Concept of Subaltern and Cultural Studies

Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak....

She is born on 24 February 1942.She is an Indian scholar, literary theorist, and feminist critic. She is University Professor at Columbia University, where she is a founding member of the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society.

#Introduction:-

Considered one of the most influential postcolonial intellectuals, Spivak is best known for her essay "Can the Subaltern Speak?"

And for her translation of and introduction to Jacques Derrida's "De la grammatologie". She also translated such works of Mahasweta Devi as Imaginary Maps and Breast Stories into English and with separate critical appreciation on the texts and Devi's life and writing style in general.

#Achievements:-

Spivak was awarded the 2012 Kyoto Prize in Arts and Philosophy for being "a critical theorist and educator speaking for the humanities against intellectual colonialism in relation to the globalized world." In 2013, she received the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award given by the Republic of India...

# Definition of subaltern...

A subaltern is someone with a low ranking in a social, political, or other hierarchy. It can also mean someone who has been marginalized or oppressed.

From the Latin roots sub- ("below"), and alternus("all others"), subaltern is used to describe someone of a low rank (as in the military) or class (as in a caste system).

Subalterns occupy entry-level jobs or occupy a lower rung of the "corporate ladder." But the term is also used to describe someone who has no political or economic power, such as a poor person living under a dictatorship.

# What is Subaltern....!!!

In critical theory and post-colonialism, the term subaltern designates the populations which are socially, politically, and geographically outside of the hegemonic power structure of the colony and of the colonial homeland. 

In describing "history told from below", subaltern was coined by Antonio Gramsci, notably through his work on cultural hegemony, which identified the groups that are excluded from a society's established institutions and thus denied the means by which people have a voice in their society.

In postcolonial theory, the term subaltern describes the lower classes and the social groups who are at the margins of a society: a subaltern is a person rendered without agency by social status.Nonetheless, the literary critic Gayatri Spivak spoke against an overly broad application of the term in 1992:

    "subaltern is not just a classy word for "oppressed", for [the] Other, for somebody who's not getting a piece of the pie.... In post-colonial terms, everything that has limited or no access to the cultural imperialism is subaltern—a space of difference. Now, who would say that's just the oppressed? The working class is oppressed. It's not subaltern.... Many people want to claim subalternity. They are the least interesting and the most dangerous. I mean, just by being a discriminated-against minority on the university campus; they don't need the word 'subaltern'.... They should see what the mechanics of the discrimination are. They're within the hegemonic discourse, wanting a piece of the pie, and not being allowed, so let them speak, use the hegemonic discourse. They should not call themselves subaltern."

# About a concept of Subaltern:-

"Can the Subaltern Speak?" critically deals with an array of western writers starting from Marx to Foucault, Deleuze and Derrida. The basic claim and opening statement of "Can the Subaltern Speak?"  is that western academic thinking is produced in order to support western economical interests. Spivak holds that knowledge is never innocent and that it expresses the interests of its producers. For Spivak knowledge is like any other commodity that is exported from the west to the third world for financial and other types of gain.

Spivak is wondering how can the third world subject be studied without cooperation with the colonial project. Spivak points to the fact that research is in a way always colonial, in defining the "other", the "over there" subject as the object of study and as something that knowledge should be extracted from and brought back "here".  Basically we're talking about white men speaking to white men about colored men/women. When Spivak examines the validity of the western representation of the other, she proposes that the discursive institutions which regulate writing about the other are shut off to postcolonial or feminist scrutiny.

This limitation, Spivak holds, is sue to the fact that critical thinking about the "other" tends to articulate its relation to the other with the hegemonic vocabulary. This is similar to feminist writers which abide by the patriarchic rules for academic writing.

In the following parts of "Can the Subaltern Speak?" Spivak is criticizing different critical writers and then moves on to the example of the Indian "Sati" practice.   

The people or the subaltern is a group defined by its difference from the elite.If in the context of colonial production , the subaltern female is even more deeply  in shadow. 

Spivak examines the position of Indian women through an analysis of a particular case and concludes with the declaration that the subaltern cannot speak. 

Spivak target is the concept of an unproblematic ally constituted subaltern identity,Rather than the subaltern subject ability to give voice to political concerns. 

# Representation of the Subalterns in Indian English Literature...

Novels: Anand’s "Untouchable" and Mistry’s "A Fine Balance".....

