Oliver Wants Some More

The extract taken from Oliver Twist and written by Charles Dickens starts with the setting of the scene.

At the beginning the novelist introduces two women and a master that are unidentified characters and this conveys a sense of conformism.

Dickens uses the grotesque and the exaggeration describing the meal time as an exceptional and great event and the workhouse as a barracks.

The master “in apron of purpose” is a caricature of the character in line to criticize the situation presented.

The novelist uses a personification saying that “bowls never wanted washing” and with this semantic choice he wants to underline that children are very hungry and they have no food, they licked all as animals.

It is interesting to notice the contradiction between what children do, and what children say. Indeed, the register they uses has an high level, for example the expression “per diem” is unsuitable for children of their age and that belonged to the lower class. The contradiction created reminds to the typical contradictions of the Victorian Novels.

The hyperbolic use of the language, used to describe the spoons (bigger than their dishes), and the use of the grotesque make people laugh, but their main aim is to make people reflect and they conveyed a sense of sadness. They also create an alibi for readers that feel themselves superior.

The only one character identified is Oliver Twist. The verb “to rise” linked to Oliver suggests an image of sun therefore an important emotion: hope.

Also the children are caricatures, they are described as animals and “potential cannibals”.

Is interesting to notice that there is a strong contrast between the long prayer that children do and their little portions of food.

The novelist’s aim is to criticize the society and the exploitation of children that is justified with the religion.