Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress, is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens. It was originally published as a serial from 1837 to 1839 and as a three-volume book in 1838. The story follows orphan Oliver Twist, who, after being raised in a workhouse, escapes to London, where he meets a gang of juvenile pickpockets led by the elderly criminal Fagin, discovers the secrets of his parentage, and reconnects with his remaining family.
Oliver Twist unromantically portrays the sordid lives of criminals and exposes the cruel treatment of the many orphans in England in the mid-19th century.Donovan, Frank. The Children of Charles Dickens. London: Leslie Frewin, 1968, pp. 61–62. The alternative title, The Parish Boy's Progress, alludes to Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress as well as the 18th-century caricature series by painter William Hogarth, A Rake's Progress and A Harlot's Progress.Dunn, Richard J. Oliver Twist: Heart and Soul (Twayne's Masterwork Series No. 118). New York: Macmillan, p. 37.
In an early example of the social novel, Dickens satirises child labour, domestic violence, the recruitment of children as criminals, and the presence of street children. The novel may have been inspired by the story of Robert Blincoe, an orphan whose account of working as a child labourer in a cotton mill was widely read in the 1830s. It is likely that Dickens's own experiences as a youth contributed as well, considering he spent two years of his life in the workhouse at the age of 12 and subsequently missed out on some of his education.
Oliver Twist has been the subject of numerous adaptations, including the 1948 film of the same name, starring Alec Guinness as Fagin; a highly successful musical, Oliver! (itself adapted into the Oscar-winning 1968 film), and Disney's 1988 animated feature film Oliver & Company.
Publications
The novel was first published in monthly instalments, from February 1837 to April 1839, in the magazine Bentley's Miscellany. It was originally intended to form part of Dickens's serial, The Mudfog Papers.Dickens, Charles (2003). Oliver Twist, or, The Parish Boy's Progress. Edited by Philip Horne. Penguin Classics. p. 486. .Bentley's Miscellany, 1837. George Cruikshank provided one steel etching per month to illustrate each instalment.Schlicke, Paul, ed. (1999). Oxford Reader's Companion to Dickens. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 141. The novel first appeared in book form six months before the initial serialisation was completed, in three volumes published by Richard Bentley, the owner of Bentley's Miscellany, under the author's pseudonym, "Boz". It included 24 steel-engraved plates by Cruikshank.
The first edition was titled: Oliver Twist, or, The Parish Boy's Progress.
Serial publication dates:
I: February 1837 (chapters 1–2) II: March 1837 (chapters 3–4) III: April 1837 (chapters 5–6) IV: May 1837 (chapters 7–8) V: July 1837 (chapters 9–11) VI: August 1837 (chapters 12–13) VII: September 1837 (chapters 14–15) VIII: November 1837 (chapters 16–17) IX: December 1837 (chapters 18–19) X: January 1838 (chapters 20–22) XI: February 1838 (chapters 23–25) XII: March 1838 (chapters 26–27) XIII: April 1838 (chapters 28–30) XIV: May 1838 (chapters 31–32) XV: June 1838 (chapters 33–34) XVI: July 1838 (chapters 35–37) XVII: August 1838 (chapters 38–part of 39) XVIII: October 1838 (conclusion of chapters 39–41) XIX: November 1838 (chapters 42–43) XX: December 1838 (chapters 44–46) XXI: January 1839 (chapters 47–49) XXII: February 1839 (chapter 50) XXIII: March 1839 (chapter 51) XXIV: April 1839 (chapters 52–53)
Plot
Oliver Twist is born into a life of poverty and misfortune, raised in a workhouse in a town some 70 miles from London. The children working there receive very little food; after six months, they draw lots, with the loser asking for another portion of gruel. Oliver is designated, and so he approaches the master of the workhouse and requests a second helping. A great uproar ensues at this perceived act of rebellion.
Oliver is removed from the workhouse and put in solitary confinement; he is flogged every day by the beadle, Mr Bumble, of which three times a week are in front of the other boys. After some time Oliver is offered at a premium as an apprentice; he is taken on by Mr Sowerberry, an undertaker. One day, his jealous co-apprentice, Noah Claypole, insults Oliver's mother and an enraged Oliver attacks him. When he is punished by Mr Bumble and Mr Sowerberry, Oliver runs away to London to seek a better life.
Oliver meets a young man named Jack Dawkins who calls himself "the Artful Dodger", offers him food and lodging and takes him to meet an infamous criminal known as Fagin, who trains orphan boys as pickpockets. Oliver innocently begins Fagin's training, but when he goes out with the Dodger and another boy and sees them stealing a handkerchief from an old gentleman named Mr Brownlow, he realizes the truth. While the Dodger and the other boy escape, Oliver is pursued, apprehended, formally arrested and tried before Magistrate Fang. Interceding for Oliver, Brownlow takes him home and cares for him. As Oliver recovers, Brownlow and his housekeeper notice that Oliver resembles a woman depicted in a portrait hanging in Brownlow's home.
Worried that Oliver might incriminate him and his gang, Fagin sends a young woman named Nancy and her abusive lover, the robber Bill Sikes, to abduct Oliver and bring him back to Fagin's lair. Fagin forces him to participate in a burglary planned by Sikes. The robbery goes wrong; while Sikes escapes, Oliver, after having been wounded, ends up in the care of the people he was supposed to rob: Miss Rose and her guardian Mrs Maylie.