Among the Indian English writers, Mulk Raj Anand, Raja Rao and R. K. Narayan played a crucial role to bring India’s controversial inner issues in front of the world in the first half of the twentieth century. Those issues can be considered local issues of the Indian sub-continent but those have a universal appeal. We also observe that the other Indian writers from the present time have continued the trend of representing the struggle of the subalterns at various phases of life. 

Among those writers of the present time, Arundhuti Roy, Amitav Ghosh, Kiran Desai and Rohinton Mistry are remarkable writers for their creative and in-depth perspectives. 

Mulk Raj Anand’s "Untouchable" and Rohinton Mistry’s "A Fine Balance" concentrate on the miserable life of untouchable characters who try to 
change their living condition by entering the centre from the periphery, but their attempt falls apart when it comes into conflict with reality. The portrayal of the subalterns in the two novels is 
the crucial subject to be analyzed critically because of their authenticity to represent the 
subalterns.. 

The most vital part of these two novels is their self-analytical approach. Both the stories are presented to readers from the subaltern perspective which is unacceptable to the society. 

Although there is more than fifty years’ gap between the two novels, the essence of the stories echoes in both the novels. Anand’s "Untouchable" is published in 1935 and Mistry’s "A Fine Balance" is in 1996. 

"Untouchable" focuses on Bakha, an eighteen years old sweeper in colonial 
India.It also scrutinizes the depression of untouchables or lower class people and their rage against the upper caste. It gives a glimpse of a story of a day’s rural experience. The story displays the critical and tense relations among untouchable subalterns, upper caste Hindus,Muslims and Christian British colonizers.

On the Other hand, Mistry’s A Fine Balance (Mistry, 1996) looks at the curse of untouchability and poverty of the lower class village and city people in the colonial and Independent India. The novel shows several generations but Ishvar, Om 
(Dagis), Dina and Maneck are the protagonists presenting different backgrounds with various 
realities. Ishvar and Om come from the village to the city to find a job. They get a job in Dina’s house as tailors. Dina is a widow living in a rented house and earns her livelihood by delivering the readymade clothes to the shops. With Dina, Maneck lives as a paying guest. Maneck is a 
college student. Her mother is Dina’s school friend. At the end of the novel, Maneck comes back to India from abroad and discovers the changes of the society, the shut down of Dina’s business 
along with her, the rented house and the alteration of both Ishvar and Om into street beggars. 

The story goes through various flashes-backs. It helps to denote the uncertain individual lives in turbulent India. It reflects the subalterns falling into the cyclic trap of poverty. 

When the two novels are compared, it is visible that Untouchable (Anand, 2001) can be one of the stories of A Fine Balance (Mistry, 1996). Untouchable (Anand, 2001) revolutionizes the traditional portrayal of India and Indian literature by challenging India with a new vision of literature....

#Conclusion:-

Spivak's essay, "can Subaltern speak?" Challenges the idea of colonial "subject" and offers an example of the boundaries of the capability of western discourse,to interrelated with incongruent cultures.This essay is marked a paradigm shift in post-colonial studies..

Thinking Activity of Structuralism and Literary Criticism

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This blog is a response of my curriculum activity. For more details, visit this blog.

Somehow Structuralism connected to linguistic branch. Ferdinand de Saussure gives the basic Idea of Structuralism in his work "General linguistic". This text becomes the basic text for studying Structuralism. The Linguistics looks at language from scientific point of view. All literary writers do something with science.

Saussure used three terms 

1. Langage

2. Langue

3. Parole

Langage includes the entire human potential for speech, whatever we understood or not, all kinds of words included in Langage. Langue is the part of langage, the words we understand and speak, Parole is the words which we utter.

We can see same or different structure in films also. In many films same structure applied, For eg, Boy and Girl are in love with each other but their family are enemies, therefore they cant meet and becomes two star crossed lovers. That similar pattern we can see in Isaaq and Romeo and Juliet. Both these films have similar structure.

Gerard Genette

Gerard Genette speaks about various things and gives more influential detail of Structuralism which we can applied in many films, advertisements and many other things. He speaks about sign in Literature and from that we conclude or think about its significance. He says that if writer questions the universe, the critic questions the literature, that is to say, the universe of signs, but what was a sign for the writer, becomes meaning for the critic, and in another way what was the meaning for the writer becomes a sign for the critic.

