1、Oliver Twist, one of the most famousworks of Charles Dickens, is a novel reflecting the tragicfact of the life in Britain in 19th century.,Introduction Lifetime works Oliver Twists Great Expectations, Great Expectations Oliver TwistA Christmas CarolHard TimesA Tale of Two CitiesDavid Coperfield,Work
2、s by Charles Dickens,雾都孤儿圣诞颂歌双城记艰难时世远大前程大卫科波菲尔,Lifetimes Works,The first period (1836-1841) 特点：youthful optimism 博兹札记（ Sketches by Boz ） 匹克威克外传（ The Pickwick Papers ） 雾都孤儿（ Oliver Twist ） 尼古拉斯尼克贝（ Nicholas Nickleby ） 老古玩店（ The Old Curiocity Shop ） 巴纳比拉奇（ Barnaby Rudge ）,The second period (1842-1851)
3、,特点：excitement and irritation 美国纪行（ American Notes ） 圣诞颂歌（ A Christmas Carol ） 马丁翟述伟（ Martin Chuzzlewit ） 教堂钟声 （The Chimes) 灶上蟋蟀 （The Cricket on the Hearth) 董贝父子（ Dombey and Son ） 大卫科波菲尔 （ David Copperfield ）,the third period（1851-1870）,特点：intensifying pessimism 写给孩子看的英国历史（ A Childs History of Engla
4、nd ） 荒凉山庄（ Bleak House ） 艰难时世（ Hard Times ） 小杜丽（ Little Dorrit ） 双城记 （ A Tale of Two Cities ） 远大前程（ Great Expectations ） 我们共同的朋友（ Our Mutual Friend ） 艾德温德鲁德之谜（ The Mystery of Edwin Drood ） 未完成,why he wrote this book ?,In 1830, the wealth assumed the poor were uncontrollable. So state cared their exi
5、stence only when they committed crimes.,The Poor Laws also caused some problems : the children uneducated, the lower class population starving and so on.,Novels Background,Main Characters,Oliver Twist: an orphan who has grown up in the workhouseMr. Bumble: an officer of the workhouse who is callous
6、and selfishMr. Brownlow: a real gentleman who is kind-heartedFagin: a Jew who trains some children to steal things for himSikes: a ferocious thief who is familiar with Fagin,Oliver Twist was an orphan lived in workhouse. Life there was so hard that Oliver escaped to London. However, he was controlle
7、d by Fagin to steal things. Olive was soon saved incidentally. Then he lived a happy life just for a short time as he was caught to Fagin again. But at last, Oliver lived a permanent happy life!,Summrized Account,Oliver Twist,is Charles Dickenss second novel and also is the first novel in the Englis
8、h language to centre throughout on a child protagonist and is also notable for Dickenss unromantic portrayal of criminals and their sordid lives.,Oliver Twist is about a boy named Oliver Twist, who escapes from an orphanage(孤儿院） and meets a gang of pickpocketers(扒手） in London. The novel is one of Di
9、ckenss most well-known works, and has been the subject of numerous film and television adaptations.,Please, sir, I want some more .,Plot summary of Oliver Twist,Oliver is wondering whether he should go to London.,Oliver finally decides to run away. He wanders aimlessly for a time, until a well-place
10、d milestone sets his wandering feet towards London.,When Oliver is punched and beated some kindhearted person help and protect him.,In Oliver Twist , Oliver, an innocent child, is trapped in a world where his only alternatives seem to be the workhouse, Fagins thieves, a prison, or an early grave. Ol
11、iver remains pure-hearted; he steers away from evil when those around him give in to it; and, in proper fairy-tale fashion, he eventually receives his reward leaving for a peaceful life in the country, surrounded by kind friends. On the way to this happy ending, Dickens explores the kind of life an
12、orphan .,Major themes of Oliver Twist,Please,sir,I want some more,The bowls never wanted washing. The boys polished them with their spoons.,Charles Dickens Preface to OT,But I had never met (except in HOGARTH) with the miserable reality. It appeared to me that to draw a knot of such associates in cr
13、ime as reallydid exist; to paint in them in all their deformity, in all their wretchedness, in all the squalid misery of their lives; to show them as they really were, for ever skulking uneasily through the dirtiest paths oflife, with the great black ghastly gallows closing up their prospect, turn t
14、hem where they might; itappeared to me that to do this, would be to attempta something which was needed, at which would bea service to society. And I did it as I best could.,reveal the ugly masks of those cruelcriminals and to expose thehorror and violence hiddenunderneath the narrow and dirty stree
15、ts in London.,Main Characters,Oliver Twist- The main character of the story, Oliver is an affection-starved little boy who will not commit crimes. He was abused as a young child, and only wants to be loved. His adventures make him the best of friends and the worst of enemies. Fagin- The main antagon
16、ist in the story, “The Jew” takes Oliver under his wing and tries to make a pickpocket out of him. He is a powerful crime leader who has an affection for only money and will kill anyone who stands in his way.Nancy- A woman who works for Fagin and tries to help Oliver which eventually leads to her de
