Alquin Charles Dickens Oliver Twist

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 6

Charles Dickens

• famous in own lifetime
• popular in all levels of society
• poverty / social inequality
• financial problems 
• worked in a factory as a child himself

1812- 1870

background

• Episodic nature: each chapter has its own plot with a cliffhanger ending.
  
• realistic
• humorous (later books less humorous)
• criticism of Victorian society
• exaggeration and sentimentality 
• not a lot of religion in his novels

• Most famous: A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist, Great Expectations

Charles Dickens

Work

• relatively large number of characters. 
• little psychological depth
• nevertheless: unique and memorable

Charles Dickens

characters

Oliver Twist (1838)

• New poor Law (1834): mass construction of poorhouses. Origin: protect lower classes from starvation and disease. 
• However: run by middle-class profiteers
• Meagre rations, very strict (poverty and crime were thought to go hand in hand)

Oliver Twist

• Poor boy born in the Workhouse
  
• Sold for 5 pounds to a coffin maker
  
• Runs away to London
  
•  "found" by an older boy
  
• Brought to Mr Fagin, the leader of a boys' pickpocketing gang
  
• Lots of (sometimes criminal) activities happen
  
• Finally there is a happy end...

Assignments page 31

• 1. Genre? 
• A social novel. In writing it, Dickens condemned social injustice.
  

• 2. These are Oliver's blood relatives: 
• Monks, Agnes Fleming and Rose Maylie
  

• 3. Climax? 
• Nancy’s murder. The gang begins to break +  Oliver’s fortunes take a turn for the better.

• 4. Character development? 
• As is the case with the main characters in all Dickens’ novels, Oliver undergoes no character development/ change in this novel.

Assignments page 31

• 5. Nancy differs from the other gang members: 
• She has a conscience and is morally capable of sympathising with Oliver

• 6. Clues to Oliver's true identity: 
• The portrait in Mr Brownlow’s house; the locket; and Monks’ pursuit of Oliver.
  

• 7a. Nancy, Rose and Agnes - differences: 
• Rose: Epitome of purity. Good background, young and chaste.
  
• Nancy: Epitome of sin. Grew up in backstreet neighbourhoods. Is a prostitute
  
• Agnes: Blend of purity and sin. Good background, but makes a sexual mistake.
  
• 7b. Nancy, Rose and Agnes - in common: 
• The common characteristic is: sacrifice.
  
• Nancy: gives her life to save Oliver
  
• Agnes: gives her life to protect her family’s good name
  
• Rose: initially refuses to marry Harry, in order to protect his reputation

Assignments page 31

• 8. Three marriages
• Two of the marriages, those of Mr Bumble/Mrs Corney and Mr Leeford/Monks’ mother, are concluded on the basis of money, inheritances or even the prospect of better employment. These two do not prove very successful, but actually end up in hatred and envy.
• Harry and Rose’s marriage on the other hand is based on true love and sacrifice, and therefore has a better chance of success.
• One might therefore conclude that Dickens thought that marriages based on social status inthose days were far less favourable compared to love marriages.

Assignments page 31

• 9. intermezzo
• Novelists and playwrights use an intermezzo to ‘release the pressure’ as it were. Tension has steadily continued to rise until the break, but the reader/ spectator is then given a chance to regain their concentration, because the story is not yet finished. Bear in mind that Oliver Twist comprises over 600 pages.

• 10. Bill Sikes needs to take Oliver with him to commit the burglary because... 
• Oliver is the right size. He is small enough to enter a house through a broken window, when suspended on a rope.

Assignments page 31

• 11.1 What does Oliver discover in lines 1-20?
• Fagin has a secret treasure which the others do not know anything about.
  

• 11.2 How is Fagin described throughout this excertp?
• He is described as a criminal and someone who is not to be trusted. He views Oliver as an easy victim, who he can train as a new member of his gang.

• 11.3 How is Oliver described in this excerpt?
• He is described as a very young and naive boy, who looks up to and admires everyone else. He is an easy victim, because he does not see any harm in the others’ behaviour.

Assignments page 31

• 11.4 Why does Fagin call all teh boy 'dear'? 
• He does so to pretend that he actually cares about them, to create emotional ties. This encourages them to treat him as a father figure, and makes them less likely to run away. He also tries to lure Oliver into this trap.

• 11.5 What makes Charley Bates laugh so much? 
• Charley has to laugh at the sincere interest Oliver shows. Oliver is obviously so naive that he does not understand that the lessons are both criminal and dangerous. Charley views his enthusiasm as both amusing and stupid.