Charles Dickens & Oliver Twist Essay

Oliver is mistreated by the Sowerberrys and after having a fight with Noah Claypole he runs away to the dangerous place London, no place for young orphans like Oliver. It was a dangerous place because young orphans had no chance of surviving in the large city. A lot of intoxicated men and drug addicts were out in the open lose to do as they pleased, Oliver could have also got molested. On one of Jack Dawkins travels also known as the Artful Doger an employee of Fagin he caught his eye on Oliver. He takes Oliver to meet one of the worst characters Fagin. Fagin takes in children who are homeless and trains them to pick pocket for him in his den which has other young children living there including the Artful Doger. The Dodgers description is that â€Å"he had about him all the airs and manners of a man† this suggests that he was not allowed to be a child. He has had to grow up fast, because of what has happened to him in his life. He has been on the streets and had to learn how to survive, which has led to him becoming one of Fagin’s boys and making money from other peoples possessions. Fagin is a: criminal and corrupter of young children he teaches them to pick pock for him. The two main corrupt characters in the novel â€Å"Oliver Twist† are Fagin and Bill Sykes. Fagin’s Den isn’t a very clean place and with the area his den is based in, has a lot of thieves and prostitutes roaming around in. This is not a place for young boys it has sick, twisted minded people like Fagin who is a prime example. He corrupts young children and shows them that stealing possessions from others isn’t a crime. Fagin shows Oliver some tricks he uses to make money. Jack and another of Fagin’s boys demonstrates to Oliver how the job is done, they pretend to steal a handkerchief and spectacle case from Fagin’s pocket without him noticing. Fagin tells Oliver to, ‘Make ’em your models. ‘ Fagin wants Oliver to be just like the other boys he asks Oliver â€Å"You’d like to be able to make pocket-handkerchiefs as easy as Charley Bates, wouldn’t you, my dear? Not knowing the true meaning of what has been showed to him Oliver replies â€Å"very much indeed, if you’ll teach me sir† Dickens shows us the readers how innocent Oliver was and how corrupt he was too. Fagin tells Oliver his boys must be Oliver’s role models. Bill Sikes is introduced to Oliver and Oliver is sent to do a job with him. Oliver gets caught when trying to break in the house his then shoot and Bill leaves Oliver alone to defend for himself. This is not fair Oliver shouldn’t be treated like this for other peoples needs his treated like a slave. Bill Sikes is corrupt because he takes children to do his jobs for him; he uses and abuses them just like Nancy the prostitute. This is unfair because Oliver is being pushed about and should be treated with respect. Bill isn’t a committed person towards the boys, his selfish, and inconsiderate he was only out for himself. Bill is a violent man and a murderer he has no feelings for anyone. Oliver doesn’t become corrupted because he realizes what Fagin is doing is wrong and causes people to suffer have unbearable feelings. Corruption can happen to anyone especially if you’re young and naive. We learn in this book how unfair and corrupt the society was through Oliver because a young boy was submitted to torture and pain. Corruption is an evil and devious thing that causes abhorrence and misery. England showed this by vital laws being brought in the society, to make people aware of what they were doing was it right or wrong. People were treated as prisoners and they were prohibited to have healthy food and have a spectacular life. If they were filled with self-esteem they would want to carry on, be determined in life and enjoy it; in today’s society they would be very appreciative.