Examples of film:

Here I would like to take one example of a film, i.e. Khiladi 786. As we all know that mostly the Bollywood films who has title of Khiladi and related to it deals with Akshay kumar, who is famous for his action. The title itself is a sign that something is about action Hero. There is arbitrary in our mind. However the significance of the film is different, it is more comedy rather than action. Therefore sign and what does it signify is not always the same as we think. Sometimes the meaning is totally different.

In the film Bajrangi Bhaijan also we can see that the character of Munni also come out with common stereotypes of mind, that is because she is white Bajrangi Bhaijan assumes that she is Brahmin, but when she ate nonveg, he assumes that she might be Rajput girl. That is common beliefs regarding skin color but in reality, Munni is totally different character, she is Pakistani. in that way we can see change in the significance. Each and every signs bring many meanings some are in our mind and some are out of our understanding.

Sign= Signifier+ Signified

In this way we can see that significance of various signs changes according to different situation or place. The meaning is always depends upon other adjoining words. What is signified is according to the arbitrary of the word. Meaning keeps on changing from time to time of different words. Structuralist concerned with Signifier not with Signified. As signifier remains common for everyone

Significance of words "Fire" and "Ice" in the poems of Robert Frost and Spenser

We have many pre- assumptions regarding the words Fire and Ice. Whenever we think about fire, we have thoughts like something connected to anger, fury or like elements of violence, whereas on the other hand when we speak about Ice we think of peace, something related to calmness. we have given totally opposite meaning to both these words.

Amoretti XXX: My Love is like to ice, and I to fire

By Edmund Spenser

My Love is like to ice, and I to fire:

How comes it then that this her cold so great

Is not dissolved through my so hot desire,

But harder grows the more I her entreat?

Or how comes it that my exceeding heat

Is not allayed by her heart-frozen cold,

But that I burn much more in boiling sweat,

And feel my flames augmented manifold?

What more miraculous thing may be told,

That fire, which all things melts, should harden ice,

And ice, which is congeal’d with senseless cold,

Should kindle fire by wonderful device?

Such is the power of love in gentle mind,

That it can alter all the course of kind. 

These words are totally opposite to each other but the way it is presented in poem, it changes our pre-thoughts. Its significance changes according to the langue. 

In this poem the Fire signifies the desire of lover who is unable to melt the feelings of his beloved. He wants to change the thinking of his beloved with power of fire, but cold also same strong as fire and therefore he is unable to dissolved.

Fire and Ice by Robert Frost 

Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.

From what I've tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great

And would suffice.

Both the words are same destructive, on one hand fire burns our skin, then on other hand Ice also gives us some kind of burning. Both Ice and Fire has a power to kill something. There is simmilarty of perishing the things. We waits for summer for getting cure from disease. Summer brings elements of Fire, similarly in foreign countries, where there is cold weather, the peoples waits for snow fall for getting cure from any types of disease. In short we can say that both can destroy the world, both are same powerful.

Thinking Activity on Archetypes of Literature by Northrop Frye

Q1- What is Archetypal Criticism? What does the archetypal critic do?

The word Archetype in Literary criticism denotes the following things:-
a) Recurrent narrative designs
b) patterns of action
c) character types
d) themes and images

Myth
Myth in archetypal criticism plays a vital role. treatment of myth denotes the common pattern of literature. From past to till present there came many writers who practiced various myth in their work of art. For eg. James G. Frazer's work "The golden bough" identified elemental pattern of myth and ritual.

Archetypal Criticism
Archetypal criticism is mainly focuses on interpreting the text by focusing on the myth and rituals. Archetype is a structure in which all things are made or prepared in similar manner, for eg, pot making in which all the mud was poured or made in such way that similar structured pot prepared. we also find same archetypal structure in animals also cat and tiger are very much similar to each other, The difference is only of their size.


This type of common structure among different living or non-living is called Archetypes. It is similarly applied in Literature also where we find that many novels, poems are written in same way or same narrative, where a hero fight for his beloved and in end both met.We find same plot structure in many of the films.
Archetypal Critic normally criticize the work of art by focusing on the common archetype which was built in mind from very earlier times.

Q2- What is Frye trying to prove by giving an analogy of "Physics to nature" and "Criticism to literature"? explain your views on literature as organized body of literature?

