Oliver Twist is the
protagonistA protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of the
novelA novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
Oliver TwistOliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens, published by Richard Bentley in 1838. The story is about an orphan Oliver Twist, who endures a miserable existence in a workhouse and then is placed with an undertaker. He escapes and travels to...
by
Charles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
. He was the first child protagonist in an
English languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
novel.
Background
In the novel, Oliver is born in a parish
workhouseIn England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...
, in an un-named town, but his mother died in labour. Old Sally, who was at the birth and death, takes from the dying woman a locket and ring. Bumble, the
BeadleBeadle, sometimes spelled "bedel," is a lay official of a church or synagogue who may usher, keep order, make reports, and assist in religious functions; or a minor official who carries out various civil, educational, or ceremonial duties....
, names the boy Oliver Twist. Oliver is sent to an infant farm, run by Mrs. Mann, until he is nine years old, when he is returned to the workhouse.
The orphans at the workhouse are starving because of their cruel treatment. They cast lots to decide who will ask for more gruel for them and Oliver is chosen. At evening
supperSupper is the name for the evening meal in some dialects of English - ordinarily the last meal of the day. Originally, in the Middle Ages, it referred to the lighter meal following dinner, where until the 18th century dinner was invariably eaten as the midday meal.The term is derived from the...
, once the
gruelGruel is a food preparation consisting of some type of cereal—oat, wheat or rye flour, or rice—boiled in water or milk. It is a thinner version of porridge that may be more often drunk than eaten and need not even be cooked...
is dished out, Oliver goes to Bumble and makes his famous request,
"Please Sir. I want some more." He is then branded as a troublemaker and is offered as an apprentice to anyone willing to take him and he is apprenticed to the undertaker, Sowerberry. Oliver fights with Noah Claypole, an older boy at the undertakers, because Noah mocked Oliver's dead mother. Oliver is then beaten for the offence, but he manages to escape and runs away to
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
In London Oliver meets Jack Dawkins, the Artful Dodger, who offers him a place to stay, where he meets up with
FaginFagin is a fictional character who appears as an antagonist of the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist, referred to in the preface of the novel as a "receiver of stolen goods", but referred to more frequently within the actual story as the "merry old gentleman" or simply the "Jew".-Character:Born...
and his band of young thieves. Oliver innocently goes "to work" with Dawkins, and
Charley BatesCharley Bates is a supporting character in the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist. He is a young boy and member of Fagin's gang of pickpockets, and sidekick to the Artful Dodger. Charley, along with The Artful Dodger, steal Mr. Brownlow's handkerchief, a crime Oliver is blamed for...
, where he sees their real "work" when Dawkins
picks the pocketPickpocketing is a form of larceny that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person of a victim without their noticing the theft at the time. It requires considerable dexterity and a knack for misdirection...
of a gentleman. When the gentleman,
Mr. BrownlowMr. Brownlow is a character from the novel, Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens. He is later revealed to be none other than a very close friend of Oliver's father.-Description:Dickens describes Brownlow's first appearance:-The novel:...
, realises he is being robbed, Oliver is mistaken for the pickpocket. And he is then chased, captured and taken to the police. Oliver, who was injured in the chase, is cleared by a witness to the crime and is taken in by Brownlow to his home where he is well treated. After recovering from his injuries, Oliver is sent on an errand by Brownlow to pay a local
merchantA merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
£The pound is a unit of currency in some nations. The term originated in England as the value of a pound of silver.The word pound is the English translation of the Latin word libra, which was the unit of account of the Roman Empire...
5 and to return some books. However, Oliver is caught by Nancy and
Bill SikesWilliam "Bill" Sikes is a fictional character in the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.He is one of Dickens's most vicious characters and a very strong force in the novel when it comes to having control over somebody or harming others. He is portrayed as a rough and barbaric man. He is a career...
, who pretend to be his siblings, and is returned to Fagin's den. However, Nancy later berates Fagin and Sikes, as well as herself, for doing so since they've stolen Oliver's chance to have a better life.
Mr. Brownlow, who mistakenly thinks that Oliver has run away with the money, assumes that Oliver was a thief all along. This belief is further strengthened when Bumble, in response to Brownlow's newspaper advert for information about Oliver, gives a disparaging opinion of Oliver. Nevertheless, Brownlow still holds onto a little bit of hope that this might not be true.
