Oliver Twist

As the other educators have made clear, Oliver Twist is a novel and poverty is one of its major themes. Specifically, Dickens deals with the terrible effects of poverty on an individual's life and...

In Charles Dickens's novel Oliver Twist, the title character is a nine-year-old boy who lives in a workhouse. He and the other children at the workhouse are given very little to eat. Each of the...

To answer this question, take a look at chapter two. In this chapter, Oliver is sent from the main workhouse to a "branch workhouse" where he, and thirty other children, are placed under the care...

The primary reason that Oliver asks for more gruel (which is similar to oatmeal) is because he is hungry. The board members of the workhouse where Oliver lives meet and decide that "the poor people...

First, Dickens uses a third-person narrator, one who stands above the action and records for us what is going on. He describes himself as Oliver's biographer, and his voice is so strong—at least...

Mr. Bumble, the beadle, names the poor, wretched children of the workhouse in alphabetical order. As 'T' is the next available letter in the alphabet when Oliver is born, Bumble comes up with the...

In Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, the classical theme of Good vs. Evil undergirds the main conflict of Oliver's quest for identity and a place in the world: the boy against the world. The good...

This is a very wide open question. Oliver Twist contains dozens of literary devices, but I can get you started with a couple of them. One literary device that Dickens used in this story is...

Oliver Twist is a novel written by Charles Dickens. In order to help you answer this question, it is first of all important to point out that Oliver was an orphan who grew up in a workhouse. A...

Mr. Brownlow in this famous Victorian novel acts as the guardian angel of Oliver, helping him and acting to save him from the fate that Fagan and others have prepared for him. We first meet him...

In Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens introduces a young pickpocket named Jack Dawkins who most people refer to him as "the Artful Dodger" The nickname describes his skill at his trade: his mind is...

The central theme in Oliver Twist is good versus evil. More specifically, Dickens explores the immense struggle that goodness must endure before it finally triumphs over its oldest and most bitter...

At the beginning of Chapter 8, Oliver Twist runs away from Mr Bumble's and decides that he will head to London. In his mind, this city offers an exciting opportunity. As he says: London!--that...

Polanski made several adaptations to streamline the novel to fit a film format. One major change was omitting the role of the evil Monks Leeford, Oliver's older half-brother. Monks's father had a...

Oliver Twist is definitely a character to be admired. He has strong morals and a strong loyalty to anyone that befriends him. Nevertheless, in recent times, his character has come under criticism...

Dickens characterizes Oliver's father as having fallen in love with Agnes, Oliver's mother. In true Dickensian fashion, this love is interrupted by the pursuit of economic wealth. A relative died...

In writing Oliver Twist Dickens was trying to draw his readers's attention to the plight of the most unfortunate members of society. In particular, he was keen to expose the cruelty of the...

Dickens is in a class by himself. This is a truism, but it is relevant to your question because Oliver Twist is both unique and representative within the context of its time: the early Victorian...

Oliver's innocent in that he's never known his true identity. He's grown up an orphan in considerable poverty, without any proper guidance from adult authority. The workhouse, despite the Bible...

Fagin and his group want Oliver Twist to join them because he's small and desperate; this will encourage him to be a better thief and make him suited for jobs that require a small person. Oliver...

In Oliver Twist, Fagin and the boys play a pickpocket game. Fagin walks about with items in his pockets, and the object of the game was for the boys to take things out of his pocket without him...

All loose ends are tied up at the end of Oliver Twist, with every character receiving his or her just desserts. Mr. Brownlow learns from Monks that Monks and Oliver are half-siblings, which causes...

Noah Claypole is the charity boy who also works as an apprentice for Mr. Sowerberry. From the start, Noah had been cruel and abusive to Oliver, giving orders, insulting him, calling "Work'us." He...

In Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, Chapter 19, Bill Sikes behavior and conversation with Fagin portray a number of character traits. All of these character traits are negative except for one....

The most interesting part of the story is when Sikes murders Nancy. The most interesting part of any book might be in the eye of the beholder. There are certainly many interesting parts of the...

