In the present text I’m going to analyze an extract taken from the second chapter of Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist  (published  between 1837 and 1838). The title "Oliver wants some more" refers to Oliver that is the main character. The narrator is a third person omniscient narrator. The setting is a workhouse in London where the main character lives.

The extract could be organized into two sections

1. Oliver demands for more food, but the Master hits Oliver and call for Mr Bumble, the man in charge of the workhouse.
2. Oliver’s request is considered as a sign of his criminal nature. As a result the boy is confined to his room.

After the dinner Oliver goes to his master to ask some more soup but the man  both shocked and surprised violently hits the child.

The response is due to the workhouse mindset:  every benefit was not admitted. The scene wants to criticize the social institution of workhouses and in general the Victorian society. Indeed Oliver Twist is seen as a criminal a villain.

Charles Dickens uses many techniques as irony and grotesque. In the text is used a simple language due to his public.