Charles Dickens Thesis Part 2

(Williams, 7)
Dickens denounces the close-minded management. In general, charitable institutions only reproduced the awful conditions in which the poor would live anyway. As Dickens puts it, the poor choose between “being starved by a gradual process in the house, or by a quick one out of it”(Charles Dickens.)
“Dickens was to continue his attack on the inhumanity of the workhouse
system: almost thirty years later after Oliver Twist” (Criticism, 3.)
The main character Oliver Twist also shows the strength in which some try to bring out in the poor conditions. Oliver is often displaying a will to survive and be strong. Oliver fights his whole life to keep alive; he even takes up residence with an undertaker just to get away from the workhouse and the death surrounding it. This section also highlights the troubles of poor and the helpless that are treated like dirt to be abused and discarded. The workhouse officials treat Oliver very poorly. They treat him like a dog throwing scraps of food to him to eat off the floor. The officials have no care were Oliver goes, they are only relieved to send him away and have one less mouth to feed. (Twist, 53.)
Another issue highlighted by Dickens in Oliver Twist, other than the lack of charity is capitalism and its weaknesses. With the rise of capitalism during the Industrial Revolution, individualism was very much in trend as a viewpoint (Criticism, 4.) Victorian capitalists believed that society would run most smoothly if people looked out for their own interests. Ironically, the clearest accent of this philosophy comes from Fagin who has opened up a sketchy business of pick pocketing and prostitution. He tells Noah Claypole “a regard for number one
(Williams, 8)
holds us all together, and must do so, unless we would all go to pieces in company” (Twist, 70.) This philosophy doesn’t work because at the end of the novel, when Nancy turns against Monks, Charley Bates turns against Sikes, and Monks turns against Mrs. Corney. Fagin’s whole idea is turned upside down.
Oliver stays strong through the most unbearable times and further destroys Fagin’s world. Although Oliver is surrounded by so much evil and corruption he manages to hold his head high and fight on to get away through it all. Even though everyone falsely blames him and punishes him unreasonably, he never blames, becomes angry, or shows hatred to those around him. In the end Oliver forgets the curses and torture inflicted on him by the staff of the workhouse and the members of the house of Mr. Sowerberry. He only remembers and values the blessings that have come out of the mess he once lived in (Criticism, 6.)
Dickens’ Oliver Twist brings out the realness in society and shows that not everyone can be taken down by it. Dickens’ discussions of the lack of charity, the rise and worth of capitalism, and finally the power of the environment and its influence on the reader all show the passion and influence Dickens had and wanted to make for the people of his time.
Another on of Dickens’ novels was Great Expectations. This novel takes the reader on a “path of discovery” for a little boy named Pip in the Industrial Revolution. The novel’s themes are class, expectations, and identity. Dickens uses the young character to show how important these things are to any normal
(Williams, 9)
person. Great Expectations has been called Dickens' darkest work; Victorian readers and remains one of Dickens’ most popular works today very well received it. Many consider this novel Dickens' greatest use of plot, characterization, and style and Great Expectations the masterpiece of Dickens' works (Perdue, 5.)
The issue of class depends on how much money a person has. Money plays a large devious part in the novel. It is not bad in itself; it helps Herbert, and it saves Pip from debtors' prison. But money can be dangerous. Pip and Miss Havisham both have people after them for their money. Also, people who like money lose sight of what is really out there. If people don't love money itself, they may love the power it brings, and this can be caustic (Expectations, 33.)
Pip grows up with Joe, a blacksmith bringing in the main bulk of the salary. Joe has good morals and ideas. Pip really looks up to Joe. Joe's class status makes no difference. It is not until later that Pip cares about Joes status because he learns that money means status and Joe has very little (Expectations, 56.) Pip does not like the idea of being “common” and Joe tells Pip that if he wants to successfully rise up in society that it will be hard to do by himself and justly. Pip however only believes that nicer things will come with more wealth and that he is going to find both. Pip discovers out that he has inherited a lot of money from some wealthy benefactor. With the news of his inheritance, Pip becomes even more rude and selfish towards Joe (Perdue, 12.) Pip gets it into his head that with his new found wealth he is much better than Joe and that he is of a much