Name: Dharma Gohel
Class: M.A. Sem- 2.
Paper 6: The Victorian Literature.
Batch : 2017-19
Enrollment No : 2069108420180014
Email ID : dharmagohel71@gmail.com
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’.
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