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Oliver Twist | Study Guide

Charles Dickens

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Oliver Twist | Infographic

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Check out this Infographic to learn more about Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist. Study visually with character maps, plot summaries, helpful context, and more.

oliver-twist-charles-dickensOliver Twist, Chapter 2lease, sir,I want some more.PovertyPoverty is a trap that closed on Oliver and many of the novel's children at birth. Victorian society punished, rather than helped, the poor.CriminalityThe poor often feel forced into a life of crime. Many criminals are also victims.Virtue vs. EvilDickens believed virtue trumps evil. Oliver's virtuous heart proves incorruptible, and unrepentant evildoers are punished.ThemesOliver Twistby the NumbersDickens's age when he began writing Oliver Twist25Miles Oliver walks in 7 days to get to London after running away from the Sowerberrys70Year the Poor Law Act established the punitive workhouse system Dickens criticizes in Oliver Twist1834Dickens's pulse rate while performing readings of Nancy's death scene shortly before his death~112ObesityOutward sign of belonging to a prosperous middle class in contrast to the starving poorCountrysideRepresents a good and happy life—unlike the dark, smoggy, crime-ridden citySymbolsDarknessAssociated with the crime and evildoing that take place—under cover of night, in smoke-filled rooms, in smoggy streetsSources: British Library, Encyclopaedia Britannica, The Victorian WebCopyright © 2016 Course Hero, Inc.The prolific Victorian author wrote Oliver Twist, his second novel, under the pen name "Boz" and serialized it in Bentleys Miscellany, a magazine he edited. The book draws on his own experiences; his father was once imprisoned for debts, leaving the family impoverished.CHARLES DICKENS181270AuthorOliver Twist is the story of a young orphan boy in early Victorian England, when the poor were treated like criminals. Oliver's innocent nature and innate goodness win in the end—but not before he gets caught in the clutches of a London crime boss and a secret adversary who knows his true identity.An OrphansJourneyOliver TwistInnocent orphanArtful DodgerPickpocket; leader of Fagins gangFaginMaster criminal; teaches children to pick pocketsMr. Sowerberry Undertaker; takes Oliver as apprenticeBill SikesCruel thief; forces Oliver to help him commit crimesNancyProstitute; involved with SikesMr. BrownlowGentleman; adopts OliverMr. BumbleParish official; places Oliver in workhouseCharles Dickens1837–39EnglishNovel AuthorYears PublishedOriginal LanguageDrama Oliver TwistMAIN CHARACTERS

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