Oliver Twist
Rebecca Lee Ms. Heather Love AP Literature 30 July 2013 How to Read Literature Like a Professor: Quest – Oliver Twist
Lee 1
Is the inclination for turpitude already there when one was born? Everyone has free will and discretion to decide what should be done in particular situation; therefore, everyone should shake off fatalism. While reading Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist, I notice some “quests” in the novel that help characters to acquire self-knowledge. In How to Read Literature Like a Professor, written by Thomas C. Foster, it points out that a quest begins with an initiator to go somewhere and do something. During the journey, quester usually faces some difficulties. As the result, the quester fails in his original errand but finds a deeper meaning of his journey. Foster’s ideas regarding the quest as a way to gain self-knowledge clearly reveal the main ideas and themes of Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens. The major theme of whether free will and discretion are being stronger than fate and destiny (Shmoop) in nineteenth century’s society is demonstrated in several characters’ deeds within Oliver Twist. Considering Foster’s notion about quest as a process to obtain self-knowledge, readers are able to see that the characters in Oliver Twist all have freedom and self-determination. In chapter “Every Trip Is a Quest” of Thomas C. Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor, the theory of quest can be used to analyze the significance of Oliver’s trip with Charley Bates and The Artful Dodger in Oliver Twist. Being locked and forced to work in a small room for so many days, Oliver is delighted at the idea of being outside again at the beginning. He thinks that Bates and Dodger are taking him to a factory to work; however, he is wrong.
Lee 2
Bates and Dodger are actually thieves, who steal handkerchiefs, watches, and jewelry from rich people on the street. As a quester1, innocent Oliver is thinking to go to factory2 to
Lee 1
Is the inclination for turpitude already there when one was born? Everyone has free will and discretion to decide what should be done in particular situation; therefore, everyone should shake off fatalism. While reading Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist, I notice some “quests” in the novel that help characters to acquire self-knowledge. In How to Read Literature Like a Professor, written by Thomas C. Foster, it points out that a quest begins with an initiator to go somewhere and do something. During the journey, quester usually faces some difficulties. As the result, the quester fails in his original errand but finds a deeper meaning of his journey. Foster’s ideas regarding the quest as a way to gain self-knowledge clearly reveal the main ideas and themes of Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens. The major theme of whether free will and discretion are being stronger than fate and destiny (Shmoop) in nineteenth century’s society is demonstrated in several characters’ deeds within Oliver Twist. Considering Foster’s notion about quest as a process to obtain self-knowledge, readers are able to see that the characters in Oliver Twist all have freedom and self-determination. In chapter “Every Trip Is a Quest” of Thomas C. Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor, the theory of quest can be used to analyze the significance of Oliver’s trip with Charley Bates and The Artful Dodger in Oliver Twist. Being locked and forced to work in a small room for so many days, Oliver is delighted at the idea of being outside again at the beginning. He thinks that Bates and Dodger are taking him to a factory to work; however, he is wrong.
Lee 2
Bates and Dodger are actually thieves, who steal handkerchiefs, watches, and jewelry from rich people on the street. As a quester1, innocent Oliver is thinking to go to factory2 to