliver's identity because he wants his father's wealth all to himself. Nancy She is one of Fagin's former child pickpockets. She tries to save Oliver from being corrupted by Fagin's lifestyle. She is also Bill Sikes's lover. Sikes murders her after he learns of her contact with Brownlow and Rose. Old Sally She is the nurse who attends Oliver's birth. She steals Agnes' gold locket, the only clue to Oliver's identity. Bill Sikes He is a professional burglar. He is also a brutal alcoholic. He attempts to rob Mrs. Maylie's home. He leaves Oliver lying in a ditch after he is wounded in the burglary. He murders Nancy in a _t of rage after Fagin tells him that she has contacted Brownlow and Rose. Mr. Slout He is the workhouse master before Mr. Bumble assumes the office. Mr. Sowerberry He is the undertaker for the parish where Oliver is born. He tries to be kind to Oliver when Oliver is his apprentice, but he succumbs to his wife's pressure to beat Oliver for his physical confrontation with Noah. Mrs. Sowerberry She is a mean, judgmental woman. She mistreats and underfeeds Oliver when he is Mr. Sowerberry's apprentice. She pressures her husband to beat Oliver for his physical confrontation with Noah. Oliver Twist He is the protagonist of the novel. He is born a poor, nameless orphan in a workhouse. He represents the misery of poverty in 1830's England. His identity is the central mystery of the novel. He is the illegitimate son of Mr. Leeford, a wealthy Englishman. His evil brother, Monks, schemes to deprive him of his share of their father's wealth. Overall Summary Oliver Twist provides insight into the experience of the poor in 1830s England. Beneath the novels raucous humor and flights of fancy runs an undertone of bitter criticism of the Victorian middle class's attitudes toward the poor. Dickens's scathing satire remains the hypocrisy and venality of the legal system, workhouses, and middle class moral values and marriage practices of 1830s England. As a child, Dickens endured the harsh conditions of poverty. His family was imprisoned for debt, and Dickens was forced to work in a factory at age twelve. These experiences haunted him for the rest of his life. The misery of impoverished childhood is a recurrent theme in his novels. Oliver Twist epitomizes the unfortunate situation of the orphaned pauper child. Oliver suffers the cruelty of hypocritical workhouse officials, prejudiced judges, and hardened criminals. Throughout the novel, his virtuous nature survives the unbelievable misery of his situation. Oliver's experiences demonstrate the legal silence and invisibility of the poor. In 1830s England, wealth determined voting rights. Therefore, paupers had no say in the laws that governed their lives, and the Poor Laws strictly regulated the ability to seek relief. Since begging was illegal, workhouses were the only sources of relief. The workhouses were made to be deliberately unpleasant in order to discourage paupers from seeking their relief. The Victorian middle class assumed that the poor were impoverished due to lassitude and immorality. Since the poor had no voting rights, the State chose to recognize their existence only when they commited crimes, died, or entered the workhouses. Dickens' Oliver Twist is one sympathetic portrayal among dozens of vicious, stereotypical portrayals of the poor. However, Dickens himself exhibits middle class prejudice. He reproduces the worst anti-Semitic stereotypes in Fagin, the "villainous old Jew." The portrayal of Noah Claypole, the dirty charity boy, reveals some of the stereotypes of the poor that Dickens criticizes. Monks, Oliver's evil half-brother, is "bad from birth," although Dickens clearly satirizes the middle class's belief that the poor are born criminals. These inconsistencies weaken the larger impact of Dickens' crusade against the abuses levelled against the poor. Oliver Twist is not considered one of Dickens's best novels. The plot is convoluted and often ridiculous. However, it merits study for its scathing critique of Victorian middle class attitudes towards poverty. Chapters 1-4 Summary Oliver Twist is born a sickly infant in a workhouse. His birth is attended by the parish surgeon and a drunken nurse. His mother kisses his forehead and dies, and the nurse announces that Oliver's mother was found lying in the streets the night before. The surgeon notices that she is not wearing a wedding ring. Oliver remains at the workhouse for about nine months, until the authorities hear of his "hungry and destitute situation." They send him to a branch-workhouse for juvenile offenders against the poor laws. The overseer, Mrs. Mann, receives an adequate sum for each child's upkeep, but she keeps most of the money and lets the children go hungry. Since she receives advance warning of upcoming inspections, her establishment always appears neat and clean for the inspectors. On Oliver's ninth birthday, Mr. Bumble, the parish beadle (a minor church official), informs Mrs. Mann that Oliver is too old to stay at her establishment. Since no one has been able to locate his father or discover his mother's identity, it has been decided that he must return to the workhouse. Mrs. Mann asks how the boy came to have any name at all. Mr. Bumble tells her that he keeps a list of names in alphabetical order, naming the orphans from the list as they are born. Mrs. Mann fetches Oliver. When Mr. Bumble is not looking, she glowers and shakes her fist at Oliver. He stays silent about the miserable conditions at her establishment. Before he departs, Mrs. Mann gives him some bread and butter so that he will not seem too hungry at