Oliver Twist is arguably one of the most influential tales written in British history. It was made famous by Charles Dickens" bravery to expose the injustice of 19th Century Britain, and its controversial (by today's standards) view of the poor in society.
Oliver Twist depicts the story of a young boy's life and how he must choose the path between good and evil. He meets many people on this journey - some that try to lure him to evil, and some that try to support him on his path to good. That is what this essay is about - good and evil, and how it is presented to us in the book Oliver Twist. I will be considering the techniques of plot, characterisation and symbolism.
So, how does Dickens explore the theme of god and evil in his plot? The first point that I shall make is that I am not going to go into great detail with exact episodes within the story, because I believe that this would be an unnecessary waste of the reader's attention.
Throughout the story, Oliver - the young star of the book - is being fought over constantly by the forces of good and evil. These take the form of characters and situations. Some of the main incidents are when Oliver is first thrown to the outside world from the workhouse. This is really his first major injustice, and when his is put in front of the magistrate he displays his belief in God and his ability to know how to pray even though he had an extremely poor upbringing:.
"Oliver fell on his knees and clasped his hands together, prayed that they would order him back to the dark room - that they would starve him - beat him - kill him if they pleased - rather than send him away with that dreadful man.".
Here it is made obvious from the start that Oliver hates to be near the wicked - in this case a chimney sweep.
When Oliver first sets off to London he comes first into contact with Fagin - a criminal gang leader, who corrupts young children - and his gang.