B.A .Thesis Chapter 4 Analysis of Nancy “….you(Fagin) villain, yes, you deserve ?em for me. I thieved for you when I was a child not as this, pointing for Oliver. I have been in the same trade, and in the same service, for twelve years since….” (Dickens, 1992:191)
“…the cold, wet, dirty street are my home; and you (Fagin) are the wretch that drove me to them long ago; and that?ll keep me there, day and night, day and night, till die.” (Dickens, 1992 194)
Nancy acted an important role in the novel. Her situation is not important and key, about Nancy?s description is less. But just the person who not attract reader?s attention, arrange fairly by Dickens, is become the fact and impetus which instructed novel?s state?s rise and fall.(刘精香, 2005: 12- 19) So, Dickens let Nancy, this girl, accuse the extraordinary darkness in 19th century England society.
The spark of compassion that still warms Nancy?s heart sets off a confrontation in which she loses her life. Neither Fagin nor Sikes can be said to have anything resembling ethical standards, and no allowances are made for Nancy?s actions in favor of the two criminals. There is no way to pardon her violation of their merciless code. Fagin applies his twisted intelligence with unbelievable shrewdness in showing Sikes how Nancy
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B.A .Thesis Chapter 4 Analysis of Nancy has betrayed them. He knows with whom he is dealing and how to insure the results he wants.
The aggravation and unleashing of Sikes? ferocious wrath produce a suspense that can only be dispersed by a terrible calamity. The vindictive murder of Nancy is the inevitable result. Her last moments are rendered with crushing pathos. There is a regretful irony in her meaningless belated appeal to the power of repentance. She is even denied a last glimpse of the sun that she so seldom enjoyed. A bitter contrast is beheld between the restorative light of the dawn and the curtained apartment where Nancy?s life was taking away.
The sensations of Sikes after the violence trace the reactions of a murderer. For the first few hours, he wanders in a kind of confusion, scarcely able to relate to what he has done. It is only when the return of darkness vividly recalls the deed that he feels the full implications of his position: “Let no man talk of murderers escaping justice, and hint that Providence must sleep.” Awareness of guilt and the sense of danger become overwhelming. The horror of his crime isolates him from his fellow men. The harshness of this penalty is eloquently demonstrated by Sikes? eagerness to lend his assistance during the emergency of the fire, just so he can be near other people and find momentary forgetfulness in hard physical labor. It is an unprecedented spectacle for others to receive
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B.A .Thesis Chapter 4 Analysis of Nancy help from Sikes, an enemy of society who has never shown anything but contempt for all humanity.(胡晓华, 2001: 11- 15)
At the end of Chapter 48, Sikes is left in an ironical position: After violently slaying the one person who had affection for him, he is unsuccessful in a deliberate attempt to destroy his dog, whom he fears may be a threat to his own existence. So, in a sense, Sikes is killed by Nancy who?s death thoroughly destroy his spiritual world.
4.2 The Goodness of Nancy
As a child of the streets, Nancy has been a thief and drinks to excess. She is immersed in the vices condemned by her society, but she also commits perhaps the noblest act in the novel when she sacrifices her own life in order to protect Oliver. Without her, Oliver may have never had the chance to grow up in a loving home and leave to be proper in his actions and pure in the soul.
Nancy, who, though she considers herself “lost almost beyond redemption,” Ends up making the ultimate sacrifice for a child she hardly knows. From this action, we can find Nancy?s moral complexity which is unique among the major characters in Oliver Twist. Her ultimate choice to do good at a great personal cost is a strong argument in favor of the incorruptibility of basic goodness. Dickens also use this character to show
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B.A .Thesis Chapter 4 Analysis of Nancy his belief that goodness exists in the human nature which stands for the hope of the English society.
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B.A .Thesis Conclusion
Conclusion
Oliver Twist is about a gently-born orphan who?s always failed by the system set up to protect him. It?s also a long, bitter accusation of the willful neglect of these wretched humans, who were supposedly created in God?s image but rarely live up to the honor. This novel is famous for exposing the dark sides of people lived out that time. It exposes the hypocritical and cruelty of parish workhouse through depicting the little orphan boy Oliver?s childhood in it. He gives a realistic picture of the horrible existence in workhouse and criticizes the government?s ignorance of the weak.
But, Dickens goes far beyond the experiences of the workhouse. He presents the everyday existence of the lowest members of English society, extending his depiction of poverty to London?s dirty streets, dark alehouses, and thieves? dens. He gives voice to those who had no voices, establishing a link between politics and literature with his social commentary. He also shows his sympathy to the poor and his condemnation to the evil.
To sum up, through the depiction of different characters and their lives in the London underworld. Dickens gives us a miserable picture of the 19th century capitalist England and criticizes the failure of the
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