Our Dickens Champions the MK Borrowers recently met up to discuss Oliver Twist. This is what they thought:
Plot synopses
Oliver Twist is born in a workhouse and his mother dies shortly after his birth, since his family is unknown Oliver is placed with a ‘carer’, Mrs Mann. Despite Oliver’s unpromising start he survives into childhood and is placed back in the workhouse of his birth under the charge of Mr Bumble, the beadle. When Oliver has the audacity to ask for some more food he is apprenticed to an undertaker. Goaded by insults about his mother, Oliver attacks a colleague, Noah, and after being severely beaten runs away to London.
In London the tired and hungry Oliver is befriended by the Artful Dodger, who takes him to Fagin, where he starts innocently to learn the trade of pick pocketing. Oliver is present when the Artful Dodger and Charlie Bates get spotted trying to pick the pocket of Mr Brownlow. All three run away, but Oliver is caught and taken to trial. A witness clears Oliver of the crime and Mr Brownlow takes Oliver home to be nurse back to health. During this period a striking resemblance between Oliver and a painting of a young woman is noticed. Meanwhile Fagin organises a search for Oliver.
While running an errand for Mr Brownlow, Oliver is spotted by Nancy and Bill Sikes, who are associates of Fagin, and Oliver is carried back to Fagin’s hideout. Oliver is forced to assist Bill Sikes in a robbery of a house, but it goes wrong and Oliver is wounded and captured. The owners of the house are Mrs Maylie and her adopted niece Rose. They cannot believe that Oliver is wicked and, with the assistance of Mr Losberne, nurse Oliver back to health in the countryside.
Mrs Maylie’s son, Harry, is summoned when Rose becomes ill. Rose recovers and Harry proposes to her. But Rose refuses because the ‘stain’ of her birth would ruin Harry’s promising future. Oliver returns to London with Mrs Maylie and Rose, where he is re-united with Mr Brownlow.
A mysterious character, who goes by the name of Monks, is gradually introduced into the story and is in league with Fagin. Nancy overhears Monks and Fagin plotting against Oliver inheriting some money. Nancy informs Rose, but is followed by Noah and later murdered by Sikes.
A locket belonging to Oliver’s mother that proves her identity is obtained and destroyed by Monks, but the history of Oliver is gradually revealed when Mr Brownlow identifies Monks. Oliver is the illegitimate half brother on Monks. His father was a friend of Mr Brownlow and his mother was the sister of Rose. They could not be married because Oliver’s father was already married to Monks’ mother. Oliver’s father died before Oliver was born, but nevertheless left provision in his will for a possible child. However, that child must not have been prosecuted for any crime.
Oliver’s friends organise a manhunt for Bill Sikes and Fagin. Bill Sikes dies trying to escape. Fagin is captured and executed, Oliver receives his inheritance, Harry renounces his promising future, becomes a clergyman and marries Rose.
Discussing Oliver Twist
Most of those at the meeting liked Oliver Twist and found the story interesting. We all admired his luck at being rescued in London not once but twice, and each time by someone connected to his parents.
The writing seems to combine humour with cynicism. For instance, at the start of the novel we have:
The fact is, that there was considerable difficulty in inducing Oliver to take upon himself the office of respiration,—a troublesome practice, but one which custom has rendered necessary to our easy existence; and for some time he lay gasping on a little flock mattress, rather unequally poised between this world and the next: the balance being decidedly in favour of the latter. Now, if, during this brief period, Oliver had been surrounded by careful grandmothers, anxious aunts, experienced nurses, and doctors of profound wisdom, he would most inevitably and indubitably have been killed in no time. There being nobody by, however, but a pauper old woman, who was rendered rather misty by an unwonted allowance of beer; and a parish surgeon who did such matters by contract; Oliver and Nature fought out the point between them. The result was, that, after a few struggles, Oliver breathed, sneezed, and proceeded to advertise to the inmates of the workhouse the fact of a new burden having been imposed upon the parish, by setting up as loud a cry as could reasonably have been expected from a male infant who had not been possessed of that very useful appendage, a voice, for a much longer space of time than three minutes and a quarter.
We discussed the serious aspects of the novel such as the contrasting of the overfed governors of the workhouse and the inmates starved into docility. In Chapter 7 when Oliver had to be locked in a room after fighting with Noah at the undertakers, Mr Bumble explained the problem:
‘Meat, ma’am, meat,’ replied Bumble, with stern emphasis. ’You’ve over-fed him, ma’am. You’ve raised a artificial soul and spirit in him, ma’am unbecoming a person of his condition: as the board, Mrs. Sowerberry, who are practical philosophers, will tell you. What have paupers to do with soul or spirit? It’s quite enough that we let ‘em have live bodies. If you had kept the boy on gruel, ma’am, this would never have happened.’
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Read what Mitchell Classics Book Group thought of Oliver Twist.
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Remember to watch out for our Dickens Champions’ blog posts as they read and review their way through Dickens during 2012.
