Dickens was born near Port sea, where his father was a clerk in the Navy Pay Office. Charles, the second of eight children, was a delicate child, and much of his boyhood was spent at home, where he read the novels of Smollett, Fielding, and Le Sage. The works of these writers were to influence his own novels very deeply. At an early age also he became very fond of the theater, a fondness that remained with him all his life, and affected his novels to a great extent.
The Pickwick Papers was a great success; Dickens’s fame was secure, and the rest of his life was that of a busy and successful novelist. He lived to enjoy a reputation that was unexampled, surpassing even that of Scott; for the appeal of Dickens was wider and more searching than that of the Scottish novelist. He varied his work with much travelling-among other places to America (1842), to Italy (1844), to Switzerland (1846), and again to America (1867). His popularity was exploited in journalism, for he edited ‘‘The Daily News’’ (1846), and founded Household Words (1849) and All the Year Round (1859). In 1858 Dickens commenced his famous series of public readings. These were actings rather than readings, for he chose some of the most violent or affecting scenes from his novels and presented them with full-blown histrionic effect. The readings brought him much money, but they wore him down physically. They were also given in America, with the greatest success. He died in his favorite house, Gad’s Hill Place, near Rochester, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Introduction of the Victorian Era
The Victorian period from the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1837 until her death in 1901 was an era of numerous disturbing social developments. During this period the writer were forced to write on the living issue of the society. Thus, it’s of literature of the Victorian era was directed to issues such as the growth of English democracy the education of the masses, the progress of industrial enterprise and rise of materialistic philosophy, and the problem of newly industrialized worked. Queen Victoria ruled England from 1837 to 1901. It was time when a fresh generation in literature had arisen as the earlier generation had nothing to add.
It was an era of material prosperity, political consciousness, democratic reforms, industrial and mechanical process, and progress, scientific advancement, social unrest, educational expansion empire building and religious uncertainty. This Victorian age made progress in the field of poetry, prose and fiction.
It was an era of political peace and prosperity. The Victorian age was remarkable in terms of industrial revolution and its outcome in that context. There were a few colonial wars during this period but they did not have any adverse effect on the national life. In the early period of eighteenth century, the effect of French revolution was still there but by the middle of eighteenth century England was completely safe from any expansion. They made remarkable progress in industrial, commercial, and social life. In short it was an era of total safety and security under the reign of Queen Victoria.
Social characteristics
(1) Industrial Revolution:
Political peace and prosperity brought an immense material advancement and industrial progress it gave birth to industrial economy in England. Many miles and factories were established across the country. Industrial advancement also produced social disordered and economic sorrow in the society. On the one hand the industrial revolution brought the rich class of the mile owner and the capitalist, on the other hand it brought the poor class of labors and factory works. The life of the poor became horrible a wave of social unrest was blowing in England and it found expression in the works of the writer like Charles Dickens, Ruskin, Thomas Carlyle and Matthew Arnold, John Stuart Mill, etc.
For novel ‘‘Oliver Twist’’, we can say that it is presented by Charles Dickens because of the effect of the industrial revolution. Charles Dickens, who was a lifelong champion of the poor, addresses these central issues in his early novel and timeless masterpiece Oliver Twist (1838). Child labor played an important role in the industrial revolution. In point of fact, the Victorian Era was characterized by the use of children to help develop the economy. Child laborers received less than the essentials needed at home, school, and at work. In a nutshell, the life of a young worker was in essence the life of a slave. Many children worked 16-hour days under atrocious conditions, as did their parents. As more people commuted to town to work, the demand for clothes and food grew. There were more things needed as the cities grew. More and more machines were beings built in factories and with that, the companies needed cheap labor. In Oliver twist, Charles Dickens describes some issues that occurred during the industrial revolution: children of the poor were forced by economic conditions to work, some kids were used as commodities, and there was a great difference between the first, middle, and third classes. Some parents sent their kids to work because they did not have enough money to support their family. Kids were being paid 3s a week. If there were no work available at the factory kids would just go back to the farm, or others would end up going on the streets and becoming prostitutes. Most prostitutes were between the ages of 15 and 22 years old during the industrial revolution. In Oliver Twist, the character Nancy is prostitute. She had no education and the only means of getting money was if she was on the street. Dickens was showing the times of the industrial revolution, and through this, the story seems very real. During the industrial revolution, kids were used as possessions. In the beginning of the novel, Oliver is used to pike oakum. He lives in an orphanage where the kids are used as slaves. They were sold door to door to the right buyer. In chapter 3, Oliver’s future darkens when Mr. Gamfield, a chimney sweep, applies to take the boy. Mr. Gamfield cares so little about Oliver that he does not care if the chimney catches on fire, as long as Oliver does his job.In the workhouse children were treated just like an animal. In the workhouse Oliver treated as a slave not as a child and he was doing work out of his capacity though they not have good foods with both qualities and quantities. That is why Oliver wants some more foods with the famous dialogue
‘‘Please sir, I want some more.’’
And because of that he punished badly by Mr. Bumble. In Victorian era rich people believed for poor people that they were lazy and needed to be punished. They were born for becoming slave. So in Oliver Twist people in workhouses were deliberately treated harshly and the workhouses for child were similar to prisons.
(2) Birth of social reform
The unhappy and terrible conditions of labors, miners, debtors and prisoners court attention in the eyes of social reforms. As a result, there was the birth of the Reform Bills which arouse the democratic consciousness among the Victorian people this age witnessed a conflict between aristocracy and democracy.
