Book report (Oliver)
July 13, 2009
ie1megumi
MLA citation
Charles, Dickens. Oliver Twist. England: 1838.
Introduction
Oliver twist is written by Charles, Dickens. It is a fictional novel. He is a novelist representing British Victorian Age, and it is the great writer who is famous for “Christmas carol” globally. Because his father was imprisoned for a debt, he worked at a shoe polish factory at the age of 12 years old. He spent days of the hardship. Afterwards, he acted as the student of the lawyer and he learned shorthand and found own way to a journalist and came to contribute a sentence, an essay to a newspaper and a magazine.
This novel draws the U.K. of the 19th century. As for the theme of this novel, criticism for the British Relief of the Poor Act is regarded as important. It was made to restrain social uneasiness by the poor increase. However, it was not a good thing so that even this book was criticized.
Summary
Oliver who was an orphan was brought to an workhouse. One day, when he was nine, he asks Mr. Bumble (diocese) to give him more gruel. As a result, Oliver made his angry, and he was made to work at a funeral home. However, he was tormented in unreasonableness. At last, he ran away to London. In London, He become gangs of the thief corps which Jewish Fagin is a leader. One day he has an eye on the gentleman who browsed in a bookstore and stole a handkerchief from his pocket with gangs, but they are found. Oliver run away in a hurry, but he is caught by the police. The brown low that is the gentleman who had a handkerchief stolen takes Oliver to his home and protects him. At that time, Fagin and Bill Sykes were afraid that Oliver informed them, and they let Nancy investigate his whereabouts. Oliver is taken back with Fagin. However, Nancy who sympathized with Oliver tells Mr. Brownlow his place to stay in secret. In the worst thing, Nancy was followed, and she is murdered by angry Sikes. Afterwards, but, the gangs were caught by the police. Fagin is arrested, and hanging, Sikes die in an accident after an escape. The bad people were sentenced. Finally Oliver lives with a Mr. Brownlow happily.
Analyze
As a characteristic of the Dickens’s novel, Oliver Twist’s characters discriminate the good and bad clearly. For example, good person is Oliver, Mr. Brownlow and Rose, in contrast bad person is Fagin, Bill Sikes and Monks. However, Nancy is different. She is the character who has both good and bad aspect. Other characters have good and bad clearly, on the other hand only she contradicts. When she is a child of the streets, she has been a thief and drinks too much, also she is a prostitute. In the middle of a story she takes back Oliver who lives with Mr. Brownlow by force, because Fagin is afraid that a secret of oneself is known. Afterward Nancy seems to feel an attack of conscience, because she thought that Oliver is separated from Mr. Brownlow because of oneself. One day Nancy who is a lover of Bill Sykes put a sleeping drug in medicine of Bill Sykes who suffer from fever. Then Nancy goes to meet Mr. Brownlow secretly, and she tells to Mr. Brownlow the place where Oliver is. However, Bill Sykes who heard the story is angry, and she is murdered. She sacrifices her life to save Oliver. She is a wife of the members of the thief groups, and she also does a bad thing, so she has evil, but I think that her action that does not forget conscience is splendid, and I feel sorry for murdered Nancy. She commits a crime for him. Finally she betrays him to save Oliver and finish her life. Therefore the love of Nancy for Bill Sikes expresses moral vagueness and contradiction of her character.
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