Characters Analysis of Oliver Twist of Charles Dickens.docVIP

An Analysis of the Main Characters of Oliver Twist 1. Introduction 1.1 A brief introduction to the author Charles Dickens was born in Land port , Hampshire, on February 7,1812 His father, John Dickens, was a clerk in the Navy pay office , but he was an extravagant spender, and could not make both ends meet .when Charles was nine years old, his family moved to London. There his father fell into debt, and was thrown into the poor-debtor’s prison .At eleven years of age the boy was taken out of school and sent to earn his living in a blacking factory, Afterwards a small legacy brought the father out of prison, and Charles was sent to school once more. At WellingtonHouseAcademy he learned little, but he laid by a store of material for future use .At fifteen he left school and went to work as clerk in a lawyer’s office. In his spare time he studied shorthand and visited the BritishMuseum library, where he did much reading .At the age of nineteen he became a Parliamentary reporter. From his early years he formed the habit of roaming London foot, often a dozen or more miles a day, or preferably at night, observing the life of the poor and oppressed. He knew that suffering meant. Although his life he was to keep his sympathy for the poor. Dickens is the outstanding representative of English critical realism. 1.2 A brief introduction to the novel Oliver Twist, one of the most famous works of Charles Dickens, is a novel reflecting the tragic fact of the life in 19th century. The author who himself was born in a poor family wrote his twenties with a view to reveal the ugly masks of those cruel criminals and to expose the horror and violence hidden underneath the narrow and dirty streets in London. Oliver is a boy born in a workhouse, who has no idea of his parents’ identity. His mother Agnes died in childbirth. By pure chance he is chosen as a scapegoat by the other starving boys, and is made to go and ask for an extra helping at a mealtime. As a result of this breach of etiq