Charles Dickens (1812-1870) comes from a poor family, his father was even in prison, and his experiences from his childhood are reflected in his many books such as David Copperfield, Little Dorrit. He started his career as a journalist. He wrote chiefly novels such as Hard times, Great expectations , The Posthumorous Papers of the Pickwick Club. He was great humanist and critic of social conditions. The novel Oliver Twist comes from his early writings and it doesn't belong to his best works. This novel was serialized in 1837-9 and published in a book form in 1838. .
Oliver Twist is a small orphan who runs away from the workhouse because of bad conditions. In London he gets to a group of thieves and prostitutes where the leader of them , The Jew, tries to make him to become thief. He is saved by his own family. At the end we get known that Oliver Twist is a rich man at all because he inherited a lot of money.
This Dickens' work belongs to realism. Dickens tries to describe real life, situations which could happen in reality. He doesn't use any colourful descriptions, words which could make the life of Oliver Twist more beautiful or better. Dickens uses Characters from all parts of society. He describes the lowest part of society, small thieves( The Dodger, Charley Bates), prostitutes (Beth ,Nancy), criminals (the Jew, Sikes, Monks), middle and higher class ( Mr Losberne, Mrs Maylie, Mr Brownlow). Oliver was formed by his surrounding where he during each etape of his life is, whether it is workhouse with little orphans, Mr Bumble or house of thieves with the Jew or Nancy. This novel has some subplots which get together in one at the end. In the plot there are many sudden changes, dramatic coincidences. It is written in a form of novel. In this novel Dickens uses many contrasts as for example the London underworld and higher classes, country and city, innocence of Oliver Twist and harshness of criminals, good and bad characters.