A mysterious man, known only as "Monks", teams up with Fagin, to prevent Oliver from learning of his past. Monks bribes Mr Bumble and his new wife, the former Widow Corney, for information on Oliver. Together, they dispose of a ring and medallion that had once belonged to Oliver's mother and had been stolen from her after she died. Nancy, racked with guilt for her role in Oliver's kidnapping, secretly spies on them and passes the information on to Rose Maylie, who tells Mr Brownlow. Meanwhile, the Artful Dodger is arrested for pickpocketing, tried and sentenced to transportation to Australia.
Noah Claypole, who had fled to London with the Sowerberrys' maid Charlotte after robbing Mr Sowerberry, joins Fagin's gang. Following Fagin's orders, he follows Nancy and discovers that she meets with Mr Brownlow and Rose for the sake of Oliver's welfare. Fearing that Nancy has betrayed him and Sikes (which, unknown to him, she has refused to do), Fagin passes the information on to Sikes, who beats Nancy to death in a fit of rage and goes into hiding. He is recognised by an angry mob and attempts to flee. Going to Toby Crackit's hideout, he learns that Fagin has been arrested. When the mob catches up to him, Sikes tries to escape over the rooftops by swinging on a rope, but while he is about to loop the rope about himself a vision of the dead Nancy's staring eyes terrorises him into losing his balance. In the fall, the looped rope catches him around the neck and hangs him.
Mr Brownlow has Monks arrested and forces him to divulge his secrets: he is actually Oliver's half-brother and had hoped to steal Oliver's half of their rightful inheritance. Monks emigrates to America, but squanders his money, relapses into crime and dies in prison. Fagin is arrested and sentenced to the gallows. The day before his execution, Oliver and Mr Brownlow visit him in Newgate Prison and learn the location of the documents proving Oliver's identity. Bumble and his wife lose their jobs and are forced to become inmates of the workhouse. Rose Maylie, who turns out to be Oliver's maternal aunt, marries and enjoys a long life. Oliver lives happily as Mr Brownlow's adopted son.
Characters
Oliver Twist – an orphan child whose mother died at his birth Mr Bumble – the beadle of the parish where Oliver was born Mrs Mann – the self-centred and greedy superintendent where the infant Oliver is placed until age 9 Mr Sowerberry – an undertaker who took Oliver as apprentice Mrs Sowerberry – Mr Sowerberry's wife Noah Claypole – a cowardly bully, Sowerberry's apprentice Charlotte – the Sowerberrys' maid, lover of Noah Mr Gamfield – a brutal chimney sweep in the town where Oliver was born Mr Brownlow – a kind gentleman who takes Oliver in, his first benefactor Mr Grimwig – a friend of Mr Brownlow, outwardly cynical, but really empathetic at heart Mrs Bedwin – Mr Brownlow's motherly housekeeper Rose Maylie – Oliver's second benefactor, later found to be his aunt Mrs Lindsay Maylie – Harry Maylie's mother, Rose Maylie's adoptive aunt Harry Maylie – Mrs Maylie's son, in love with Rose Mr Losberne – Mrs Maylie's family doctor Mr Giles – Mrs Maylie's butler Mr Brittles – Mrs Maylie's handyman Duff and Blathers – two incompetent policemen Fagin – fence and boss of a criminal gang of young boys and girls Bill Sikes – a professional burglar Bull's Eye – Bill Sikes' vicious dog Jack Dawkins, The Artful Dodger – Fagin's most adept pickpocket Charley Bates – a pickpocket in Fagin's gang and the Artful Dodger's trusted sidekick Toby Crackit – an associate of Fagin and Sikes, a house-breaker Nancy – one of Fagin's gang, now living with Bill Sikes Bet – a girl in Fagin's gang, sometime friend to Nancy Barney – a Jewish criminal cohort of Fagin and Toby Crackit who speaks with a nasal intonation Agnes Fleming – Oliver's mother and Rose Maylie's elder sister Mr Edwin Leeford – father of Oliver and Monks Old Sally – a nurse who attended Oliver's birth Mrs Corney (later Mrs Bumble) – matron for the women's workhouse who marries Bumble but despises and dominates him Monks – a sickly criminal, an associate of Fagin's, and long-lost half-brother of Oliver Monks's mother – an heiress who did not love her husband Mr Fang – a magistrate Tom Chitling – one of Fagin's gang members, returned from prison
Major themes and symbols
In Oliver Twist, Dickens mixes grim realism with merciless satire to describe the effects of industrialism on 19th-century England and to criticise the harsh new Poor Laws. Oliver, an innocent child, is trapped in a world where his only options seem to be the workhouse, a life of crime symbolised by Fagin's gang, a prison, or death. From this unpromising industrial/institutional setting, however, a fairy tale also emerges. In the midst of corruption and degradation, the essentially passive Oliver remains pure-hearted; he steers away from evil when those around him give in to it, and in proper fairy-tale fashion, he eventually receives his reward – leaving for a peaceful life in the country, surrounded by kind friends. On the way to this happy ending, Dickens explores the kind of life an outcast, orphan boy could expect to lead in 1830s London.Miller, J. Hillis. "The Dark World of Oliver Twist" in Charles Dickens (Harold Bloom, editor), New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987, p. 35
Poverty and social class Poverty is a prominent concern in Oliver Twist. Throughout the novel, Dickens enlarged on this theme, describing slums so decrepit that whole rows of houses are on the point of ruin. In an early chapter, Oliver attends a pauper's funeral with Mr Sowerberry and sees a whole family crowded together in one miserable room. This prevalent misery makes Oliver's encounters with charity and love more poignant. Oliver owes his life several times over to kindness both large and small.Walder, Dennis, "Oliver Twist and Charity" in Oliver Twist: a Norton Critical Edition (Fred Kaplan, Editor). New York: W.W. Norton, 1993, pp. 515–525
Symbolism