Oliver Twist

Oliver Twist was written by English author, Charles Dickens. Charles was one of the best novelists in English literature. This book is about Oliver Twist, an orphan who leaves a workhouse and goes to London. There he meets the Artful Dodger, the head leader of a gang of juvenile pickpockets. Oliver is unaware to their unlawful activities. Oliver Twist, a young child, was the novel’s protagonist and stands out as the main character in this story. Oliver’s real, complete identity was a mystery in the novel. From what I gathered, he is an innocent and poor orphan boy who was born in a workhouse. Throughout the book, Oliver was surrounded by coarseness and cruelty. Even though he was treated badly, he is a charming, innocent child. In many ways, it’s hard to find Oliver’s character believable. He was raised in such corrupt surroundings, but his virtue and purity are absolute. Even when Oliver was manipulated and abused, he doesn’t become indignant. Oliver does not represent a picture of a boy that is torn between good and evil but instead, he is goodness incarnate. Some characteristics that I appreciate of Oliver’s is that he had the courage and was brave enough to run away to London, even though he was still such a young boy. Another characteristic I appreciated was that even though Oliver grew up in a terrible environment and was abused all the time, he didn’t let that get to him. Oliver was still innocent, charming and pure. He doesn’t even know what evil is and can’t even comprehend it. I think it is good for himself that he is so naïve, but on the other hand it’s not good to be ignorant because he needs to know of what is going on around him, as he lives in such an evil environment. Oliver has such amazing moral values, which even the idea of stealing horrors him. His good nature must come from instinct, because he could not have learned how to behave from the workhouse. I believe Charles Dickens was inspired for writing about Oliver Twist because of his own childhood. Dickens wrote about the real world. He didn’t write about higher or middles classes, he wrote about the people and kids that were struggling during his time. He used a lot of the same ideas in the novel that he had to go through as a kid. I think the reason being is so that readers can see what it was like to live in his time. My personal evaluation is that the book, Oliver Twist, was an incredible book. Though it was very sad at some parts, it really made me think of the world we live in today. I can’t explain how much Oliver, as a person, has changed my views in a lot of ways. Despite being treated horribly, he still had such a graceful and pure positive outlook on life that I find to be inspiring. In some ways, it kind of shows that no matter what anyone goes through, they should remain positive and look on the bright side of their situation. His character almost didn’t feel real, because I’ve never seen or met someone with his characteristics.