Oliver Twist Essay -- Essays Papers

Oliver TwistHave you ever thought about how it would be to live in a snip of poverty? Howwould life be if you were unforesightful and did not know from where you would be getting yournext meal? What would it be like to be forced to live in a workhouse? These are some(a) ofthe questions you might ask yourself if you were living in early nineteenth centuryEngland. Dickens addresses these issues in his timeless masterpiece Oliver Twist. In the story of Oliver Twist, Dickens uses last(prenominal) experiences from his puerility and targets the Poor Law of 1834 which renewed the importance of the workhouse as a means of relieffor the poor.Dickens age was a period of industrial development mark by the rise of themiddle class (Wagenknecht 219). In the elections brought about by the accession ofWilliam IV in 1830, the Tories lost control of the government. Assumption of power bythe Whigs opened the way to an era of accelerated progress (Kaste 8). In this time period children worke d just as much, if not more, than some of the adults. After 1833, an increased cadence of legislation was enacted to control the hours of labor and workingconditions for children and women in manufacturing plants. The Poor Law of 1834provided that all able bodied paupers must reside in a workhouse (8). far-flunghostility was felt to the new law many believed that life was harder in a workhouse than in prison (Rooke 22). The plan was successful from one standpoint, for within iii years the cost of poor relief was reduced by more than one-third. However, this system was sharply censured. The increased prevalence of crime was attributed towards it. Inmates of the workhouses became objects of public stigma, and to further point the unpopularity of the institutions, living conditions were deliberately made harsh (Kaste 8). Poverty was at its peak around this time in England. Houses were overcrowded, packed together in narrow streets and courts which were oftentimes piled dee p in rotting refuse (Rooke 33). New problems of food and public health were faced by a parliamentary and economic system which was repair suited to the eighteenth century. On June 20, 1837, Queen Victoria came to the throne of England as the long period of middle class ascendancy was gaining momentum (Kaste 8). The Victorian age, which this time period is often referred, comes from Queen Victor... ...cked full of suspense and action. This piece of literature will never be forgotten.In Conclusion, Dickens had a rough childhood which helped prompt him to writemany classic novels. Dickens wrote to make people think about how the government wasbeing run. He wrote Oliver Twist to almost withstand the Poor Law of 1834 and the use ofthe workhouses. Since Dickens was such an original writer his presence in literature will be forever appreciated.BibliographyBlount, Trevor. Dickens The proterozoic Novels. London Longmans, Green & Co., 1968.Dickens, Charles Discovering Authors. Detro it Gale Research Inc., 1993.Dickens. Encyclopedia Brittanica. 1998 ed.Hardy, Barbara. Charles Dickens. British Writers. Ian Scott-Kilvert. vol. 5. 12 vols.New York Charles Scribners Sons, 1982.Kaste, Harry, M.A. Cliffs Notes on Oliver Twist. Lincoln Cliffs Notes Inc., 1997.landow.stg.brown.eduPrice, Martin. Dickens. New tee shirt Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1967.Rooke, Patrick. The Age of Dickens. New York G.P. Putnams Sons, 1978.Wagenknecht, Edward. Cavalcade of the English Novel. Chicago Holt, Rinehart, and Winston Inc., 1967.www.sparknotes.com