My latest read is Oliver
Twist by Charles Dickens. Goodreads link to the book is located here: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2128483.Oliver_Twist.
I, many years ago, read the abridged version of the book, and since then have
been wanting to read the unabridged “real edition” of the book. And now,
finally I got the chance to do so.
Charles Dickens is an author
who needs no introduction of any sort as he has become a household name for
many of us. This is my second Charles Dickens book, the first one being Great
Expectations. I have read quite a few classical books, several abridged
versions while others were unabridged versions. And out of classical authors,
Charles Dickens is my favourite. Why? Well, the reason is that these classical
books have a tendency to be based in the elite class or at least what the
author imagines the elite class to be like. Charles Dickens is different, he is
not like that. I like to refer to his works as “the voice of the common man”. He
describes how it was for the common person, not a bunch of spoilt elite peoples.
We are given a window to the real world through Dickens’ work. Some, myself
included, like to call him a sociologist of his time.
Oliver Twist is written as a
fictional biography of a fictional kid called Oliver Twist. Poor orphan kid who
was made to go through the “system”, but later on manages to escape the system,
and even though he finds his benefactors and friends along the way, it seems as
if harm and danger is always lurking. He happens to get involved in a criminal
gang, and no matter how many times Oliver manages to escape, and in what ways,
and with the help of what people, Oliver still somehow ends up back in the
hands of the criminal gang.
Even though the story can be
a bit of a drag at points, its a book for where the pages turn itself. You keep
on wanting to know what is happening to Oliver. Its a sad book as Oliver is
facing some quite tough times, and one goes, “Oh God, don’t tell me he has to
deal with another low point!”. For me personally, the lowest point of them all
was the death of Oliver’s best friend, Dick. This was the part of the story
where I did cry. Dick was sick and dying and Oliver always knew that one day he
will rescue Dick from the orphanage so that Dick can live his last days in
quiet peace and dignity, unfortunately Dick died before Oliver could rescue him.
Despite being such a sad book, there is a positive happy ending to it.
I find Oliver’s own
personality and nature to be quite admirable. You normally would expect someone
who has gone through such experiences to be a very bitter and angry person. But
this is not the case. Oliver happens to be a kind hearted who tries to do his
share of good in the world.
Through Oliver’s eyes and
experiences, we bear witness to many of the evils that plagued society at that
time. We learn about the Poor Laws and the “system” that goes along with it. Children
are left in orphanages where they are mistreated, underfed and malnourished. Inspectors
do come and visit the orphanages, however the inspectors do not do surprise checks.
They inform one day before. So everything looks in good order to the
inspectors. Even when it comes to the hospices of the time, the sick and the
dying are not given good care and are usually left on their own to simply die
off.
We even learn about the
underworld of criminal gangs and how they recruit orphan children who have
nowhere else to go. On the streets of London live many orphan children. Oliver,
too, was one of them, until he ended up getting recruited by a criminal gang. The
criminal gangs give the children the impression that they are being cared for
and looked after, in return they just have to run some errands. While in
reality the criminal gangs just want the children to carry out their criminal
activities for them.
Thirdly, child labour.
Oliver himself was a child labourer. Firstly being put to work as a chimney
sweep and then later on as a coffin maker. And these people actually preferred
child labourers because of their smaller size and their requirements of less
food.
To sum up, Oliver Twist is a
sad book with a happy ending. Yes, the book does have its slow points, but
overall it is as if the pages are turning itself. You get entwined in the story
and you really want to know what happened next, hoping Oliver finally gets to
see the light. And like all other Charles Dickens books, we get excellent
insight into how the society and the world was like for the common person and
we get to know, through Oliver’s eyes, some first hand accounts about the evils
that plagued the society of the time.
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