B.A .Thesis Introduction
Introduction
Oliver Twist was Dickens? second novel, which marked the beginning of Dickens? literary life. It began to appear in a monthly magazine. “I had perhaps the best subject I have ever thought of, I have thrown my whole heart and soul into Oliver.” (Peters, 1998:22)
That its general purpose was clear in his mind was evident from his later—written preface: “I wished to show, in little Oliver, the principle of Good surviving through every adverse circumstance and triumphing at last” (Peters, 1998:25). What the author portrayed is the criminals of London?s underworld. The author depicted it not in a romantic mood just as his contemporary novelists, but showed much miserable reality. That reality was the great and enduring strength of the book. Dickens knew it a lot by close observation, which he had already demonstrated in his newspaper sketches of London streets and criminal court. Also, he knew it by his own experience. When he was very young, he suffered a lot. He knew those kinds of feeling and of course he could share the solitary child?s pain, for him, be confused in those years when he labored hopelessly in the blacking-warehouse. As he said much later, he himself might have become a little robber or a little vagabond. That period of time was so bitter to this sensitive boy that many years later, when he was
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B.A .Thesis Introduction
very successful, he could not look back on the main reason that why he took much attention to common people?s lives and their feeling.
Oliver Twist is one of the most important social novels in Dickens? early works. Also, it was the first time that Dickens led readers into a very sad world. The description of the criminal slums of London that little Oliver lived brought Dickens a new class of serious reader interested in social reform. People started to think about social reason for all of those criminal phenomena. And, in this novel, Dickens advocates his view of charitable person will have good recompense.
Oliver Twist was famous for exposing the dark sides of people lived out that time. It exposed the hypocritical and cruelty of parish workhouse through depicting the little orphan boy Oliver Twist?s childhood in it. He gave realistic pictures of the horrible existence in workhouse. One of the most important characteristics of Oliver Twist was real and specific description of people who lived in the bottom of society. Their miserable lives, including all the details, gave the reader a real feeling: these were not fictitious.
Dickens carried the good traditions of critical realism novels since 18th century of England and also developed it. He created his unique technique and formed his own style. Dickens? works are very important in English literary history. They established the base of critical realism
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B.A .Thesis Introduction
and had effect upon the development of the whole European realistic novels.
Through the analysis of character poratrayal in Oliver Twist, Nancy, Fagin and his gang, this paper gives a general introduction of the novel?s character and exposes the miserable life of commom people in the 19th century capitalist England. At the same time, this paper will make the readers have a deeper understanding of the character of Dickens? novel and make it convenient for people to appreciate Dickens? idea that good can never prevail over good.
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B.A .Thesis Chapter 1 Novel?s Writing Background
Chapter 1
Novel’s Writing Background
1.1 The Critical Realists in the Mid-19th Century
There were a number of novelists between those conservative poets and prose writers in the mid-19th century of England. They had a world of sympathy for the miseries and a strong feeling for the poor laboring masses. They cried against social injustice but they also did not approve of violence to fight the social wrong.(钱青, 2001) They had been know as critical of the social reality in the sense that they were strongly critical of the social reality of their time but they had never thought of overthrowing the existing social order that in this way, they could establish a new one.
These critical realists of the mid-19th century were all honest people and real artists in spite of their limitations in their general point of view on life. By exposing the social injustice and the vices of the upper class, they put their hearts into depicting the miserable existence of the common people: they gave a truthful picture of capitalist England of the time. They followed the fine tradition of their great literary predecessor of 18th century realism and early 19th century romanticism.(Kichetti, 2005) They showed their warm sympathy on those people who suffered a lot.
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B.A .Thesis Chapter 1 Novel?s Writing Background
1.2 Brief Introduction to Dickens
The greatest of the critical realists was Charles Dickens. In his early years, he worked as a reporter and this experience gave him a good knowledge of the political life of England at that time and it had a far-reaching effect upon his lifelong contempt for all the political institution in England. As a result of his ability to notice things of London life, a volume of stories and sketches of London street scenes, Sketches of Boz, was published. In 1837, his first novel Pickwick Papers appeared and established his reputation as an important writer of the time. This success was repeated again and again during the rest of his life, with the publication of some 15 novels as well as volumes of stories, travelogues and countless sketches and essays. In his very early literary period, Dickens attacked one or more specific evils in Victorian England: debtors? prison, workhouse, capital punishment and so on. The most important of these novels was one of optimism and a light and cheery tone. It was maintained, with plenty of humor and laughter with the reactionary forces of the middle class who were running more rampant, Dickens was more sensitive to the social reality and become more critical. Later, his optimistic spirit was replaced by strong feeling of depression and resentment. It was a successful period in which Dickens attained to his maturity as a great artist. The whole period was also characterized by
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