“Oliver wants some more” Analysis (the setting and the character) of the extract from the second chapter of Oliver Twist by. C. Dickens

The extract is taken from Oliver Twist, a novel written by C. Dickens. The title given to this section draws attention to the principle character of the novel, Oliver, and gives suggestion about his characterization. He “wants some more” means he’s ambitious and has a strong willpower.

The extract can be divided into four section: the first one has the function to present the first characterization of the protagonist; the second has the function to describe the setting of the workhouse and what goes before the main episode; the third wants to tell the reader the main fact (the act of “rebellion” of Oliver who asked more food); the fourth has the purpose to draw the reaction to the fact.

The name of the character is the first category for his characterization: the verb “to twist” could be taken from the textile industry world investigate by Dickens, but could be also taken for his figurative meaning of changing, turning, as if Oliver’s life would take a different direction. Oliver is a boy of nine years old: this is the second information given to the reader. The following adjectives relate about his physical aspect and his condition of health (pale, thin, diminutive in stature, small…). Next part of the portray concerns his personality (“good sturdy spirit”) conditioned by the environment that surrounded him since his birth. This statement reflects the Darwinist theory of the evolution, which marked the time of Dickens. Thus, for describing Oliver, is necessary to present also the setting where he was growing. Indeed in this first introductory part Dickens give some suggestions about the workhouse, where the boy found “hospitality”. The characterization of the setting and the condition of life of their guests are presented with the mean of the irony to provoke a meditation on the reader. An example of the irony can be the way the narrator presents the cause of the Oliver’s punishment on the last line of this first paragraph. The hyperbole he uses is “atrociously presuming to be hungry”, as the hunger would be a crime.  

The second section starts with the description of the room where the boys were fed and how the meals were carried out.  Children were used to have meal-time in a stone hall, a place that seems dark, cold and empty. There is just a copper at the end, from which Mr. Bumble and his assistants serves the gruel. The pot is the only thing in the room because is the sole interest of the hungry boys, represents the object of their desire. The category of grotesque and pathos are used to present the condition of the boys housed in the workhouses. For example the narrator tells that the meal consisted in just one “porringer” of supper (giving pathos) and that exceptionally was given them also “two ounces and a quarter of bread” in addition (a grotesque image). The way the boys devour their meal and clean their bowl with the spoon is also a grotesque image of the setting.

In the following passage Oliver is protagonist of the episode that produced his punishment. The episode conveys another part of Oliver’s characterization: “child as he was, he was desperate with hunger, and reckless with misery” give the reader more information about the protagonist, who has been shaped by the environment. Indeed he’s desperate because he’s hungry and he’s reckless because he’s poor. The Darwinism appears again.

In the following part the reader can find another category for characterizing Oliver in the contrast between the boy, thin and pale, and the master “fat, healthy man”. The rest of the scene describes the reaction of Mr. Bumble, Mr. Limbkins and the “board” to the request of Oliver of having more food. Irony ,grotesque and hyperbole characterize also this narration, where the setting is perceived by the reader as place so far from the reality.