Charles Dickens' second novel, Oliver Twist (1837-39) is the story of the eponymous young orphan boy who reflects the life of poverty of Victorian England. The novel portrays the evils of the 'Poor Houses' of the time and the corruption of the people who work there. It also shows the depths of London's crime with an emphasis on petty robbery and pick pocketing.
The arch villain of the novel, Fagin, also referred to as "The Jew", is characterized as the personification of cruelty and greed . His main goals are to take advantage of and exploit the marginalized people of his community. Oliver, on the contrary, is the complete opposite of Fagin. Innocent, and full of the milk of human kindness, Oliver symbolizes all that is good in society. He hates the thought of stealing, violence, or mistreatment of any sort, and genuinely cares for others around him.
"Oliver Twist" is a story about the battles of good versus evil, with the evil continually trying to corrupt and exploit the good. It portrays the power of Love, Hate, Greed, and Revenge and how each can affect the people involved. The love between Rose and Harry eventually overcomes all the obstacles between them. The hatred that Monks feels for Oliver and the greed he feels towards his inheritance proves to be self destructive. The revenge that Sikes inflicts on Nancy drives him almost insane and results in accidental suicide. Dickens' wide array of true to life characters emphasizes the virtues of sacrifice, compromise, charity, and loyalty. At the end of the novel though the system for the poor is not changed, the good in Dickens' novel outweighs the evil, and the main characters that are part of this good live happily ever after. In real life however the publication of "Oliver Twist" resulted in the government attempting to reform the system of 'Poor Houses.'
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