"Oliver Twist", by Charles Dickens, narrates the story of a young boy, Oliver, who gets sent to a workhouse after his mother's death. In the workhouse, Oliver and the other orphans are treated cruelly with insufficient food and severe punishments. Even after being sold to the Sowerberrys, Oliver lives unhappily and with little food and care. After being insulted by another Sowerberry co-apprentice, Oliver fights with him and is later punished by Mr. Sowerberry. After running away from his cruel owner, Oliver is hooked into a gang of thieves, with the leader as Fagin, who tries to teach him to steal numerous items for money. When Oliver is accused wrongly of stealing a handkerchief, Mr. Brownlow takes pity on him and adopts him. Under Mr. Bronlow’s care, Oliver is treated well and heals from his many past wounds from both the workhouse and the punishment of the officers. Worried about being incriminated by him, Fagin attempts to bring Oliver back, but he runs away and is kindly cared for by the Maylies. Later, the Maylies and Mr. Brownlow work together to find that Oliver and Monks, Fagin's associate, were half-brothers with the same father and that Monks attempted to steal Oliver's inheritance. After Fagin's gang members finally get caught and sentenced, Oliver, the Maylies, and Mr. Brownlow live peacefully in a small village in England.
Social class and status were crucial factors that contributed to the purpose of the Victorian workhouse. The Victorian Workhouse was established for the primary purpose of providing work and shelter for people from the bottom of society. However, later on, as the workhouse increased punishments and work, and decreased food, it became more of a house of correction, or prison, for the poorer people. The Victorian workhouse was used more as a tool to lessen the number of poor people from the bottom level and to elevate the power and wealth of rich people from the upper social class. The beginning of “Oliver Twist” greatly emphasizes the bad condition of the pauper children in the workhouse. Oliver and his workmates lived in poverty and extreme starvation, and often suffered severe punishments. The boys were only offered gruel, a porridge made from a mixture of water and oatmeal, and were punished with starvation for a few days when they pleaded for more food. Many young boys died in the workhouse due to extreme starvation, including Oliver’s friend Dick later on in the novel. During the Victorian Era, the workhouse was said to aid poor people or people who weren’t able to work and give them shelter. However, able-bodied poor were sent to work in a house of industry, like Oliver Twist, and idle poor, people unwilling to work, were sent to a house of correction which punished them severely and had conditions similar to that of a prison. Most poor people who ended up in a workhouse were treated worse than poor free laborers outside. The Victorian Workhouse increased the overall social status of England but also sacrificed many lives of people from the bottom of society.
The new poor law ensured that the poor people who went into workhouses were clothed, fed, and sheltered and that children were to be educated at less cost; however, in exchange for all this treatment, all workhouse paupers had to work for several hours each day. Although many people believed the new poor law was able to ensure better treatment for poor people, it seemed to punish poor people for no fault of their own. Oliver Twist, set in around 1837, reflected the conditions and times of the workhouse after the new poor law was introduced, in 1834. Oliver, and his workmates, were treated harshly and worked nonstop even as young children. Before the new poor law, the middle and high social levels had to pay increasingly more taxes to the government to care for the poor, creating complaints. The new poor law was said to ensure similar treatment as the old poor law during the Victorian era, with less cost and tax. However, it required inmates, male or female, young or old, to work many hours a day, offered only 10 minutes of break for each of the two meals a day, and had to suffer harsh punishments for being disobedient. Andover Workhouse was a scandal centered around the new poor law reporting that starving workhouse inmates were found eating the rotten flesh around bones. A large number of scandals caused the government to be stricter with people who ran workhouses, but it didn’t help the condition of inmates. The new poor law after the Victorian Era made it cost less to take care of the poor in workhouses but also worsened their living condition simultaneously.
The origins and primary purpose of the Victorian workhouse reflected the dark side of human nature, especially in situations concerning wealth and power. Many people who ran workhouses or controlled the poor took the advantage of their obedience for their own good and to gain wealth and power. The conditions in the workhouses highlight and show how in most cases, people who have more power over others would act cruelly and selfishly toward them in order to ascend in social wealth and reputation. For instance, in Oliver Twist, Mr. Bumble acted cruelly towards Oliver and the other paupers working in the workhouse and punished him to three days of starvation when he asked for a bigger share of gruel. Moreover, he also used Oliver as a tool to his own advantage in gaining more money. When the cruel sweep, Mr. Gamfield, comes to buy Oliver as an apprentice, the board tries to gain more reputation by faking their concern for Oliver doing dangerous jobs like chimney-sweeping. The situation is also extremely ironic, as, just days ago, the board mercilessly punished Oliver for asking for a bit more food. Moreover, they just want to pay less so that they can get rid of Oliver quicker and send him off to someone else. The workhouse reflects how people would act selfishly and cruelly to their own advantage when they have more power over others, such as the poor people in the workhouse.
Oliver Twist narrates the story centering Oliver, a young boy, who experiences multiple peaks and slopes throughout his childhood life. The novel introduces the Victorian workhouse, an establishment created to care for the poor who cannot care for themselves or find a job. Although the purpose of it is an act for the greater good, the workhouse seemed more of a punishment or prison than anything else. In addition, it was later utilized to increase the overall wealth and power of people from higher social classes. For instance, Oliver and his workmates who lived in the workhouse were treated harshly, were provided with little food, and suffered punishments for actions nothing near a crime. The new poor law established after the Victorian Era was said to ensure a good living condition for inmates in a workhouse with less cost, but in reality, required people to suffer harsher punishments and worse treatments. The workhouses also reflected the darkness of human nature, where people, such as the ones who ran workhouses, used poor inmates to their own advantage and gain power and wealth.
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