Jane Eyre and Oliver Twist were both poor orphans. As a young boy, Oliver was orphaned and sent to live with a wet nurse named Mrs. Mann. When he was still a boy, he was sent to live at a dirty...

In chapter 19, Bill Sikes explains that he wants a boy to help with the burglary of "that crib at Chertsey," and he says that the boy "mustn't be a big 'un." The implication is that Bill Sikes...

Monks is greedy and manipulative. Monks is Oliver’s half-brother. His intention is to ensure that Oliver cannot inherit from his family, so he tries to make sure that he never finds out who his...

An example of personification is "Oliver and Nature fought out the point between them" (Ch. 1). Personification is when you describe something inanimate or not human as if it were a person or had...

In Oliver Twist, Fagin is described as a bad guy all around. Dickens' characterization of him is stereotypical and does make some readers uncomfortable because of the prejudiced tone. In the story,...

When Oliver Twist is born at the workhouse, it is time for the O's in the naming of newborns, so "Oliver" is chosen by Mr. Bumble, the beadle, who is responsible for the naming of the children in...

Dickens chose names for obvious and somewhat less obvious symbolism. In this way, a character’s name could characterize the character, and convey something important about the character. Twist is...

Dickens goes to pains to show that Oliver's poverty is not his own fault. He depicts for us Oliver's mother arriving at the poor house and giving birth in miserable conditions, while the baby...

Chapter seven presents some very important events in the novel, Oliver Twist. When it begins, we find Noah frantically searching for Mr Bumble to tell him of their confrontation. Noah embellishes...

Oliver’s mother had a locket and a wedding ring, which Sally stole and Mr. Bumble’s wife took. Oliver's mother barely made it to the workhouse before she died shortly after giving birth to him....

Oliver Twist can be said to be a novel about social justice, because its main character is not a wealthy or middle-class person in comfortable circumstances, but a destitute young boy who is put...

Your original question was edited as you asked more than one question. Please do not ask multiple questions in future. Noah Claypole is a boy who is first introduced to us in Chapter Five, when...

Like in many of his works, Dickens presents a variety of characters in Oliver Twist and depicts their actions in great detail, whether these actions be moral or immoral; it's from these...

Both Jane Eyre and Oliver Twist are characters from classic works of literature that are frequently referred to as examples of the cruel treatment of orphaned children during the Victorian era....

Nancy is a prostitute and destitute who is also a part of a gang of thieves led by a man named Fagin. In that gang is also her boyfriend, Bill (Sikes). This gang has a fixation on Oliver since he...

The coincidences in Oliver Twist are pretty extraordinary, to say the least. In the hands of a lesser writer they'd be ridiculous and absurd. To take but one example, Oliver is forced to go with...

Women serve quite an important role in Oliver Twist. The women in the novel typically serve as maternal figures for Oliver. Mrs. Mann is an anti-mother figure, selfish and abusive toward the...

Mrs. Mann is an old woman who works as superintendent of a branch workhouse, separate from the main establishment. She has been charged with taking care of Oliver Twist and around thirty other...

After leaving the village, Oliver is exposed to criminals and a life of crime but he remains honest and good. Oliver is sent from the workhouse after asking for more gruel. He is given to an...

Readers should begin looking for this answer in chapter 22. This is the chapter that sees Sikes forcing Oliver to help with a robbery. Oliver figures that he can stop the robbery by somehow waking...

One distinctive aspect about this novel is the way that Dickens uses characterisation. One famous distinction that E. M. Forster noticed in the work of Dickens, and which he explored in his work of...

Truly a poignant tale, Oliver Twist is a social criticism by Charles Dickens meant to awaken the consciousness of his contemporary readers who were unaware of the dehumanizing conditions of the...

When the young Oliver is left to be raised in the workhouse, he shocks his keepers by asking for more food. This is not because of any innate cheekiness but because he drew the short straw among...

A discussion of all the deaths would be a very long answer, as quite a few people die in this book. A partial list would start with Oliver’s mother, Agnes, who dies in the very first chapter. There...

The protagonists of Great Expectations (Pip) and Oliver Twist (Oliver) have several similarities. The most obvious is that both are orphans. Chapter one of Great Expectations explains that "I...