Charles Dickens

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Charles Dickens

• Oliver Twist
• The Victorian Period

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(No Transcript)
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Bibliography

• Oliver Twist (1837)
• David Copperfield
• Great Expectations
• A Christmas Carol
• etc

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Biography

• Born in 1812 in Portsmouth
• Moved to London 1823
• Worked in factory (labelling bottles of shoe
  polish)
• Father arrested for debt family moved to
  Marshalsea Prison
• Marked for life by these experiences

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Biography

• First novel (The Pickwick Papers) successful
• Immediately started publishing Oliver Twist
  (serial) (instalments)
• A Christmas Carol (1843) huge hit
• In his books, he assaulted the establishment and
  bureaucracy
• Stood up for the underprivileged
• Worked himself to untimely death (1870)

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Oliver Twist- summary

• Born in a workhouse.
• Mother dies giving birth.
• Raised in workhouse orphanage by ill-tempered Mrs
  Corney and Mrs Mann
• Age of nine moves to workhouse
• Sold when he asks for more gruel (havermout)
• Works for Mr Sowerberry (undertaker)

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Oliver Twist- summary

• Flees the undertakers after a row
• Walks to London
• Picked up by Artful Dodger, and taken in by
  Fagin, who learns him to be pickpocket
• Arrested on the first night
• Mr Brownlow exonerates Oliver and takes him in
• Treated with sympathy for first time

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Oliver Twist- summary

• Sees portrait in the nurses room of a woman who
  looks just like him
• Fagin desperate for Olivers return (potential
  informer)
• Oliver kidnapped by Bill Sikes and Nancy
• Fagin sends Oliver with Bill for a burglary
• Oliver is shot
• Mrs Maylie (housekeeper) takes care of Oliver

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Oliver Twist- summary

• Oliver treated kindly, also by Mrs Maylies
  niece, Rose
• Oliver spied on by Monks, an agent of Fagins
• Also, Fagin himself spies on Oliver, looking for
  an opportunity to abduct him
• Nancy reveals the plans for a new kidnap
• Bill Sykes clubs Nancy to death

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Oliver Twist- summary

• Fagin arrested in police raid
• Sykes accidently kills himself while fleeing from
  his former gang-mates
• Fagin condemned to death, Artful Dodger goes to
  prison
• Brownlow takes custody of Oliver and reveals all
• Monks was Olivers half-brother

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Oliver Twist- summary

• Oliver inherits his fathers money with a
  spotless reputation (which is why Monks tried to
  discredit him)
• Mr Bumble (of the workhouse) is reduced to the
  poverty of the workhouse system because of
  plotting against Oliver
• Happy ending, but not realistic

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The book style

• Exaggeration, vivid style, comedy
• Unbelievable sentimentality
• Claims to be realistic, but isnt (too
  exaggerated)
• Only mild social criticism his humour sold books

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Good vs evil

• Original setting an innocent boy against the
  forces of evil
• But Dickens enjoys writing about the criminals
  too much detailed descriptions
• No character development good remains good, evil
  remains evil
• Oliver is always the polite, sweet boy, even in
  his contacts with evil-doers

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Good vs evil

• Fagin only bad guy for whom reader has little
  sympathy (rest victim of circumstances)
• Butsometimes he is a father-figure for the boys

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The first chapter

• We will now read the first chapter, to give you
  an idea of Dickenss style of writing.