Charles Dickens' Satire of Victorian Culture in Oliver Twist
Charles Dickens’s Satire of Victorian Culture in Oliver Twist In the novel Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens ridicules Victorian society; he focuses on the Poor Law system, orphans, workhouses, and the characterization of Oliver and Nancy, using sarcasm, and the comparison between the real world and the world of Oliver.
When Dickens was just a child, a lot of traumatic things happened to him. At twelve, his father went to prison. He then had to work in a shoe blacking factory. He knew poverty and that’s why he was aware of social problems and had deep feeling of social commitment. Dickens was one of the most important social writers of history. He criticized moral, social, and economic problems in the Victorian era through his fiction works (“Charles” 1.) The emotional and symbolizing power that Oliver Twist has is he value in Dickens life (Linsay 172.)
While writing the book, Victorian themes like poverty, injustice, mean characters, and punishment were all live issues in the world. Dickens didn’t like the 1834 New Poor Act, which criminalized the poor. He didn’t like the harsh utilitarian ethics of it. The Poor Law Board thought that people that could do work didn’t get anything better than the poorest worker. Due to the emergence of trade unions, the Poor Law system fell into decline. There were liberal welfare reforms during the twentieth century; it wasn’t until 1948 when it was officially abolished. Illustrated in Olive Twist, Dickens showed the reading society the harsh symbol of realities in the Victorian era.
In the novel, there are a lot of orphans. Dickens depicts them as poor, underfed, oppressed, and severely punished (“Charles” 1.) The fear of destitution and poverty was always present in the minds of adults, and children alike in Victorian society. There were many orphans, and one in fourteen of many towns population of children were classified as paupers in 1863. Most of the needy population relied on the parish system
When Dickens was just a child, a lot of traumatic things happened to him. At twelve, his father went to prison. He then had to work in a shoe blacking factory. He knew poverty and that’s why he was aware of social problems and had deep feeling of social commitment. Dickens was one of the most important social writers of history. He criticized moral, social, and economic problems in the Victorian era through his fiction works (“Charles” 1.) The emotional and symbolizing power that Oliver Twist has is he value in Dickens life (Linsay 172.)
While writing the book, Victorian themes like poverty, injustice, mean characters, and punishment were all live issues in the world. Dickens didn’t like the 1834 New Poor Act, which criminalized the poor. He didn’t like the harsh utilitarian ethics of it. The Poor Law Board thought that people that could do work didn’t get anything better than the poorest worker. Due to the emergence of trade unions, the Poor Law system fell into decline. There were liberal welfare reforms during the twentieth century; it wasn’t until 1948 when it was officially abolished. Illustrated in Olive Twist, Dickens showed the reading society the harsh symbol of realities in the Victorian era.
In the novel, there are a lot of orphans. Dickens depicts them as poor, underfed, oppressed, and severely punished (“Charles” 1.) The fear of destitution and poverty was always present in the minds of adults, and children alike in Victorian society. There were many orphans, and one in fourteen of many towns population of children were classified as paupers in 1863. Most of the needy population relied on the parish system
Bibliography: of Dickensin Critisism 1836-1975. New York & London. Garland Publishing, 1975. Print. Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist. Mineola, New York. Dover Publications, Inc., 2002. Print. Duffy Jr., Joseph M. "Another Version of Pastoral: Oliver Twist." Critical Insights: Charles Dickens. 83-104. n.p.: Salem Press, 2010. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. Linsay, Jack. Charles Dickens: A Biographical and Critical Study. New York: Philosophical Library, 1950. Print. “Poverty and the Poor” Dr. Patricia Pulham and Dr. Brad Beaven, Dickens and the Victorian City, n.d. Web. 15 Oct 2013