Oliver Twist

The characters in Oliver Twist are extremely polarized; most of them can be easily separated into “good” vs. “evil” categories. Which characters do you believe blur the lines between these groups? Why would Dickens choose to complicate these characters in such a way?

Consider Oliver’s inherent innocence and goodness. Oliver is angelic and immune to the corrupting force of Fagin and Sikes’s influence. Why does Dickens choose such an inhuman, perfect child as a protagonist? Does this hurt or help Dickens convey the horrors of workhouses and poverty? In what ways would the book have been different had Dickens chosen the Artful Dodger or Rose as the protagonist?

Bill Sikes is a hardened criminal that ultimately murders Nancy. However, throughout the novel, Bill is given humanizing traits; he carries Oliver after the boy is wounded at the house, he is saddened by Charley’s distrust and hatred of him after the murder. Why does Dickens do this and to what end?

Fagin’s death is alluded to but not shown in-scene in the novel. Fagin is undoubtedly the primary antagonist; why does Dickens decide to write of Sikes’s execution, but not of Fagin’s?

How is the theme of external appearances and inner morality brought forth in the novel? Does Dickens mean to critique this form of superficial judgment? How does this tie into the anti-Semitism present in the book?

How does the novel being written, originally, in serial form, affect the structure of the narrative?

Compare and contrast Rose and Harry’s relationship with that of Mr. and Mrs. Bumble’s. Why do the two relationships have such different approaches to communication and religion? What is Dickens trying to tell the reader about gender and faith?

Think about the battle between sacrifice and greed in the novel. Some characters desperately hunger for money, food, and power while others sacrifice all they have to help and aid others. What are the key differences between these characters? Is this a simple condemnation of bad people, or is Dickens offering a critique on social stratification, classism, and the desperation of man?