Introduction

Oliver Twist's famous cry of the heart--"Please, sir, I want some more"--has resounded with generations of readers of all ages. The author poured his own youthful experience of Victorian London's unspeakable squalor into this realistic depiction of a spirited young innocent's unwilling but inevitable recruitment into a scabrous gang of thieves. Masterminded by the loathsome Fagin, the underworld crew features some of Dickens' most memorable characters, including the vicious Bill Sikes, gentle Nancy, and the juvenile pickpocket known as the Artful Dodger.

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Excerpt

Chapter I
TREATS OF THE PLACE WHERE OLIVER TWIST WAS BORN AND OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES ATTENDING HIS BIRTH
Among other public buildings in a certain town, which for many reasons it will be prudent to refrain from mentioning, and to which I will assign no fictitious name, there is one anciently common to most towns, great or small: to wit, a workhouse; and in this workhouse was born; on a day and date which I need not trouble myself to repeat, inasmuch as it can be of no possible consequence to the reader, in this stage of the business at all events; the item of mortality whose name is prefixed to the head of this chapter. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

1. The well-regarded Canadian literary critic E. K. Brown defined theme as “an author’s whole way of looking at the general area that he is treating.” What do you regard the theme of Oliver Twist to be and why?

2. Compare Oliver Twist with some other boy in fiction of about the same age who grapples with adversities, for example, Huckleberry Finn.
3. Beginning with the earliest event referred to in the book, prepare a chronology of major events. Specify all time intervals for which the author supplies definite clues.
4. What function, if any, does little Dick serve?
5. Take one element of mystery and trace it through the book, pointing out use of suspense, foreshadowing, recognition, and unraveling.
6. Give several typical examples of the use of irony and explain how the irony is achieved.
7. Discuss some character or trait of a character as an example of symbolism.
8. What do you think is the purpose of the episode involving Gamfield, the chimney sweep?
9. Select examples of narrative and dramatic treatment of action, then comment on why the technique Dickens used is or is not appropriate.
10. Select some scenes or episodes that you consider extraneous and irrelevant. Give your reasons for regarding them as irrelevant to the plot development.

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