Vivian Nguyen
Period 1B English AP
May 13th, 2013
Pre-twentieth Century Book Report
Misconceptions of a Boy
When one is struggling through the phase of life, who will come and be a savior to save
his/her life? The fate and destiny of Oliver Twist will be determined as he progresses through
many mischievous adventures in Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.
Born and left orphaned since an infant, Oliver Twist has been serving as a work boy at a
penthouse in London. He was often brutally abused and misused due to his blunt personality and
not afraid of asking for more ration of porridge. The boys at the penthouse always take
advantage of Oliver and also because of his naïve character; he would fall for their trap and listen
to what they tell him to do. It was until one day, a storm rage up in Oliver’s heart when Noah
Claypole discriminated his mother and that left Oliver to run away from the master he was
working for. As Oliver travels through London, he met many people on unexpected occasions.
Oliver was forced to work as a thief in a gang with a Jew leader named Fagin in charged
and learned many tricks to pickpocket people. He met Mr. Brownlow, a benevolent, old man
who took care of Oliver and became an important primary personage in Oliver’s life. He worked
for Bill Sikes, another alibi with Fagin. He met Mrs. Maylie and Rose Maylie and it ironically
turns out that Rose and Oliver are related. Nancy, a prostitute, helps Oliver through a big
sacrifice which she had to face. There is also Agnes Fleming, Oliver’s deceased mother, Jack
Dawkins, one of Fagin’s smartest pickpocket boys and Monks, who is out to ruin Oliver and his
life.
The conflict of the novel is Oliver being chased time to time by Fagin’s gang to make
him actually go out and pickpocket other people. However, Oliver seems to be saved by different
people most of the time. The climax of the story rises as the truth about Oliver’s past being
revealed. It turns out that Agnes Fleming was pregnant with Oliver and the father was Edward
Leeford. He also turns out to be Monks’s dad and Monks is the one who knew the truth about
Oliver’s past and that is why he wanted to destroy him. The dénouement of this novel is that
Fagin is executed, Monks is sentenced to jail, and Sikes dies.
Throughout the whole novel, Darwin uses many ironic situations, contrast, pathos,
symbolism, and imagery to further advance his purpose (Which is finding out the right and
wrong in the time of thievery and prostitution). Nancy is a prostitute and the love interest of Bill
Sikes. However, for Oliver’s sake, she met with Rose Maylie and Mr. Brownlow to tell them
about the plans of Fagin and his gang to capture Oliver. Nancy, having no relation saved Oliver
because of her guilty conscience, but betrayed Sikes, which was very ironic. Oliver could’ve
died several times, but every time, there is always someone who saves him and it’s like a twisted
fate since his birth. There was a contrast between light and dark in the novel. Every time Oliver
is locked up in a dark room, there will be light shining up from nowhere. Also, when he was
arrested for supposedly stealing a book, the patrol named him “White.” It’s also a symbol that
Oliver’s existence is positive and the black is the negative and he seems to overcome the black in
most of the situations. During the whole novel, Dickens uses pathos for the audience to
sympathize with Oliver during his time of hardships. As Dickens illustrates imagery, the reader
can connect with the life which Oliver had to face and feel emotions of sadness, anger, and
touching moments.
Readers will enjoy reading this novel because it explains the reality of life. It talks about
how life isn’t always about happy ending, and there will be sacrifices from numerous people.
This novel also talks about how everyone is set with a fate and it’s quite impossible to change the
fate designated for one. It is also an intriguing story about the time when London was full of
thieves and how dark that time was. Finally, one can go on an adventure with Oliver Twist as he
goes through life with many altered turns.
…And so this is the story about a boy named Oliver Twist.