17、ath. he is passionate, caring, and loves Sikes, who eventually kills her. Mr. Brownlow- A man who Olivers thief friends rob on the street. He takes Oliver in, and discovers his true parentage.,* Oliver Twist (1837-1838) The storyOliver Twist, an orphan born and raised in a workhouse, is apprenticed
18、at 9 to an undertaker.Suffering maltreatment, Oliver runs away and headsfor London. On the way he is picked up by a groupof thieves and is drilled in the art of picking pockets.once out for theft, Oliver is rescued by Mr. Brownlow,a kind old gentleman. But soon Oliver is recapturedby the gang. Fagin
19、, the head of the gang, tries toinvolve Oliver in some crime. So he convinces Bill,Sikes, a vicious criminal, to use Oliver in a major burglary. The attempt fails, and Oliver is woundedand rescued by Mrs. Maylie. Meanwhile a personnamed Monks is angry with Fagin for failing to trickOliver into a law
20、less life. When they are planningnew tricks, Nancy, one of the gang members, goesto tell everything to Olivers rescuers. At this timeMr. Bownlow has managed to know about Monksand Oliver. Nancy is found out and is killed by Bill.In the final chase, Fagin is arrested and sentencedto be hanged. Bill a
21、ccidentally hangs himself. The,novel ends happily with Oliver getting his due property and being adopted by Mr. Brownlowand other rewards for the good and punishmentfor the evil.2. Settinga. A suggestively unwholesome background:(The story of Oliver Twist is a dark tale generatedby vice, degradation
22、 and terror)slime and filth / dismal atmosphere heightenedby the elements: bitterly cold weather, rain and fog;,b. Night activities: the criminals live in gloom, andthe only period of sustained brightness is duringsummer months when Oliver stays with the Mayliesat their rural cottage.c. The main con
23、cern of the novel: poverty and crime- the harvest of social dereliction. The outcasts ofsociety lurk amid crumbling ruins that are expressiveof tottering institutions that have helped to deformtheir lives (the constant words “neglect” & “decay”).It has been the neglect of human values that hasfoster
24、ed the spiritual decay.,3. Main charactersOliver TwistThe titular hero of the novel, Oliver is the naturalson of Edwin Leeford and Agnes Fleming.He is a pallid, unrealized figure. Authorialassertion, instead of his own behaviour, decidesupon his character. He is shown to be quiet, yielding, concilia
25、tory and naturally good, quitedefenseless against the cruel and unscrupulous.Oliver lacks the capacities ordinarily expectedin a protaganist, whose acts and decisions usu. have some influence on the course of events.,Instead of being an active participant in the shapingof his own destiny, Oliver bec
26、omes the prize forwhich the opposing forces contend. He is more acted upon than acting.MonksOlivers brother and major persecutor. He is a dark,sinister figure who lurks ominously in the backgroundduring much of the novel, only appearing occasionallyand suddenly. He controls Fagin by exploiting the l
27、atters avarice. He typifies a kind of festering evil,that works under the surface.Monks also reveals the bad influence of a taintedenvironment in his case the greed and ill-will ofan unworthy mother. Dickens shows with such a figure that it is not poverty alone that results inmutilation of the human
28、 spirit, but the absence ofbenevolence and affection.FaginThe master mind among the criminals, Fagin is ugly in appearance and repulsive in disposition.,Dickens displays in Fagin some of the complexitiesof normal human nature: he is shrewd, reflective, extremely self-controlling, savage and sardonic
29、allyhumorous. Though basically depraved and evil,he could reveal occasionally a tincture of humanfeeling, as in the case of his warning Oliver of Sikescruelty.SikesA brutal criminal. He is bestial, despotic, irrational,losing every sign of human sensitivity or tenderness.,Stupid rather than courageo
30、us, he openly scornsthe sly Fagin and finally, stirred up by the latter,murders his only friend Nancy. NancyThough a member of the gang, Nancy still keepsin her a dormant tendency toward good. This reveals itself in her saving Oliver though she knows that by doing this her own position ishopeless. H
31、er own refusal to escape shows herto be a lamentable figure: a basically good person,who has drifted so far from honest ways that no return is possible. Rose MaylieA typical example of unblemished Dickensianwomanhood an angel-like figure: worthy,incorruptible and untainted by human complexityand inc
32、onsistency. She could also be compassionatetowards Oliver and humane towards Nancy whenthey are in normally repellent situations.,BrownlowA person of kindness, generosity and benevolence,Brownlow also shows a character of diverse traits he could be impatient and curt, and is not alwayspaying enough
33、regard to legal and ethical meansin the pursuit of his objectives.Brownlow is an activist and the acknowledgedleader of the honorable company gathered aroundOliver.,4. Plot and structurea. Oliver Twist a typical Dickens novel: the novel develops around a core of tangled intriguethat brings together