Frye gives a unique vision of Archetypal Criticism by connecting it to nature. He describes four season and according to these seasons he gives the characteristics of human life:-

a) Spring season



Spring season denotes comedy. because comedy signifies the birth, revival and resurrection of hero and similarly spring also signifies the firth of new season by defeating the darkness of winter season.




b) Summer season






Summer season denotes romance because we can see culmination or triumph in both these terms, in summer we can see culmination of life and in romance we can see sort of triumph, usually in the form of marriage.

c) Autumn season






Autumn season denotes tragedy, as it reflects the dying stage of life, in this season all the leaves of the tree fallen down and tree becomes lifeless. Similarly in tragedy there is fall or demise of protagonist.

d) Winter season



Winter season denotes satire because of darkness. Satire reflects the darkness of literature, it is disillusioned and mocking form of literature.




A student who is studying art of nature never says that he or she is studying nature, they always says that they are studying PHYSICS. however physics is also a study of nature itself.

A literature student also reply that he or she is studying Literature, but in real we are not studying literature we are studying the Criticism of literature. learning and teaching of literature cannot be done, we are only doing criticism of literature, criticism is the different branch of knowledge apart from literature. therefore though I am studying literature, I am learning criticism. we find science in organised way but literature never organised, if it is, then we are killing literature. literature never knows its boundaries, it is all about freedom. if we are banning or controlling something, then it cannot be said as literature.

Criticism can be organised but literature cannot.



Q3- Mention the relationship of literature with history and philosophy.

Literature is the central division of Humanities. Historical sense and Philosophy are about morality, ethics and all these things are required when we study literature. Philosophy is about existence and it progressively moves on, its ideas never stopped. Northrop Frye says that without reasoning and thinking to jump on any type of conclusion is not valid process. we have to look upon the framework of history which is based on evidence. Histories are never written without evidence. BUT THAT FRAMEWORK OF HISTORY MUST BE CHECKED, sometimes history also makes division in society. Every ideas has a framework and how it grows is important to understand.


Q4- Briefly explain inductive method with illustration of Shakespeare's Hamlet's Grave digging scene.


Observation ⇢ Pattern⇢ Tentative Hypothesis⇢ Theory


Inductive method signifies a journey from specific to general. As we saw specific examples of any literary work and then gave general conclusion, in this way we reach to the general outcome from specific meaning. The grave digging scene in Hamlet is a specific scene and from that scene we made general conclusion like, grave digging scene is centrifugal which moves us away from centre, we are going back one step by looking at that scene. In this scene we saw lots of conversation between the diggers, they are even singing and mocking on Ophelia sin, whether she allowed to buried or not. the work of grave diggers becomes general, so they are not worried about death body.

Q5- Briefly explain deductive method with reference to an analogy to music, painting, rhythm and pattern? give example of the outcome of deductive method.

Theory⇢ Hypothesis⇢ Observation⇢ Confirmation


Deductive method describes a shift from general to specific. In deductive method we examine any theory and then think upon its Hypothesis means checking out some specific examples of it. We cannot tide literature, but we can tide criticism.
there is support of Music and art to literature, some art keeps on moving from time to time like music and some art present in a static way like Painting. One is about listening and other is about observing, there is organised principle in both these arts. Music is rhythm and Painting is pattern. Literature is intermediate to both these arts and we can perceived both these art form in literature. Therefore we can start speaking as rhythm of painting and pattern of music, because in literature we can feel both these things simultaneously.
The word Rhythm is narrative and we can find it in natural cycle of human beings. we can feel rhythm in every natural things, living things like flowers and birds. Northrop Frye gave very global perspective of literature, he says that whatever we gave to nature, we return the same from it. If we didn't respect nature then nature will also not respects us.Literature is world literature and we keep on criticizing other literature then we cannot study literature in real manner.

Online Discussion on Sharmeen's documentary, A Girl in the River

Hello readers,

This blog is about my response on online discussion on Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's Academy Award for her documentary, 'A Girl in the River.'

                    

                      (Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy)

' A girl in the river' is a documentary film based on a real story of pakistani woman. How she struggle for freedom of her own choice and how she victimize of honour killing.

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's academy Award for her documentary, A girl in the River, has been much celebrated at home. Deservedly so.

