Oliver Twist as an Example of Moral Virtue - Book Report/Review Example

 Oliver Twist as an Example of Moral Virtue Not all literature is intended to deliver a moral message, but most good literature offers something of value regarding the human condition - showing us how to behave, how not to behave, helping us understand change, or understand different viewpoints. To help his readers understand what a moral person should look like, Charles Dickens created the character of Oliver Twist, a young orphan boy who attempts to live a moral life through his patience with others even when they abuse him, his aversion to theft even as his only means of survival, and his nobility of spirit which shows through in his diction despite never having received an education. Throughout the story, Oliver Twist is seen to have uncommon patience with the people around him, frequently staying quiet rather than rebuke them for their harsh treatment of him. At the beginning of the story, Oliver is born to a mother who was found lying in the street outside of a workhouse and who dies just moments after he is born. The baby is so sickly himself that he is sent to another house intended to care for such children, but where the matron routinely neglects and starves the children and keeps their state allowances for herself. Yet, when he leaves this early home on his ninth birthday, after having been locked in the basement for being hungry, he doesn't say anything to Mr. Bumble about his treatment and "he burst into an agony of childish grief, as the cottage-gate closed after him" (Chap. 2). After asking for more food at the main workhouse, Oliver is kept in solitary confinement for at least a week, flogged in public before the other boys during meal times and occasionally caned when washing at the cold pump in the stone court each morning, yet he still manages to beg to return rather than go with Mr. Gamfield as his apprentice without actually turning in the workhouse for their poor treatment of him. Despite the harsh treatment he's received by almost everyone around him, Oliver is still able to weep and pray for Mr. Fagin when that gentleman has his own choices to make. Throughout everything he's been through, Oliver's main objective is simply to forgive and find a happier, more loving place for himself and those around him. Having never been given a chance to live an honest life, it is surprising to see Oliver so adamantly stand for honesty and the dignity of others. He determines he will never remain in the undertaking business after he watches the shameful proceedings of his first funeral and the careless way in which the grieving family is treated. He also quickly decides that he does not want to associate for long with the Dodger as he is clearly leading an immoral life. "Under this impression, he secretly resolved to cultivate the good opinion of the old gentleman as soon as possible; and if he found the Dodger incorrigible, as he more than half-suspected he should, to decline the honor of his farther acquaintance" (Ch. 8). Oliver suspects dishonest behavior while staying at Fagin's, but is horrified when he actually witnesses the boys stealing for the first time. He is about to turn back when Dodger notices his first true mark and they begin to close in on a man reading at a bookstall. "In an instant the whole mystery of the handkerchiefs, and the watches, and the jewels, and the Jew, rushed upon the boy's mind. He stood, for a moment, with the blood so tingling through all his veins from terror, that he felt as if he were in a burning fire" (Ch. 10). From his reaction to these types of events, it seems Oliver is physically incapable of committing any type of dishonesty without suffering terrible internal symptoms as a result. Although Oliver has never been given a proper education, his language is consistently the language of the middle class rather than the lower class where he has been raised. He is puzzled by the duplicitous language of others, such as when Mr. Bumble asks him very nicely to enter the magistrate's chamber near the end of chapter three, but then warns Oliver with a much darker tone to behave himself. Oliver's language is not able to keep up with the street slang of the city either. Upon his arrival and meeting the Dodger, Dodger has to explain to Oliver that a beak is a magistrate rather than a bird's mouth. Upon arriving at Mr. Brownlow's house, Oliver suddenly begins to feel more in place and wears his new clothing as if he were born to it. He begs to be placed in the service of the household rather than being sent back to where he came from. His behavior and his ability to speak well endear him to the man who once thought Oliver stole from him. At the same time, some hints are given as to Oliver's true heritage, suggesting that he was born to a higher class than where he has been raised. His purity convinces the people at the house where Oliver is shot to protect him from the authorities and they conceal his part in the crime. Throughout his story, Oliver continues to demonstrate high moral codes and resists any attempt to turn him from his path. The moral message of the story is hammered home in this way as Oliver proves that good behavior will result in rewards while those around him demonstrate that bad behavior will result in unhappiness. At the same time, Oliver's purity of spirit is what continues to gain him the assistance he needs to escape the forces bent on destroying him. Although he is not always absolutely perfect in his actions, Oliver does attempt to live a moral life again and again and again. Oliver's Primary Conflict The main conflict for Oliver Twist in Charles Dickens' novel of the same name is man vs. man as Oliver fights to uphold his naturally moral character against the forces around him intent on destroying him. Oliver is born as an orphan in a workhouse, but his past is already set to haunt him. He struggles to survive in this harsh environment until he is finally apprenticed out to a caretaker and determines this is not the life for him. His moral character causes others around him to feel jealous and pick on him to the point that he is falsely accused of having a violent nature and he runs away. Finding himself in London with no means for food or shelter, he accidentally falls into the company of a charismatic pick-pocket who calls himself the Dodger. Dodger introduces Oliver to Mr. Fagin and his circle of thieves which happen to include, to no one else's knowledge, Oliver's older half-brother, Monk. Upon learning of Oliver's existence, Monk does everything he can to ensure Oliver commits some kind of crime which would invalidate their father's will awarding half of his fortune to Oliver. Oliver must first resist Fagin's attempts to turn him into a pickpocket, which is accomplished partly due to Oliver's abhorrence of committing such a crime and partly to his being captured by the police on his first occasion to accompany Dodger on a heist. However, Monk continues to attempt to associate Oliver with a crime by arranging to have him kidnapped from Mr. Brownlow's home and back into the pickpocket world, thinking perhaps Oliver will take to it if given no other options. When that doesn't work, he arranges to have Oliver help in a home burglary, but Oliver is injured and abandoned, again winning the sympathy and assistance of the intended victims because of his honesty and his clearly innocent intentions. Monk's attempts to involve Oliver in crime are repeatedly foiled thanks to Oliver's goodness and the friends he makes along the way. Because Oliver remains true to his own good judgment, he is able to confide in people who might help him, winning their sympathies and their assistance. This assistance is also sometimes due to his resemblance to his mother, who some of them knew through relationships or through paintings of her. As authorities close in on the various real criminals in the novel, Oliver's past is revealed and he is given a safe place to stay where he is free to live the kind of moral life he was born to lead. Read More