Dickens as a socialist who wants to reforms society. In Oliver Twist Dickens situated himself and his readers among some complex areas of the criminal law… He criticizes the poor laws of 1834. That is why he put Oliver Twist in both social and individual. Dickens wants to reform society that is why he used satire with the laughter. And laughter is not innocent it is used as a device. It is the expression of thoughts that society usually suppressed or forbade. In the Oliver Twist we laugh not on the character but on the circumstances and with the laughter the novel frustrates the readers.
Here as a reader we laugh on the character Oliver Twist because Dickens as a socialist he wants us to laugh forcefully because we are responsible for all these things, we are failure to given shelter. It is Dickens’s dream of ‘ideal’ society and that is why he wrote this novel through the intention of the reforms the society.
(3) Growth in Population:
There was an expentional grown in population during the Victorian age. The population of Great Britain at that time of the first sensors in 1801 was about ten and half millions but by the end of 1901 it was about 37 millions.
In the Victorian age because of the industrial revolution people were wants more and more money to live life perfectly. But they have not enough money to support their family. Therefore children were sending for work. If there were no work available at the factory kids would just go back to the farm, or others would end up going on the streets and becoming prostitutes. Most prostitutes were between the ages of 15 and 22 years old during the industrial revolution.That is the reason for the population. That is why we see huge number of children in Victorian era. In Oliver Twist Nancy, who was prostitute and we seemed that the huge number of the children in this and they wants to got money at anyhow for clothes and food grew. That is why Oliver Twist pick pocket for food grew.
(4) Scientific Development
It was period of extra ordinary scientific thinking. Many scientific devotees dedicated their time to popularize scientific works like Darwin’s‘‘Origin of Species’’ despite the progress of science people in general were still governed by religious and moral consideration because Victorian were very religious at hart. There was a noticeable disagreement between religious and science and between moralist and scientist.
Aristocratic people were rule over poor people through the power of both money and religious. They used these weapons to control poor people. For Example – Workhouse in Oliver Twist. In the workhouse children have food with the name of God though they not have good food with both quantities and qualities. ‘‘God is Good’’, ‘‘God is Love’’ these label Dickens put in the workhouse in satirical way because when God is good then why all the children live in bad situation and why God not help them to live in better way.
(5) Domestic life and Social life:
In domestic life emphasis was given on the/ to the authority or to the head of the family. The Victorian cultivated domestic virtues but women were considered as inferior to men. Education was not allowed to the women in general.
Victorians laid emphasis on order decorum and decency. They were materialist by nature and did not care too much about the culture that they belonged to politically they were governed by narrow prejudices but intellectually they believed in progress. The Victorian compromise was observable in three branches of life such as -
1. Political life,
2. Religion,
3. Science,
In the Oliver Twist, there was also we seemed domestic life. In which Bill Sikes has power to control his wife Nancy. Nancy wants to help Oliver Twist but she can’t do this and that is why she doing all that things secretly. Nancy has no voice against her husband and at the climax her husband kills her without any mercy for her. So, we can say that she was not free to do whatever she wants to do. In social life they don’t like that they were called as cultural people.
Literary Characteristics
(1) The Uniqueness of Individuality:
It was a typical trait of Victorian Literature. The writers of this age were gifted with striking originality in outlook, method, style, viewpoint, character and temperamen. For Example – Tennyson loved the admiration of strong independence. Bronte Sisters talked about loneliness in life. Thomas Carlyle and Robert Browning cultivated the manner of strangeness in writing. William Thackeray loved to follow a haphazard path in the conduct of his stories. Charles Dickens was one of the most original writers and a profound novelist of that age. His style and method is extraordinary, his viewpoint is towards reformation of the society, and his character was original just like Oliver Twist because he was reflection of the Victorian reality that children don’t like to becoming criminal but situation become them criminal. In between Oliver Twist is differentiating from other children because of his observation and decision is unique and that is why he was individual by his nature. And maybe that is why Mr. Brownlow’s decision towards Oliver Twist was soft.
(2) Moral Writing
The Victorian way of writing both in prose and poetry had a moral purpose behind it. Their way of writing and presenting the subject was full of moral attitude. The motive behind this kind of literature was to make their fellow countrymen idealist in nature. Dickens has same idea behind their writing novel ‘‘Oliver Twist’’. Dickens has set up his own moral dilemma in his novel. Oliver Twist portrays Dickens’s distaste for the justice system through satire and wit. For Dickens it seems that justice is based on truth and morality, which are symptoms of choice. Oliver’s choice is truth and that is why at the end he achieved good justice. Not only Oliver but in this novel we find out some character who are also believed in this mentality. For example – Charley Bates, he has sense of personal moral conscience. He was an esteemed member of Fagin’s gang, famed for his skill in thieving pocket handkerchiefs. Despite his wicked talents, the evil deeds of others eventually turn him towards reform. Reform comes through his defiance if Sikes in chapter 50 as, though well versed in maintaining secrecy, he chooses to betray Sikes to the police. He calls to the people ‘to take him out for God’s sake’ (337), a desperate plea to the almighty which has so far been absent from the lives of the Juveniles in Fagin’s gang. Charley’s significance, as the symbol of a moral conscience, reflects Dickens’s view of morality as a product of personal choice rather than religious intervention.
Conclusion:
In short, we can say that the novel ‘‘Oliver Twist’’ is the reflection of the Victorian period in various ways. And Dickens purpose behind this novel is to reforms the society. It is Dickens’s dream of ‘ideal society’.
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