Like her first Oscar-winning documentary, saving face, which spotlit the horror of acid attack, this too is a visceral, urgent piece of film-making. But alongside the jubilation is another view, persistent and petty, that is inevitably voiced at such occasions. Widely shared by politicians, journalists, religious leader, in short 'patriots' of all stripes, this opinion has it that sharmeen  has done a grave disservice to her country by highlighting the misery of ordinary Pakistanis to further her own career. Hence, the twitter trend: Disown Sharmeen. 

Why, he asked, 'had Adiga chosen not to write about the so many nice, nice things that are happening in India? The same critique was also trotted out when Danny Boyle's film, Slumdog Millionaire, won big at the Oscar. or when Malala won the Nobel prize. Or Sharmeen her first Oscar. Really, why can't  all these people just Photoshop our reality? why can't the hide our flaws and emphasize our virtues so we can win respect and admiration of Western societies? many 'concerned citizens' in Pakistan ask why Sharmeen did not make a film about that tireless humanitarian, Edhi, or better still, about the victims of drone strikes, cataloging American injustice, rather than our own.

Truth wins: The buzz around Sharmeen's film has prompted Nawaz Sharif to say that the practice of honor killings in Pakistan should come to an end.

• Cultural Study:-                  The prime duty of any literary writer is to present the contemporary issues and picture of nation. Everyone has the right to voice and freedom of expression. So they are free to portrayed the condition of their country. But many follower of ideology and political discourse try to banned this kind of harsh reality, because they do not bear the bad images of their culture and country.

• We have recently example of Film Padmavat in which the group of people banned film because the do not like that people see about their culture. Another one is the documentary film "Nirbhaya gang rape" which was banned by government because they believe that our new generation become spoiled because of the movie. 

• Post-colonialism:

                                      general belief of the people is that writer must write about the glory and positive side of their country, and we Asian believe that western people give awards on our bed images and they happy because western people feel happy when they see our poor condition. But this is not right, we have many examples from the western works:

• Oliver Twist
• Sense and sensibility 
• The west land etc.

These all works portrayed the reality of the society. In 'Oliver Twist', Dickens portrayed the poor law of Victorian Britain that how the cruel law for the poor and orphan children. After the publication of the novel 'Oliver Twist' British government pass the reformation bill and law about child laboring. So, we can say that is is not about western people that they feel happy on our poor condition.

if we want to reform our poor condition, this kind of work is very important to open the eyes of power. I agree with this kind of way to show our reality. because such a work awake people as well as the power to stop this kind superstition and cruel ideology.

Thank you

Online Discussion on Mario Vargos Llosa

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     This blog is a part of my curriculum activity. 

Mario Vargos Llosa is a Peruvian writer, politician, journalist, essayist and college professor. He is one of Latin America's most significant novelists and essayists, and one of the leading writers of his generation. Some critics consider him to have had a larger international impact and worldwide audience than any other writer of the Latin American Boom. In 2010 he won the Nobel Prize in Literature, "for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual's resistance, revolt, and defeat".


Now a days debate goes on views of Mario Vargas Llosa his views on " Political Correctness is the enemy of freedom". In this he shared his views on various topics like, Liberalism, neo liberalism, intellectual honesty, literature and morality, civil liberties, fascism, communism, nationalism, populism, Marxism and religion fanaticism.

He is the most overtly political of the Boom writers, Vargas Llosa has also had a prolific career as a journalist and public intellectual.

What he means by liberalism is free elections with no parties excluded, a judiciary independent enough to enforce democratic law over the ambitions of powerful individuals, freedom of expression for both the press and artists.

In Addition, wikipedia also give such meaning of Liberalism that... Is a political philosophy or world view founded on ideas of liberty & equality. Generally they support ideas and programmes such as freedom of speech, press, religion,free markets, civil rights, democratic societies, secular governments, gender equality and international cooperation.

But, his antidote is nothing more than a vague endorsement of “fair laws and strong governments.”

Thinking Activity of Deconstruction by Derrida

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This blog is a part of my curriculum activity. For more details click here,

Q- 1. What do you understand by 'Deconstruction'? ( Remember : if you think you understand Deconstruction, you don't. )

A-1. “What deconstruction is not? Everything of course! What is deconstruction? Nothing of course!”Jacques Derrida Letter to a Japanese Friend Jacques Derrida (1930-2004) whose name is associated with the term ‘deconstruction’ is one of the most renowned and prolific philosophers of the twentieth century. Derrida refuses to define the term 'Deconstruction' by saying that you can not define anything for once and all. It is almost impossible to define Deconstruction.As per Derrida,“Each and every text is read as event and events can be read with different perspective.”

