Oliver Twist: Analyse af Charles Dickens' roman

Sometimes people turn away froma anearTo be rootless from the birth must be absolutely tough. Especial when the society looks down on you and only see you as a cost. That is what the story: "Oliver Twist" is about. The story is by Charles Dickens and is from 1837. Oliver Twist is an extreme criticism, of that way the society treatment for the poor during the Victorian age.

The excerpt of the novel is chapter two and is supposed to take place during the Victorian age in England. It was a time with a big difference between the social classes. The main person is Oliver Twist. The chapter is about Oliver and his struggles to survive as a child with no identity. As the child hero in the novel does Oliver appeal to our feelings. That is possible because, Oliver don't have any parents or guardians. He is been born into a poorhouse for young orphans boys. Mrs. Mann is the boss, and she owns the boys. She gets money for their work, until they are nine years old. When Mr. Bumble one day informs Mrs. Mann that Oliver is nine years old, Mrs. Mann wants to send him back to the poorhouse. These poorhouses were made by the middleclass, because they thought that it would be better to get the homeless and poor away from the street. In same time they thought the poverty would be a burden with no end. Because of the Poor Law of 1834 could the poor only receive government assistance if they moved into one of these workhouses. The governments thought that the poverty would be reduced after construction of the workhouses, because they should act as a new start, or a temptation, to great their own life by themselves.The working houses, like Mrs. Mann's, was in the Victorian age also meant to be a place, where the poor had a chance to be saved and become more civilized and clean. With better clothes, food and new social relations. But as in the story, Mrs. Mann does not gives the boys what they are promised. It is a dirty place with no rights: "He had wild, and hungry eyes; and they implicitly believed him. A council was held; lots were cast who should walk up to the master after supper that evening, and ask for more; and it fell to be Oliver Twist" (P.4,L.137) This shows that the boys are extremely scared for the masters, because they know that there is a chance to be punished if they expressing themselves. Oliver is in many ways not a believable character. He has grown up in a corrupt society and does not goes to school, so he has never learnt about norms and values. He calls for example Mrs. Mann for the good lady of the house. He is very polite and wants to see the best in everyone. But Mrs. Mann gives them wretched cloth, there has been selected so they can fit into their jobs, the masters of the workhouse, want them to do. When Oliver do something wrong, it's the men around the table, he is going to talk with. Oliver does not understand, what he has done wrong. But he knows that it can't be right, that he must to go hungry in bed: ""Please sir, I want more" replied Oliver. (...) "What!"" (P.5,L.146) Oliver is only nine years old and lives in a poor and corrupt environment. He don't understand the evil people, that he is surrounded by, because his soul is young and glean. In the world with nobody to take care of him, does Oliver not have much to lose. "Do you know that you have no father and mother, and that you were brought up by the parish don't you?"(p.1,l.106,) The men want him to know, that he is lucky. They want him also to thanks god for his life. But it seems like Oliver is too young to understand that. He has no religion expiries and has probably never been in church. In auditor to that, Oliver has probably never owned someone or something to be happy for, so he does not have a reason to believes in god. The narrator even comes with a justification: "It would have been very like a Christian, and a marvelously good Christian too, if Oliver had prayed for the people who fed and look care of him. But he hadn't because nobody had taught him" (P. 4, L. 113) Witch here is told, Oliver is conscious of god, but because of the bad environment has Oliver never been in church or learned about the Christianity. When one of the men try to help him to understand the situation, Oliver become more sad, because their words reminds him of his justice.