the work house. The workhouse offers the poor the opportunity to starve slowly as opposed to starving quickly on the streets. The undertaker's bill is a major budget item due to the large number of deaths. Oliver and his young companions suffer the "tortures of slow starvation." After lots are cast, it falls to Oliver to ask for more food at supper. His request so shocks the authorities that they offer five pounds reward to anyone who will take Oliver o_ the hands of the parish. They lock him in a dark room, taking him out only to wash and eat, and ogging him all the while as a public example. Mr. Gamfield, a brutish chimney sweep, offers to take Oliver as an apprentice. Because several boys have died under his supervision, the board considers five pounds too large a reward. After acrimonious negotiation, they settle on just over three pounds. Mr. Bumble, Mr. Gamfield, and Oliver appear before a magistrate to seal the bargain. At the last minute, the magistrate notices Oliver's pale, alarmed face. He asks the boy why he looks so terrified. Oliver falls on his knees and begs that he be locked in a room, beaten, killed, or anything besides being apprenticed to Mr. Gamfield. The magistrate refuses to approve the apprenticeship, and the workhouse authorities again advertise Oliver's availability. The workhouse board considers sending Oliver out to sea as a cabin boy, expected that he would die quickly in such miserable conditions. However, Mr. Sowerberry, the parish undertaker, takes Oliver on as his apprentice. Mr. Bumble informs Oliver that he will suffer dire consequences if he ever complains about his situation. Mrs. Sowerberry remarks that Oliver is rather small. Mr. Bumble assures her that he will grow, but she grumbles that he will grow by eating their food. She serves Oliver the left-overs that the dog has declined to eat. Oliver devours the food as though it were a great feast. After he finishes, Mrs. Sowerberry leads him to his bed, worrying that his appetite seems so large. Chapters 5-8 Summary In the morning, Noah Claypole, Mr. Sowerberry's charity-boy apprentice, awakens Oliver. He and Charlotte, the maid, taunt Oliver during breakfast. Oliver accompanies Sowerberry to a pauper's burial. The husband of the deceased delivers a tearful tirade against his wife's death by starvation. He says that he once tried to beg for her, but the authorities sent him to prison for the offense. The deceased's mother begs for some bread and a cloak to wear for the funeral. At the graveyard before the funeral, some ragged boys play hide and seek among the gravestones and jump back and forth over the coffin to amuse themselves. Mr. Bumble beats a few of the boys to keep up appearances. The clergyman performs the service in four minutes. Mr. Bumble ushers the grieving family out of the cemetery, and Mr. Sowerberry takes the cloak away from the dead woman's mother. Oliver decides that he is not at all fond of the undertaking business. A measles epidemic arrives, and Oliver gains extensive experience in undertaking. His master dresses him well so that he can march in the processions. Oliver notes that the relatives of deceased wealthy elderly people quickly overcome their grief after the funeral. Their fortitude in the face of loss impresses him. Noah becomes increasingly jealous of Oliver's speedy advancement. One day, he insults Oliver's dead mother. Oliver attacks him in a _t of rage. Charlotte and Mrs. Sowerberry rush to Noah's aid, and the three of them beat Oliver and lock him in the cellar. Noah rushes to fetch Mr. Bumble, sobbing and convulsing so that his injuries appear much worse than they are. Mr. Bumble informs Mrs. Sowerberry that feeding meat to Oliver gives him more spirit than is appropriate to his station in life. Still enraged, Oliver kicks at the cellar door. Sowerberry returns home and gives Oliver a sound thrashing and locks him up again. Oliver's rage dissipates, and he dissolves into tears. Early the next morning, he runs away. Oliver decides to walk the seventy miles to London. Hunger, cold, and fatigue weaken him over the next seven days. Apart from an old woman and a kind turnpike man, many people are cruel to him during his journey. In one village, signs warn against begging under the penalty of jail. Oliver limps into a small town where he collapses in a doorway. He notices a boy his age staring at him. The boy, named Jack Dawkins, wears a man's clothing and acts much older than his age. He purchases a large lunch for Oliver and informs him that he knows a "gentleman" in London who will lodge him for free. Oliver learns that Jack's nickname is "The Artful Dodger." He guesses from the Dodger's appearance that his way of life is immoral. He plans to ingratiate himself with the gentleman in London and then end all association with the Dodger. That night, Jack takes Oliver to a squalid London neighborhood. At a dilapidated house, Jack calls out a password, and a man allows them to enter. Jack conducts Oliver into a filthy, black back-room where a "shrivelled old Jew" named Fagin and some boys are having supper. Silk handkerchiefs hang everywhere. The boys smoke pipes and drink liquor although none appear older than the Dodger. Oliver takes a share of the dinner and sinks into a deep sleep. Chapters 9-12 Summary The next morning, Fagin takes out a box full of jewelry and watches. He notices Oliver observing him. Grabbing a bread knife, he asks Oliver if he had been awake an hour before. Oliver denies it, and Fagin instantly Страницы: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53 |
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