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Paper - 6 Victorian Literature

Oliver Twist as a critique of child labor

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Name: Mital M. Raval

Roll No: 19

M.A. SEM: 2

Year: 2016 – 2018

Enrollment No: 2069108420170026

Email id: ravalmital5292@gmail.com

Paper Name: Victorian Age

Assignment Topic: Oliver Twist as a critique of child labor

Submitted to:  Smt. s. b. Gardi

                       Department of English

                        M .k. Bhavnagar University

                          

Introduction: 

 “Oliver Twist” novel is written by Charles Dickens in 1838. He was an English writer and social critic. He was a greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the twentieth century critic as scholar had recognized him as a literary genius. Dickens literary success began with the 1836 serial publication of “The Pickwick papers”. He was famous for his humor, satire, and keen observation of character and society. His novels most published in monthly or weekly installments, pioneered the serial publication of narrative fiction, which became the dominant Victorian mode for novel publication.

His work:

-A Christmas carol

- David Copperfield

- Bleak House

- A Tale of two cities

- Great expectations

- The old curiosity shop

                         

                                

 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 class. 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 individual in society, the aspiration of the hero or heroine for love or social position.

Industrial Revolution:

              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 employed 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.

Workhouses:

           In the novel Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens describes the life in the workhouses. Oliver was born in workhouses. His mother, whose name no one known’s he found on the street and dies just after Oliver’s birth. Oliver spends the first nine year 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 treated 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.

Upper Class and Lower 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. The government Owens 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’s 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 wealth group in power. Oliver is degraded in the best interest 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 won’t some more” [P.24]

           This dialogue is spoken by Oliver when he needed more food in workhouse. From this dialogue of Oliver we know that workhouse child not get enough food for survive. Finally a death house entrepreneur named Mr. Sowerberry take and employ Oliver. Initially everything was good, even time Oliver to be monsieur Mr. Sowerberry business. One day fight with Noah Claypole, another of the undertaker’s boy 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. God bless you!”.

-         Dick [P-95] 

                Dick vows not to tell anyone about Oliver’s fought 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 went to London, Oliver founded a new life. Although sadness or cruelty still here come to him. During has Journey to London, Oliver encounters Jack Dawkins a Pickpocket, more commonly known by the nickname the “Artful Dodger”. Thus Oliver is thrown together with 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, Mrs. 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.

              “Stop thief! Stop thief! There is a human passion for hunting        something deeply implanted in the human breast wretched breathless child, panting with exhaustion, terror in his look, agony in his eyes, large drops of perspiration streaming down in his face, stains every nerve to make head up on his pursuers, and as they follow on his track, and gain up on him every instant, they hail his decreasing strength with still louder shouts and whoop and scream with joy ‘stop thief’? Ay stop him for god’s sake were it only in mercy!”  

               During the Victorian era, the economy and workforce relied heavily on children. Their energy vulnerability and inability to revolt against injustices made them easy targets for profit seeking, merciless bosses. In Oliver Twist, we see how Oliver and the other children work most of their day in return for very little food, crowded housing and no education. During this era, education was looked down upon as a waste of time. Kinds were sometimes the only source of money for most families, so they would rather go to work than school. The possible jobs kids could uptake consisted of some of the most dangerous like chimney sweeping, mining, and textile factories. These work places were unsafe environments consisting of polluted air, dangerous machinery, collapsible ceilings, rat infestations and diseases. It was not uncommon for kids to die in fatal accidents during work or because of the diseases and injuries caused because of their work. Unfortunately, there was little to no help children could seek to help them improve their working conditions until 1833, when they passed the factory act.

               In this novel we see Charles Dickens own himself. Dickens had firsthand experience of child labor when he worked at a shop polish factory and many of his works including Oliver Twist deals with the issue and he brings out the plight of children during his time. Poverty was the root cause for child labor during this period. There were so many families below the poverty line that there were many children used that they were able to consume their daily meals. The child of the Victorian era hardly spent time with their parents. As in most instances both parents were employed are even the children themselves used to work long hours. They did not receive any sort of formal education as education was thought to be unimportant by the people of that time.

          In the novel Oliver Twist, we found the situation of child labor through the mouthpiece of the characters of the novel as…

         “What a fine thing capital punishment is! Dead men never repent; dead men never bring awkward stories to light. The prospect of the gallows too makes them hardy and bold as, it’s a thing for the trade! Five of them strung up in a row and none left to play or turn white livered!” 

Conclusion:

               Such Dickens tries to draw Victorian era image in front of us. This novel also brings the effect of industrialism on 19^th century England and to criticize the harsh new poor lows 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.

Work sited:

Kyuwenn.blogspo.com/2011/10exploi…..

www.victorianweb.org