Scarica Riassunto Oliver Twist e più Appunti in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! oliver twist Oliver Twist is a poor boyof unknown parents; he was born in a workhouse in a small town near London. His mother dies almost immediately after his birth and he is brought up in a workhouse in an inhuman way. After the unpordonable offence of asking for more food when he is close to starving , Oliver is sold for 5 pounds to an undertaker. The cruelty and the unhappiness he experiences with this new master make him run away to London. There he falls nto the hands of a young gang of pickpockets. Unfortunately oliver is caught on his first attempt at theft but the victim,Mr Brownlow, takes the boy home and takes care of him.At the end Oliver is adopted by Mr Brownlow receveing kindness and affection. Through some investigations about Oliver's origins, it is discovered he comes from a noble family. At last the gang of pickpockets and Oliver's halfbrother (who wanted to ruin Oliver's life) are arrested. SETTING AND CHARACTERS Setting -->London which is represented by three different social levels. 1)The parochial world of workhouses= the inhabitans are calculating and insensible to the feelings of the poor; 2)The criminal world with pickpockets and murderers (poverty drives them to crime and the only way to achieve their end is violence) they live in dirty,squalid slums and genereally the have a miserable death; 3)The worls of the Victorian middle class=they are respectable people who show a regard for moral values and believe in the principle f human dignity. THE WORLD OF THE WORKHOUSE Dickens attacked the social evils of his society (poor houses,unjust courts and the underworld). With a rise in the level of poverty workhouses were built all over England to give relief to the poor. However the conditions were appalling and they did not provide any success. Furthermore,as Dickens point out, instead of allievating the sufferings of the poor, the offcials who ran workhouses abused their rights as individuals and caused them further misery. the workhouse (text page 40-41) Oliver is moved from his birthplace to a branch- workhouse because the management has become aware of the inadequacy of the women in the institution to take care of the boy. The conditions in this workhouse are appalling. Oliver is looked after by an elderly woman called Mrs mann,who the greater part of the weekly money granted to each child by the parish. The children under her care are malnourished and neglected. Oliver spends nine years in this workhouse, On his ninth birthday the beadle arrives at the place. OLIVER WANTS SOME MORE (text page 42-43) In this extract is presented the boys' gratest problem, starvation. One evening the boys decide that one of them (Oliver Twist) should ask for more food. At this insistent demand for more food, the master hits Oliver and goes to look for Mr.Bumble, the man in charge of the workhouse. Every memeber of the parish is astonished and consider Oliver's request as a sign of his criminal nature. Therefore, the boy is confined to his room and sold for five pounds to anyone anyone who wants to take him away.