Meanwhile, Oliver is forced by Fagin to join Sikes in an attempted robbery at a rural house, as they need a small boy to enter a window and open the front door for Sikes to get in. However, the robbery is foiled and, in the ensuing chase, Oliver is shot. He is then nursed back to health at the home of the Maylies, the house Sikes was attempting to burgle. Oliver gives his story to the Maylies (more exactly, the widow Mrs. Maylie, her son Harry and her adoptive daughter Rose) and Doctor Losberne. He also helps out when Rose falls ill, casually meeting a mysterious man along the way...
The mysterious man is Mr.
MonksEdward "Monks" Leeford is a character in the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. He is actually the criminally-inclined half-brother of Oliver Twist, but he hides his identity. Monks's parents separated when he was a child, and his father had a sexual and romantic relationship with a young...
, who is revealed to be Oliver's half brother (his true name being Edward Leeford). He joins Fagin in an attempt to recapture Oliver and lead him into a life of crime, so that Oliver's rightful inheritance, of which Oliver knows nothing, would then go to Monks. Nancy, who still feels compassion for Oliver, overhears Fagin's and Monk's plans and tells
Rose MaylieRose Fleming Maylie is a character in Charles Dickens's novel Oliver Twist. She is Oliver's maternal aunt.-Biography:Rose is an orphan raised from young childhood by Mrs. Maylie. Bill Sikes and Toby Crackit, two thieves, break into the Maylies' house, accompanied by Oliver. Oliver is shot by the...
hoping to thwart them. Rose then contacts Brownlow (clearing Oliver's name in the process, much to Brownlow's relief), Dr. Losberne and other people, to help her protect Oliver.
Meanwhile, Bumble has married the matron of the workhouse, Mrs. Corney. The former Mrs. Corney had been in attendance at Old Sally's death, and purloined the locket and ring Old Sally had taken from Oliver's mother Agnes on her deathbed. Monks buys these items from the Bumbles and throws them into the river Thames, hoping that, by destroying them, Oliver's true identity will remain hidden.
Brownlow and Rose Maylie meet Nancy on
London BridgeLondon Bridge is a bridge over the River Thames, connecting the City of London and Southwark, in central London. Situated between Cannon Street Railway Bridge and Tower Bridge, it forms the western end of the Pool of London...
and she tells them how to find Monks. However, Fagin has had Nancy followed and, believing Nancy has revealed his secrets, Fagin tells Sikes that Nancy has betrayed them. Sikes brutally murders Nancy, then flees London to the country. However, their neighbors and some of Fagin's own band members soon find out about Nancy's death and, enraged, they tell the police; Sikes falls to his death when he's about to be captured.
Oliver is revealed to be the
illegitimate sonAt common law, legitimacy is the status of a child who is born to parents who are legally married to one another; and of a child who is born shortly after the parents' divorce. In canon and in civil law, the offspring of putative marriages have been considered legitimate children...
of a rich man named Edwin Leeford and his mistress, a girl named Agnes Fleming. Leeford had also fathered another son, Edward (Monks), through a failed former marriage. After seducing Agnes, Leeford died, leaving a
willA will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
which stated that the unborn child would inherit his estate if "in his minority he should never have stained his name with any public act of dishonour, meanness, cowardice, or wrong" in the event of which all would go to Edward Leeford (Monks). Monks is given half of Oliver's inheritance by Brownlow - who had been Edwin Leeford's best friend and the keeper of his secrets - in the hope that he would start a new life. Monks flees to the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where he quickly squanders the money and dies in prison.
Rose Maylie is revealed to be Agnes Fleming's younger sister, who was adopted by the Maylies after her parents died. Therefore, Rose is Oliver's aunt and is able to marry Harry Maylie. Oliver collects his inheritance and is adopted by Brownlow, and Rose marries Harry, for the conventional happy ending to the novel.
Disney version
In Disney's 1988 animated film
Oliver & CompanyOliver & Company is a 1988 American animated film in which a homeless kitten named Oliver joins a gang of dogs to survive on the 1980s New York City streets. The film was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and became the twenty-seventh animated feature released in the Walt Disney Animated...
, Oliver is portrayed as a cute ginger kitten who wants a home. He joins Fagin's gang of dogs before being taken in by Jenny. He is voiced by
Joey LawrenceJoseph "Joey" Lawrence is an American actor, R&B-singer, and TV-host. He is known for his roles in the TV-series Gimme a Break!, Blossom, and Melissa & Joey.- Early life :...
.