Oliver Twistannotated

Oliver Twist; or, the Parish Boy's Progress is Charles Dickens's second novel, and was published as a serial from 1837 to 1839 and released as a three volume book in 1838, before the serialization ended.The story centres on orphan Oliver Twist, born in a workhouse and sold into apprenticeship with an undertaker. After escaping, Oliver travels to London, where he meets the Artful Dodger, a member of a gang of juvenile pickpockets led by the elderly criminal Fagin.

Oliver Twist is a story of a young orphan, Oliver, and his attempts to stay good in a depraved society. The book exposes the miseries of poverty and its degrading effects through society. Oliver embodies innocence and incorruptibility. He was born and raised in a workhouse, then forced to live with a group of petty criminals and finally was adopted by a generous old man to live with him happily. He faces many obstacles and lives through many horrors throughout the novel. The cruelty of institutions and bureaucracies towards the unfortunate is perhaps the pre-eminent theme of the book, and essentially what makes it a social novel. Like a true Dickensian narrative, the dichotomy between Good and Evil are very clearly marked out. The story with many twists and turns keeps the reader engaged and imparts hope that benevolence can overcome and depravity.

Oliver Twist, or The Parish Boy's Progress, is English author Charles Dickens's second novel, and was first published as a serial 1837-39. The story centers on orphan Oliver Twist, born in a workhouse and sold into apprenticeship with an undertaker. After escaping, Twist travels to London, where he meets "The Artful Dodger," a member of a gang of juvenile pickpockets led by the elderly criminal, Fagin.Oliver Twist is notable for its unromantic portrayal by Dickens of criminals and their sordid lives, as well as for exposing the cruel treatment of the many orphans in London in the mid--19th century.[1] The alternate title, The Parish Boy's Progress, alludes to Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, as well as the 18th-century caricature series by William Hogarth, A Rake's Progress and A Harlot's Progress.

In 19th century London, the trusting orphan Oliver escapes factory work, only to fall in with a gang of nefarious thieves.

Oliver Twist; or, the Parish Boy's Progress is Charles Dickens's second novel, and was published as a serial from 1837 to 1839 and released as a three-volume book in 1838, before the serialization ended. The story centers on orphan Oliver Twist, born in a workhouse and sold into apprenticeship with an undertaker.

The story of Oliver Twist - orphaned, and set upon by evil and adversity from his first breath - shocked readers when it was published. After running away from the workhouse and pompous beadle Mr Bumble, Oliver finds himself lured into a den of thieves peopled by vivid and memorable characters - the Artful Dodger, vicious burglar Bill Sikes, his dog Bull's Eye, and prostitute Nancy, all watched over by cunning master-thief Fagin. Combining elements of Gothic Romance, the Newgate Novel and popular melodrama, Dickens created an entirely new kind of fiction, scathing in its indictment of a cruel society, and pervaded by an unforgettable sense of threat and mystery.

This version includes a FREE Book Study Guide with complete Plot Summary, Chapter Analysis, Character Analysis, Author Bio and much more!Oliver Twist's famous cry of the heart--"Please, sir, I want some more"--has resounded with generations of readers of all ages. The author poured his own youthful experience of Victorian London's unspeakable squalor into this realistic depiction of a spirited young innocent's unwilling but inevitable recruitment into a scabrous gang of thieves. Masterminded by the loathsome Fagin, the underworld crew features some of Dickens' most memorable characters, including the vicious Bill Sikes, gentle Nancy, and the juvenile pickpocket known as the Artful Dodger.

Oliver Twist was published in 1838. This story shows in vivid colors the miseries ofthe pauper's home where the inmates are robbed and starved, while the dead are hurried into unhonored graves; the haunts of villains and thieves, where the wretchedpoor are purposely made criminals by those who have sinned past hope; and one wrong-doing is used to force the victim deeper in vice. With such lives are interwoven those of a better sort, showing how men and women in all grades have power on others for good or ill. Oliver Twist — so called because the workhouse master had just then reached the letter "T" in naming the waifs — was born in the poorhouse, where his mother's wanderings ceased forever. When the hungry lad asked for more ofthe too thin gruel he was whipped. Bound out to work, he runs away from this slavery and goes to London. The Artful Dodger takes the starving lad to the den of Fagin the Jew, the pickpocket's school. But he will not steal. He finds a home. He is kidnapped, and forced to be again with the bad ones, and to act as helper to Sykes the robber in house-breaking. Nancy's womanly heart, bad though her life may be, works to set him free. Once more good people shelter him, rescuing him without assistance ofthe Bow Street officers, who make brave talk. The kind old scholar, Mr. Brownlow, is the good genius who opens before him a way to liberty and a life suited to his nature. The excitable country doctor deceives the police, and saves Oliver for an honest career. The eccentric Mr. Grimwig should not be overlooked. The mystery of his mother's fate is solved, and he finds a sister ...