Oliver Twist | Oliver Twist

At a glance:

Author: Charles Dickens
Type of Work: Novel
Type of Plot: Social realism
Time of Work: Early nineteenth century
Setting: England, especially London
Genres: Long fiction, Social realism, Bildungsroman
Subjects: Maturation or coming of age, Love or romance, Crime or criminals, Murder or homicide, Nineteenth century, Gangs, youth, Poverty or poor people, Child abuse, Inner cities or inner-city life, England or English people, Robbery or robbers, Adoption or adopted children, London, Corruption, Theft, Orphans or orphanages, Labor, Boys
Locales: London, England

Oliver Twist, a workhouse foundling, the helpless, abused hero of the novel. Both innocent and morally sensible, he gives force and sharpness, as well as a full measure of sentimentality, to Dickens’ vision of social injustice. Exploited from birth by the selfish managers of the poor farm and workhouse, he is apprenticed to a mortician. Treated cruelly, he runs off to London, where he is taken in by a gang of thieves. Falsely arrested as a pickpocket, he is rescued for a time by Mr. Brownlow and then recaptured by the thieves. He is wounded during a...

Oliver Twist | Oliver Twist

At a glance:

Characters Discussed

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