Oliver Twist is a novel written by Charles Dickens. It is about a young orphan Oliver Twist who lived in a workhouse. He then becomes an apprentice but runs away to London after a fight with another apprentice. In London, Oliver meets the Artful Dodger, who offers him a place to stay, but, the Artful Dodger and his gang are pickpockets. So, Oliver runs away. Mr. Brownlow, a rich gentleman, cares for Oliver. Unfortunately, Oliver is recaptured by the gang and they force Oliver to take part in a robbery. In the end, Oliver is nursed by the Maylies and, with Mr. Brownlow's help, Oliver earns the money back from Monks, Oliver’s evil half-brother who colludes with the gang. The story revolves around social classes, poverty, criminals, and fate.
Oliver Twist depicts multiple kinds of social classes. There are the rich, the middle, and the poor. Rich people have luxurious homes and feasts. People in the rich social class include the Brownlow family, Mr. Brownlow, and Mr. Leeford, Oliver’s father. The middle class had decent homes and enough food to survive. There are two characters in the middle class, which includes Mr. Bumble and Mr. Sowerberry. The poor class had almost nothing, no homes, and a minute amount of food, yet they had to work very hard. The poor class includes the gang of criminals and Oliver Twist, who lived in a workhouse. Social classes can range in a variety of different people in Charles Dickens’ stories. The reason why people are rich/poor is that they are either born into a rich family or a poor family. The original family level decides the status of the social class the person belongs to.
Having defined what is meant by social status, the next will discuss social mobility first. People's ability to move up or down in social class leads to their social mobility. Charles Dickens shows multiple kinds of social movements in Oliver Twist. The two social climbers were Charley Bates, the original member of the gang of criminals, and Rose Maylie. Through his hard-working, Charley managed to move up from being a criminal gang member to an honest worker. Since Oliver Twist’s mother is born at a low level, his aunt, Rose Maylie, is in the same class. Through marriage with Harry, the heir of the wealthy Maylie family, Rose moves up the social class. Social mobility is a result of people's ability to advance or regress in social rank.
Next, there are examples of social immobility in the story. The rich social class, which includes the Brownlow family, the Leeford family, and the Maylie family, had no change in social status, which is considered social immobility. Some people who are born poor remained poor, for example, Fagin and his gang are probably born with a miserable destiny and they stick together with their evil instinct. Unsurprisingly, most of them end up in jail or hanged. Social immobility is very common because there are limitations in social class, environment, or the law.
The next will address ways how the Victorian-era government guarantees social stability. The old Poor Law ensured that the poor stayed poor and the rich remained rich by using workhouses. Charles Dickens vividly describes life in the workhouse. Workhouses provide work for poverty-stricken people and are typical during the era. The children's workers, which includes Oliver Twist, are always hungry and the bowls don’t require to have any cleaning because the children lick the last bits of food. They are given “periodically small quantities of oatmeal, issued three meats of thin gruel a day, with an onion twice a week and half a roll on Sundays.” Since Oliver doesn’t have enough food to eat, he asks for more, leading to his fate. The parish who administrate and dispense food remained rich because they kept all the profit made by the children workers. The old Poor Law doesn’t contribute to solving the poverty problem.
The criminals in the story are a key element. The main criminals are the gang, which includes: Fagin, the Artful Dodger, Sikes, Monks, and Charley Bates. Pickpockets are the most common crime in the story. The Artful Dodger and Master Bates pickpocket many valuable items, including handkerchiefs and pocketbooks. Additionally, there is kidnapping. For instance, Nancy pretends she is looking for her brother, but actually, she is trying to capture Oliver Twist back for the gang. Lastly, the story includes murder, in this case, Sikes kills Nancy for disclosing the gang’s secrets. Many examples of crimes occur in the story Oliver Twist.
The adventure of Oliver Twist explores the twisted fate of the main character. This boy is born at an orphanage and forced to work at a workhouse. The parishes believe that he will be hanged because he asks for more. Oliver Twist is supposed to remain poor as the destine of his ending because he would have maintained working at a workhouse if continuing his normal routine of life. However, because of his innate virtue, he doesn’t end up as a criminal or even the poor. Mr. Brownlow and Mrs. Maylie adopted and raised Oliver Twist not because he is born similar to a nobleman like his father Mr. Leeford, but it is because of his honest innate virtue and knowing to stay away from criminals. One’s fate depends on inner virtue, not based on others’ opinions.
As for Monks, born as a nobleman who is supposed to become an honorable individual, he chooses a life of crime because of his greediness and hatred. Monks isn’t willing to change even though Oliver shared half the money with him. Different from Oliver who is born in a workhouse and hence not recognized as a noble class, Monks is initially from the Leeford family which is in the higher status. His evil innate virtue compels him to collude with Fagin to coax Oliver to join the gang, unsuccessfully. Oliver, having the right to inherit his father’s wealth, kindly gave a portion to Monks. The upper class alienates Monks because of his despicable behavior. After squandering his money, his social rank sinks down. People's decisions and behaviors have an impact on their fates.
There can be no doubt that Oliver Twist is a masterpiece written by Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist shows various themes from different characters. The themes include social classes, poverty, criminals, and fate. Social classes depend on the amount of money an individual has. But, most of the characters in the story are poverty-stricken, so some become criminals. People can change their fates through their choice and actions.
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