society, even if Oliver himself is a relatively reactive character. Oliver's society treats him as vermin, because he is an orphan born to an unwed mother. It is presumed that he will become a criminal, so no compassion is offered to him.

Fagin in particular is committed to transforming the guileless child into a criminal by forcing him to participate in illegal activities, thus

slowly instilling into his soul the poison which he hoped would blacken it, and change its hue for ever.

However, kind benefactors such as Mr. Brownlow and redeemed criminals like Nancy come to the boy's aid, allowing him to triumph over his circumstances.

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 is most significantly represented by Oliver and Oliver's pitiable mother who struggles to the workhouse to give birth to the unfortunate Oliver.  Mr. Brownlow and Rose Maylie also represent the good and rescue Oliver permanently from the criminal life he has been forced to live. 

Exploited by the callous beadle, Mr. Bumble, Oliver runs away from his indenture master after being starved and beaten. He succeeds in getting the 75 miles to London only to become exploited by a more terrible force of evil, Fagin.  But, in the end, Mr. Bumble and Mrs. Corney, who ignore the humanity of the children in the workhouse, are implicated by their greed in a crime because valuables belonging to Agnes Fleming, Oliver's mother, were long ago stolen.

The evil forces are defeated as information on Fagin's whereabouts are given to Mr. Brownlow who sets in motion the "wheels of justice."  The criminals are all punished, Rose Maylie's name is cleared, and Oliver goes to live with Mr. Brownlow.

Concomitant to this conflict of boy against the world of evil characters is the conflict of good versus evil forces in the society that Dickens exposes in Oliver Twist.  Greatly concerned that society, in a metaphorical sense, was a jail, Dickens shows that the characters Oliver and the thieves are victims of England's Poor Laws and the social institutions that support the Laws while keeping the children alive only to discouraged them and isolate them.  Dickens exposes workhouse children as equally deprived of food, of warmth, and of decent living conditions.  Society, represented by the likes of corrupt Mr. Bumble, is confounded by mistaken beliefs in its attempts to control and improve the twin problem of the poor and the orphans. 

There are a number of themes in Oliver Twist but here are two of the most important:

The evils of the workhouse system—Workhouses were established in early nineteenth century Britain as a means of dealing with the widespread problem of vagrancy. Instead of being allowed to beg and receive assistance "out of doors" as it was called, those who were absolutely destitute were to be herded together into workhouses. Here, families would often be separated and forced to toil for long hours doing menial work and receiving inadequate food.

Dickens was a trenchant critic of the 1834 Poor Law which brought the workhouse system into effect. Like many others, he believed that it criminalized the poor. He correctly surmised that workhouses were simply a money-saving device. They existed not to help the poor but to make life so utterly wretched for them that they would be deterred from seeking poor relief.

How adults exploit children—It is no fun being a child in a Dickens novel. His own deeply traumatic experience in a blacking factory as a boy influenced his sympathetic portrayal of children in Oliver Twist and elsewhere. Oliver is not just a victim of a savage, coldhearted world in which the poor are treated abominably; he is also the victim of the stern, unbending attitudes towards children widely shared by adults at the time. Adults do not simply exploit children; they feel themselves entirely justified in doing so.

In his withering indictment of pre-Victorian society, Dickens tellingly makes no distinction whatsoever between adults in positions of lawful authority and common criminals. Mr. Bumble is a humbug and a hypocrite who beats Oliver at the drop of a hat and ultimately conspires with the malevolent Monks to cheat him out of his inheritance. The supposedly respectable townsfolk in charge of the workhouse dole out glib homilies along with the bowls of indigestible slop they use to feed the malnourished children in their care. The odious Noah Claypole sneers at Oliver, taunting him about his mother's death before himself becoming a pickpocket. The list of abusive or exploitive adults is seemingly endless.

The criminal classes do not treat children any better, but at least they provide Oliver with better food and lodgings than ever receives in the workhouse or even at Mr. Sowerberry's funeral parlor. Fagin sees Oliver as ripe for exploitation. He is just the right size for picking pockets without being caught. His size is also useful for the violent psychopath Bill Sikes, who can take Oliver with him when he goes burgling as he fits perfectly through a small window.