Deconstruction is not exactly a destructive activity or breaking down something. You inquired into the foundations of something. 

Q-2.  Read an ad or TV serial or Film or literary text as post-structuralist critic. 

A-2  I would like to give an example of the film Pink. This film is an unusual story which focuses on the rights of women- especially the right to say "NO" or "enough is enough". 

As a Post Structuralist critic, I find that even though the film is based on feminist approach, there is a male actor in lead role. so while deconstructing we can inquire that why there is need of an established male actor in a feminist film? The very quick answer we get is market. People will not watch the film in same amount if there won't be a strong male actor.
We can find binary oppositions too in this film. Male is previleged over female. There are three girls in this film and they are economically independent,  drinking and coming late night at home from work. Society considers them as prostitute because of their lifestyle whereas on the contrary such lifestyle is considered normal.

Popular Culture : Chetan Bhagat and His Market

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Popular Culture : Chetan Bhagat and his Market from dharma gohel

Archetypes in Hindi Films : Character (Hero) and Love Stories

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Archetypes in Hindi Movies : Character (Hero) and Love Stories from dharma gohel

Comparison Between Oliver Twist and Slumdog Millionaire

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Comparison between Oliver Twist and Slumdog Millionaire from dharma gohel

Theme of Creation in Frankenstein and Robot

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Paper 5 presentation theme of creation in frankenstein and robot from dharma gohel

Reflection of Victorian England in Oliver Twist

Name: Dharma Gohel

 Class: M.A. Sem- 2.

Paper 6: The Victorian Literature.

Batch : 2017-19

Enrollment No : 2069108420180014
Email ID : dharmagohel71@gmail.com

Submitted To: Smt.S.B.Gardi

                            Department of English.

                            M.K.Bhavnagar University.

     

Reflection of the Victorian Age in ‘‘Oliver Twist’’.

Introduction of the writer:

    

 Dickens was born near Portsea, where his father was a clerk in the Navy Pay Office. Charles, the second of eight children, was a delicate child, and much of his boyhood was spent at home, where he read the novels of Smollett, Fielding, and Le Sage. The works of these writers were to influence his own novels very deeply. At an early age also he became very fond of the theatre, a fondness that remained with him all his life, and affected his novels to a great extent.

                The Pickwick Papers was a great success; Dickens’s fame was secure, and the rest of his life was that of a busy and successful novelist. He lived to enjoy a reputation that was unexampled, surpassing even that of Scott; for the appeal of Dickens was wider and more searching than that of the Scottish novelist. He varied his work with much travelling-among other places to America (1842), to Italy (1844), to Switzerland (1846), and again to America (1867). His popularity was exploited in journalism, for he edited ‘‘The Daily News’’ (1846), and founded Household Words (1849) and All the Year Round (1859). He chose some of the most violent or affecting scenes from his novels and presented them with full-blown histrionic effect. The readings brought him much money, but they wore him down physically. They were also given in America, with the greatest success. He died in his favourite house, Gad’s Hill Place, near Rochester, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

Introduction of the Victorian Era:

                    The Victorian period from the coronation of Queen Victorian 1837 until her death in 1901 was an era of numerous disturbing social developments. During this period the writer were forced to write on the living issue of the society. Thus, it’s of literature of the Victorian era was directed to issues such as the growth of English democracy the education of the masses, the progress of industrial enterprise and rise of materialistic philosophy, and the problem of newly industrialised worked. Queen Victoria ruled England from 1837 to 1901. It was time when a fresh generation in literature had arisen as the earlier generation had nothing to add.

             It was an era of material prosperity, political consciousness, democratic reforms, industrial and mechanical process, and progress, scientific advancement, social unrest, educational expansion empire building and religious uncertainty. This Victorian age made progress in the field of poetry, prose and fiction.

             It was an era of political peace and prosperity. The Victorian age was remarkable in terms of industrial revolution and its outcome in that context. There were a few colonial wars during this period but they did not have any adverse effect on the national life. In the early period of eighteenth century, the effect of French revolution was still there but by the middle of eighteenth century England was completely safe from any expansion. They made remarkable progress in industrial, commercial, and social life. In short it was an era of total safety and security under the reign of Queen Victoria.

