Oliver Twist is a novel
by Charles
Dickens which was
published in 1838.
Oliver twist appeared at Victorian era. In this era happened social change,
economy and technology, Victorian novels seek to represent a large and
comprehensive social world, with a variety of classes. Dickens tried to shows the
impact from change; we can
see a society condition which far from prosperity. That was happened imbalance social
between rich and poor, child and adult, consequence of exploitation of children.
Major theme is the place of the individual in society, the aspiration of the
hero or heroine for love or social position. Oliver Twist has been the subject of numerous film and
television adaptations, and is the basis for a highly successful musical play,
and the multiple Academy Award winning 1968
motion picture made from it.
Exploitation of child is issue in Oliver Twist. As we
know, Oliver twist wrote at Victorian era became notorious for employing young
children in factories. Child labor played an important role in the Industrial
Revolution . They were forced to work in factories because families
were very poor and they didn't have enough money to live on children worked
eight or twelve hours a day, six days a week. They didn't have any insurance so if they had an accident
they didn't have any help. During this
period there was exploitation of children happened because children had give
little wage and it is make employer didn’t take much money. The conditions of
life for children were not good; there weren't vaccines, and children were
often sick, because they are working as adult.
In the novel Oliver Twist,
Charles Dickens describes the
life in the workhouses. Oliver was born
in workhouses. His
mother, whose name no one knows is found on the street and dies just after
Oliver's birth. Oliver spends the first nine years of his life in a badly run
home for young orphans and then is transferred to a workhouse for adults.
Here Oliver and other child employ with hard considerably in factory. They are
given some eat and treaded without good. Nevertheless, workhouses council that
have responsible to take care of orphan just at the moment he had doesn’t care
with child. Workhouses have a good alive from money that they are accepting
from government. So there are brogues ideologies which as related to class
capitalist that influence by social class and economy.
The ideology comes from the human lifestyle, usually
from people thinks, and from the characteristics of human interaction.
According to Althusser ideology as the imagery relationship between the reality
and human condition which Marx stated as a false consciousness. Ideology of
someone relates to their attitude and how they live their life. In looking at
Dickens’ Oliver Twist from a
Marxist standpoint we can gain a deeper insight into the economic, social, and
political issues. This condition is showed to pass a child that named Oliver
that treated bad and ignored because he from low class.
In Oliver
Twist, the upper class is defined as the dominant force in power. Dickens illustrates the upper class as they exploit not
only the child laborers, but the poor in general. We can relate the
bourgeoisie to Mr. Bumble and the workhouse officials, and the proletarians to
Oliver and the other children in the workhouse. The government owns the power,
while Oliver and the other children not. This
is the ideal situation for the wealthy, as they have complete control of the
social classes and labor.
The poor in Dickens'
novel are exploited by the powerful bourgeoisie, as Oliver's labor is owned by
the workhouse officials. Additionally, Oliver is only fed meager proportions in
order for him to survive and keep working for the wealthy group in power.
Oliver is degraded in the best interests of the
wealthy, who contribute to molding beliefs and ideas in accordance to their
needs. By purposely underfeeding Oliver and
the workhouse laborers, the wealthy are able to extract more labor for a lower
cost. The government harsh treatment towards
Oliver demonstrates how his labor is depicted as a commodity. This is evident when Oliver protests against the wealthy
for not receiving enough food.
“Please,
sir I wont some more”.[p.24]
“The
master aimed a blow at Oliver’s head with the ladle, pinioned him in this arms
and stricked a lound for the beatle”. [p25]
For a weak after that
Oliver remained a close pioneer in the dark room without food. On the action he
is preside over the case and offer five
pounds to any person wishing to take on but a kindly old magistrate refuses to
sign the indentures.
Finally a death house
entrepreneur named Mr. Sowerberry take and employ Oliver. Initially everything
was good, even time Oliver to be monsieur Mr. Sowerbby business. One day Oliver
fights with Noah Claypole, another of the undertaker's boys, after Noah mocks Oliver’s
mother. Oliver attacks him in a fit of rage.
Charlotte and Mrs. Sowerberry rush to Noah's aid,
and the three of them beat Oliver and lock him in the cellar. Early the
next morning, Oliver runs away. On his way out of
town, he passes the workhouse where he used to live and sees an old friend,
Dick, in the yard.
“I am running
away they beat and ill. Use me dick; and I’m going to seek my fortune, some
long way off. I don’t know where…”.
“…good bye, dear. Good bless you!” said Dick.
[p.95]
Dick vows not to tell
anyone about Oliver's flight and bids him a warm farewell.
He wanders aimlessly for a time, until a well-placed milestone sets his
wandering feet towards London
. When he when to Landon, Oliver founded a new life. Although sadness or
cruelty still here come to him. During his journey to London, Oliver encounters
Jack Dawkins, a pickpocket
more commonly known by the nickname the Artful Dodger
. Thus Oliver is thrown together with the gang of
thieves run by the sinister Fagin. Oliver
innocently goes "to work" with Dawkins, also known as the Artful
Dodger, and Charlie Bates. When the gentleman, Mr. Brownlow, discovers the robbery
in progress Oliver is mistaken for the culprit and, after a chase, is captured
and taken to the police. Oliver, injured in
the chase, is cleared by a witness to the crime and is taken by the kindly
Brownlow to his home to recuperate. Oliver is kindly treated at the
Brownlow home. However Oliver happiness doesn’t go on a long because Fagin
return to kidnap Oliver and force to theft, Oliver used as bait.
This novel will bring us to seen the effects of
industrialism on 19th-century England and to criticize the harsh new Poor Laws
and delivers a somewhat mixed message about social
caste and social injustice. Oliver, child is trapped in a world where his only
options seem to be the workhouse and he struggles to survive in the savage
world of the underclass before finally being rescued by his family and returned
to his proper place a commodious country house.
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