The British Victorian Era, in my opinon is best known for its wordiness and imagery used within the writing. A text to support this statement is best demonstrated by the novel, Oliver Twist. Oliver Twist, published in November of 1838, was written by Charles Dickens. The style of the writing can best be described as sentimental yet highly ironic. In the text "Dickens exposes the abuses of Victorian capitalism, however, through essentially topical social criticism" (Donner 254). Throughout the novel, Dickens creates a tone of irony by pointing out the flaws of a Victorian society in the 1800's through the dialogue of his characters. Oliver's caretaker, Fagin, actually the bad guy of the plot, trains young boys to pick pockets. Twist came under Fagin's care after being orphaned and then abandoned by the parish, Mr. Bumble. An interesting point that is made by Laura Schattschneider in The Journal of Victorian Culture, is that Oliver is never changed by those around him, but rather the opposite. Twist represents innocence and the people that try to corrupt it. The beadle that tricks Oliver represents the darker side of the Victorian society, while Mr. Brownlow represents the good in society. Mr. Bumble creates starvation by refusing to serve the hungry boys more food, while Mr. Brownlow looks after Oliver and shows him how life should be. Ironically, Dickens was also the author of the Pickwick Papers, which is the complete opposite of Oliver Twist. The Pickwick Papers represent the story of a gluttonous man while Oliver Twist, is about a starving child. Another parallel is that the protagonist in Oliver Twist is a thining boy while the antagonist in the Pickwick Papers is a thinning young boy. Both parallels are represented in G.T. Houston's, Studies in Literature. In conclusion, Charles Dickens's novel Oliver Twist is a timeless classic that will forever be an accurate representation of a novel written during the Victorian time period.
Works Cited:
"Please, Sir, I Want Some More": Clive Donner's Marxist Adaptation of Oliver Twist." Literature Film Quarterly 38.4 (2010): 254-268. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 26 Apr. 2011.
Houston, G.T. "Broadsides at the board: Collations of Pickwick Papers and Oliver Twist." Studies in English Literature (Rice) 31.4 (1991): 735. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. 27 Apr. 2011.
Schattschneider, Laura. "Mr. Brownlow's Interest in Oliver Twist." Journal of Victorian Culture 6.1 (2001): 46. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 26 Apr. 2011.
SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Oliver Twist.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2003. Web. 14 Apr. 2011.
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