Oliver Twist - A novel by Charles Dickens

    I have studied “Oliver Twist” in the second semester of my post graduation; “The Old Curiosity shop” and "Oliver Twist", both the novels represents the reality of Victorian society and even the present condition of society, which is still the same. For more information about Charles Dickens click here

Oliver Twist

        If we take his very famous novel “Oliver Twist” in centre, we come to know that his whole style of writing and view of society is in this work. He has given the effects of high revolution and industrialization as well as criminal world, work house system, and condition of poor and children in “Oliver Twist”. Dickens has put individualism and society.

       In Oliver Twist Dickens has presented the protagonist child Oliver against the whole society, Where Oliver passes through all the evil adventures and at last gain family. Dickens has presented individualism with two aspects, first is Oliver who fights with the managers of workshops, criminals, and enemies of society and the other is Fagin’s who wants to make the world individual by saying “one’s own self”, he presents individual togetherness for criminal activities.

        Dickens has also played his role as a social reformer; in “Oliver Twist” he has presented the condition of workers in workhouses, especially children. It was a time when half of London’s children were working and not going to school. All were poor and uneducated. Dickens has given the mental and physical effects of child labour as they work in workhouses for fourteen to sixteen hours. He has presented poverty and helplessness of people that company wanted more and more production but in cheap cost and poor people were ready to work in that cost. Government was aware with this fact, and for employment workhouses were established, but it all have became a kind of a jail where they were working as slaves. It was clearly a “Failure of Charity”.

        There were two Londons in one, one is  high class and second was low class, both had their own way of earning, rich were becoming richer and poor were getting poverty only. This was the reason that criminal activities and prostitution were increasing, all illegal activities was the reason of high modernism and unequal distribution of wealth.

       Dickens has worked as a social reformer in his most of novels, and in 'Oliver Twist' he has given the true facts of society and condition of people.