Oliver Twist portrays how the socioeconomic circumstances into which one is born inform and determine one’s fate. Being born poor or an orphan results in a particular set of options for a child in Victorian England. Both Oliver and Rose suffer as a result of their identity as orphans. Oliver never knows love or affection until he is nursed by Mrs. Bedwin at Brownlow’s house. The parochial system treats children like him as a burden. Oliver is lucky to fall into the hands of two generous families who sense his inherent goodness and take care of him. However, most poor orphans are not so fortunate. The lives of the child thieves, like Charley and Jack, and young prostitutes, like Nancy, suggest that growing up poor leads children on a dangerous trajectory. 

Meanwhile, those who are neither poor nor rich look down upon the impoverished, in large part because they need to feel superior to someone else. Bumble is a perfect example of this mentality: he exaggerates his own importance and abuses the little power he has to deride and abuse the paupers he surveys. 

On the other hand, Dickens also depicts generous wealthy characters who take pity on Oliver and Rose and welcome them into their families. A small twist of fate could have changed Oliver’s story completely. If he had not been shot during the robbery and remained subject to Fagin and Sikes, Oliver may not have met Rose Maylie. In some ways, the novel implies that Oliver is simply lucky, but on the other hand Dickens encourages readers to see Oliver as an example of good defeating evil. 

While Oliver and Rose both get happy endings that the novel suggests they deserve, social class and circumstances do play a role in those endings. Rose can only marry Harry Maylie because he lowers his social status; otherwise, she would be seen as an impediment to his name and could hinder his professional progress, regardless of how much they love each other. Oliver can only claim his inheritance through the word of his father’s legitimate son, Monks, who must attest that his father left all of his property to Oliver and his mother, Agnes. While the virtuous characters do earn their rewards, the novel suggests that the society to which they belong is flawed and unjust.