34、a large number of people(though on the surface their paths do not seemlikely to cross) the interrelatedness of the people.The attendant complications and their unravelingcontribute a large measure of mystery and suspenseb. Characteristic conflict and resolution in the novel:dual conflicts in the nov
35、el the one between Monksand Oliver; the one between Fagin and Sikes. Through,his conspiracy with Monks, Fagin is involved inboth conflicts and converges the two lines of tumultuous actions.c. The climax of Olivers trials:The abortive Chertsey burglary a turning pointfor Oliver whose fortunes steadil
36、y improvethereafter. (the crisis is more of Fagins decisionthan of Olivers own volition).d. The crisis of the conflict between Fagin andSikes:Fagins step of having Nancy spied upon leads,directly to the climax of girls murder. With the bloody deed the entire gang of criminals wasdestroyed.e. Liberal
37、 use of accidents and coincidence to draw the numerous persons into the currentof events.f. Characteristics of melodrama:the free injection of the quality of pathos (as inthe case of “little Dick”); the portrait of Oliversmother and Monks scar signs as recognitiondevices; evil brother, a destroyed w
38、ill, assumed,names, and the discovery of unknown relatives.g. The romantic subplot melodrama:In the contest between the dark and light forcesof the book, the maiden stands out in dazzling white purity. The wooers noble renunciation offame and fortune for the sake of true love is a lofty tribute to v
39、irtuous sentiment. Although theromance is hardly integral to the plot, it doesdefer to established literary tradition and providesa center of interest for bringing the book to a conclusion.,5. Ideas (many interrelated ideas in the novel)a. Preoccupation with the miseries of poverty (indicative of th
40、is is the motif of hunger) andthe spread of its degrading effects through society (crime as one of its vile consequences).b. Crime the by-product of poverty: a dehumanizing evil (criminals in the bookare painfully alienated from the society).c. Stress on the elevating influence of a wholesomeenviron
41、ment: the power of benevolence to overcome depravity.,6. Symbolism (multi-layer symbolism in the novel)a. Setting as symbols (apart from its plot function):the external evidence of neglect and decay theircounterparts in society and in the hearts of men;the dark deeds and passions dim rooms, smoke,fo
42、g, and dark nights;the mood of terror and brutality frequent rainand cold weather.b. Characters as symbols (apart from its plot function):The chimney sweep Gamfield cruelty (purely symbolic figure with no plot function);,Brownlow the symbol of benevolence.c. Gestures of persons as symbols:Bumbles fo
43、ndness for his three-cornered hat devotion to an empty authoritarianism.d. Allusion to obesity: symbol for hunger in aninverse fashion (by calling attention to its absence)Many people in the novel are described as “fat”.7. Stylea. luxuriant style verbose rhetoricIt might be displeasing to some of th
44、e modern,tastes, but quite suited the tastes of his contemporaryreaders (marked with slow pace of life, publicationby installment which means the need to make scenes unforgettable in order to keep readers interest);b. (sardonic) humour8. Selected readingsChapter 2-3: Olivers life in the workhouse, h
45、is“rebellion” and punishment;Chapter 19: Discussion of Fagin and Sikes on a,burglary and Olivers assumed role in it;Chapter 28: Sarcastic depiction of the servantsin the family of the attempted burglary;Chapter 48: The escape of Sikes;Chapter 52: The last night of Fagin the Jew,Oliver twist (hero),F
46、agin (bad man),Nancy (kindness),Mr.brownlow (nice),happy life,adopted,saved,taught him to steal,works,Bill sikes (bad man),partners,significance,The novel is a powerful exposure(暴露) of bourgeois(资产阶级) society.“Oliver Twist“ is one of the best works of Dickens. It is said that the publication of “Oli
47、ver Twist“ brought about some bettering of conditions in the English workhouses during the authors day.,Charles Dickens,Theme: Dickens showed his profound sympathy for the poor and described how the rich were converted after undergoing severe tests. Artistic technique: A tendency to depict the grost
48、eque characters or events Humour Instill life into inanimate things and to compare animate being to inanimate things. Noted for his description of pathetic scenes that aim to arouse peoples sympathy.,It was the best of Times. It was the worst of Times.,story,A Tale of Two Cities tells us of a tale of action of adventure that happened in London and Paris at the time of French Revolution. So the cities in the title referred to London and Paris. The story dealt with the fate of a small group of characters who were drawn into the events of the Revolution.,Thank you for sharing !,
