Set in the first half of the 19th century, the classic novel presents the story of young orphan Oliver Twist, who endures tumultuous events in a society burdened by poverty, crime and malice. After being poorly treated in a workhouse, Oliver escapes to London where instead of finding a better life he ends up tangled in a web of criminal activities.
The novel opens with the introduction of Oliver, a waif who has spent his short life living in miserable conditions in a workhouse. Along with other fellow orphans, he is regularly beaten and underfed. One day the young, hungry orphans decide to draw sticks in order to determine who will ask for another portion of gruel. The unlucky representative of the starving children is Oliver, who goes up to the stern Mr. Bumble and makes his famous plea “Please sir, I want some more”. Unimpressed by such a request, the authoritarian administrators of the workhouse offer five pounds to anyone willing to take the boy as an apprentice. Subsequently, Oliver is apprenticed to local undertaker, Mr. Sowerberry. |
Apart from creating a brilliant piece of literature, Dickens has also documented a significant time in social history. Exploring troubling issues of the time including child labor, treatment of orphans, and child recruitment into the criminal world, Oliver Twist is one of the earliest examples of a novel exploring social criticism.