        Social characteristics of Victorian Age:

                       

(1)            Industrial Revolution:

                         Political peace and prosperity brought an immense material advancement and industrial progress it gave birth to industrial economy in England. Many miles and factories were established across the country. Industrial advancement also produced social disordered and economic sorrow in the society. On the one hand the industrial revolution brought the rich class of the mile owner and the capitalist, on the other hand it brought the poor class of labours and factory works. The life of the poor became horrible a wave of social unrest was blowing in England and it found expression in the works of the writer like Charles Dickens, Ruskin, Thomas Carlyle and Matthew Arnold, John Stuart Mill, etc,.

        For novel ‘‘Oliver Twist’’, we can say that it is presented by Charles Dickens because of the effect of the industrial revolution. Charles Dickens, who was a lifelong champion of the poor, addresses these central issues in his early novel and timeless masterpiece Oliver Twist (1838). Child labour played an important role in the industrial revolution. In point of fact, the Victorian Era was characterised by the use of children to help develop the economy. Child labourers received less than the essentials needed at home, school, and at work. In a nutshell, the life of a young worker was in essence the life of a slave. Many children worked 16-hour days under atrocious conditions, as did their parents. As more people commuted to town to work, the demand for clothes and food grew. There were more things needed as the cities grew. More and more machines were beings built in factories and with that, the companies needed cheap labour. In Oliver twist, Charles Dickens describes some issues that occurred during the industrial revolution: children of the poor were forced by economic conditions to work, some kids were used as commodities, and there was a great difference between the first, middle, and third classes. Some parents sent their kids to work because they did not have enough money to support their family. Kids were being paid 3s a week. If there were no work available at the factory kids would just go back to the farm, or others would end up going on the streets and becoming prostitutes. Most prostitutes were between the ages of 15 and 22 years old during the industrial revolution. In Oliver Twist, the character Nancy is prostitute. She had no education and the only means of getting money was if she was on the street. Dickens was showing the times of the industrial revolution, and through this, the story seems very real. During the industrial revolution, kids were used as possessions. In the beginning of the novel, Oliver is used to pike oakum. He lives in an orphanage where the children are used as slaves. They were sold door to door to the right buyer. In chapter 3, Oliver’s future darkens when Mr. Gamfield, a chimney sweep, applies to take the boy. Mr. Gamfield cares so little about Oliver that he does not care if the chimney catches on fire, as long as Oliver does his job. In the workhouse children were treated just like an animal. In the workhouse Oliver treated as a slave not as a child and he was doing work out of his capacity though they were not being provided good foods with both quality and quantity.  That is why Oliver wants some more foods with the famous dialogue

‘‘Please sir, I want some more.’’

And because of that he punished badly by Mr. Bumble. In Victorian era rich people believed for poor people that they were lazy and needed to be punished. They were born for becoming slave. So in Oliver Twist people in workhouses were deliberately treated harshly and the workhouses for child were similar to prisons.

(2)        Birth of social reform:

              The unhappy and terrible conditions of labours, miners, debtors and prisoners court attention in the eyes of social reforms. As a result, there was the birth of the Reform Bills which arouse the democratic consciousness among the Victorian people this age witnessed a conflict between aristocracy and democracy.

         Dickens as a socialist who wants to reforms society. In Oliver Twist Dickens situated himself and his readers among some complex areas of the criminal law… He criticises the poor laws of 1834. That is why he put Oliver Twist in both social and individual. Dickens wants to reform society that is why he used satire with the laughter. And laughter is not innocent it is used as a device. It is the expression of thoughts that society usually suppressed or forbade. In the Oliver Twist we laugh not only on the character but on the circumstances and with the laughter the novel frustrates the readers.

          As a reader we laugh on the character Oliver Twist because Dickens as a socialist wants us to laugh forcefully because we are responsible for all these things, we are failure to given shelter. It is Dickens’s dream of ‘ideal’ society and that is why he wrote this novel through the intention of the reforms the society.

(3)            Growth in Population:

                  The Victorian Era was a time of unprecedented Population increase in England. The population of Great Britain at that time of the first sensors in 1801 was about ten and half millions but by the end of 1901 it was about 37 millions.

           In the Victorian age because of the industrial revolution people were wants more and more money to live life perfectly. But they have not enough money to support their family. Therefore children were sending for work. If there were no work available at the factory kids would just go back to the farm, or others would end up going on the streets and becoming prostitutes. Most prostitutes were between the ages of 15 and 22 years old during the industrial revolution.That is the reason for the population. That is why we see huge number of children in Victorian era. In Oliver Twist Nancy, who was prostitute and we seemed that the huge number of the children in this and they wants to got money at anyhow for clothes and food grew. That is why Oliver Twist pick pocket for food grew.

(4)Scientific Development:

                    It was period of extra ordinary scientific thinking. Many scientific devotees dedicated their time to popularise scientific works like Darwin’s‘‘Origin of Species’’ despite the progress of science people in general were still governed by religious and moral consideration because Victorian were very religious at hart. There was a noticeable disagreement between religious and science and between moralist and scientist.

              Aristocratic people were rule over poor people through the power of both money and religious. They used these weapons to control poor people. For Example – Workhouse in Oliver Twist. In the workhouse children have food with the name of God though they not have good food with both quantities and qualities. ‘‘God is Good’’, ‘‘God is Love’’these label Dickens put in the workhouse in satirical way because when God is good then why all the children live in bad situation and why God not help them to live in better way.

(5)Domestic life and Social life:

           In domestic life emphasis was given on the/ to the authority or to the head of the family. The Victorian cultivated domestic virtues but women were considered as inferior to men. Education was not allowed to the women in general.

        Victorians laid emphasis on order decorum and decency. They were materialist by nature and did not care too much about the culture that they belonged to politically they were governed by narrow prejudices but intellectually they believed in progress. The Victorian compromise was observable in three branches of life such as -

1.    Political life,

2.    Religion,

3.   Science.

             In the Oliver Twist, there was also we seemed domestic life. In which Bill Sikes has power to control his wife Nancy. Nancy wants to help Oliver Twist but she can’t do this and that is why she doing all that things secretly. Nancy has no voice against her husband and at the climax her husband kills her without any mercy for her. So, we can say that she was not free to do whatever she wants to do. In social life they don’t like that they were called as cultural people.

Literary Characteristics :

(1)            The Uniqueness of Individuality:

                          It was a typical trait of Victorian Literature. The writers of this age were gifted with striking originality in outlook, method, style, viewpoint, character and temperament. For Example –

Tennyson loved the admiration of strong independence. Bronte Sisters talked about loneliness in life. Thomas Carlyle and Robert Browning cultivated the manner of strangeness in writing. William Thackeray loved to follow a haphazard path in the conduct of his stories. Charles Dickens was one of the most original writers and a profound novelist of that age. His style and method is extraordinary, his viewpoint is towards reformation of the society, and his character was original just like Oliver Twist because he was reflection of the Victorian reality that children don’t like to becoming criminal but situation become them criminal. In between Oliver Twist is differentiating from other children because of his observation and decision is unique and that is why he was individual by his nature. And maybe that is why Mr. Brownlow’s decision towards Oliver Twist was soft.

(2)            Moral Writing:

                   The Victorian way of writing both in prose and poetry had a moral purpose behind it. Their way of writing and presenting the subject was full of moral attitude. The motive behind this kind of literature was to make their fellow countrymen idealist in nature. Dickens has same idea behind their writing novel ‘‘Oliver Twist’’. Dickens has set up his own moral dilemma in his novel. Oliver Twist portrays Dickens’s distaste for the justice system through satire and wit. For Dickens it seems that justice is based on truth and morality, which are symptoms of choice. Oliver’s choice is truth and that is why at the end he achieved good justice. Not only Oliver but in this novel we find out some character who are also believed in this mentality. For example –

Charley Bates, he has sense of personal moral conscience. He was an esteemed member of Fagin’s gang, famed for his skill in thieving pocket handkerchiefs. Despite his wicked talents, the evil deeds of others eventually turn him towards reform. Reform comes through his defiance if  in chapter 50 as, though well versed in maintaining secrecy, he chooses to betray Sikes to the police. He calls to the people ‘to take him out for God’s sake’ (337), a desperate plea to the almighty which has so far been absent from the lives of the Juveniles in Fagin’s gang. Charley’s significance, as the symbol of a moral conscience, reflects Dickens’s view of morality as a product of personal choice rather than religious intervention.

  

Conclusion:

           In short, we can say that the novel ‘‘Oliver Twist’’ is the reflection of the Victorian period in various ways. And Dickens purpose behind this novel is to reforms the society. It is Dickens’s dream of ‘ideal society’.