An Analysis of Nancy’s character in Oliver Twist雾都孤儿中南希的人物性格分析

1、本科毕业论文题目： 雾都孤儿中南希的人物性格分析 学生姓名： 学 号： 院 部： 外国语学院 专 业： 英 语 年 级： 指导教师姓名及职称： 完成日期： 年月日 14an analysis of nancys character in oliver twista thesis submittedto school of foreign languages of xinjiang university of finance and economicsin partial fulfillment of the requirementsfor the degree of bachelor of a

2、rtsbysupervisor：acknowledgements i would like to express my gratitude to all those who helped me during the writing of this thesis. i would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, wang ying who gives me considerable help suggestion, comments and criticism. his encouragement and unwave

3、ring support has sustained me through frustration and depression. without his pushing me ahead, the completion of this thesis would be impossible.i would also want to express my gratitude to liu xiaoling, mr.c , wang fengxia, zhao weili and other teachers who have taught me during these years for th

4、eir brilliant and enlightening lectures in literature, translation and linguistics.in addition, i would like to express my gratitude to my parents and my friends who have been assisting, supporting me all of my life.摘要 人类的性格是一种矛盾体，有许多色彩丑恶不堪，也有一些极其美丽。这是一种矛盾，一种异态，一种表面看来不可能的现象，然而这是真实。狄更斯在小说雾都孤儿中塑造的南希这一

5、人物形象仅仅是小说中的一个次主要角色,但却是小说中一个极为典型的人物。她不像小说中的其他人物一样表现出或者好或者坏的某一面,而是在某些时刻表现出来的好的一面,某些时刻又表现出坏的一面。正因为这样,这个人物才更贴近于生活,这个人物性格之复杂才值得我们来探究。本文以英国批判现实主义大师查尔斯狄更斯的小说雾都孤儿为主要研究资料。首先，本文从英国批判现实主义的定义及作者生平入手，再重点从她的一系列行动来分析她的双重性格及成因。无论环境多么恶劣，它都无法泯灭人类本性中的善良成分并由此引出作者对人类善良本性的呼唤及对现代教育体系的批判，这不但能引起读者对这位迷途知返的“女贼”的同情，更有助于我们认识她所处

6、的那个社会的真面目。关键词：雾都孤儿；南希的双重性格；等级制度；批判主义 abstracthuman personality is a contradiction, there are many colors ugly bear, there are some extremely beautiful. this is a contradiction, an anomaly, a seemingly impossible situation, but it is true. nancy is only one of the secondary major roles in the novelol

7、iver twist which written by charles dickens but it is a very typical figure in the novel. she was not like the other characters just show good side or the bad, but at some point, shows the positive side, sometimes show the mean one. because of this, this figure is more close to life, its complexity

8、character worth us to study. this thesis takes oliver twist written by famous critical realist author charles dickens as major material. firstly, this article will begin with the definition of critical realism and dickens life, then focus on a series of actions from her to analysis her character and

9、 factors. no matter how cruel the surrounding is, goodness will never be eliminated and the author wants to call for the nature of goodness and to criticize the education system in england. this can not only cause readers to sympathy with this “women thief” who realize her errors and mend her ways,

10、but also helps us to know the true features of that society. key words: oliver twist; nancys double character; hierarchy; criticism table of contentsacknowledgementsiabstract (chinese)iiabstract iiitable of contentsivpart one introduction1part two an introduction to the author12.1 the author: charle

11、s dickens1 2.1.1 the definition of critical realism2 2.1.2 dickens life 2 2.1.3 dickens writing style 32.2 the main story of oliver twist 4part three an analysis of nancys double character53.1 nancy hold a candle to the devil 5 3.1.1 nancy is to bug and intercept oliver5 3.1.2 the protection of thef

12、t gang 63.2 nancys good nature 63.2.1 nancy saves oliver in distress 63.2.2 nancy reveals inside story of olivers birth73.2.3 faithful to the love8part four the reasons for nancys complicated characte r94.1 tragic life of nancy94.1.1 comparison between nancy and roses birth9 4.1.2 significant contra

13、st between nancy and olivers birth104.2 influence of feudal society on nancys character104.2.1 interpersonal apathy effects on nancys character 10 4.2.2 the heavily fortified hierarchy10part five associated with modern society115.1 the call of goodness 115.2 education system needs to be improved11pa

14、rt six conclusion12notes 13bibliography 14part one introductioncharles dickens was a prominent critical realist in the mid 19th century. he has a world of sympathy for the misseries and a srong feeling for the poor laboring masses. he cried flout loud against social injustice but he had never though

15、t of overthrowing the existing social order. by exposing the social injustice and the vices of the upper class, he puts his heart into depicting the miserable existence of the common people. he gives a truthful picture of capitalist england of the time.dickens vivid description creates many lifelike

16、 characters which impress the readers deeply in their memory after reading.oliver twist is one of his masterpieces which marked the beginning of his literary life. this novel was famous for exposing the dark sides of people lived out of that time. in this novel, nancy is a typical character who live

17、d in the bottom of the society. she had the same suffering with oliver twist, but she didnt have a happy end like oliver twist. this thesis is provided to help readers appreciate this critical novel by analyzingnancys complex character. im going to explore the reasons of shaping her double character

18、s from different aspects. by discovering the root of dickens mind and association with modern society, i hope that will be helpful to understand his work. first, the basic information will be introduced to you. part two an introduction to oliver twist2.1 the author: charles dickenscharles dickens, o

19、ne of the most famous writers, is the founder of critical realistic literature in the 19th century. most of his works all belong to the literary masterpieces at home and abroad, which have the far-reaching influence upon the literature. the age he lived was the rising period of english capitalism. t

20、he transformation and the development of the society provided rich materials for his writing. dickens wrote many works, connecting his miserable experiences with the capitalist society. in addition, a part of dickens success was due to the influence of other critical writers. in that period, dickens

21、 was “the classics known by everyone” and “the symbol of the mythic nationalism”, which was described by the modern literature critic, phil collins. this thesis will introduce him from three aspects: what is critical realism, dickens life and his writing styles.2.1.1the definition of critical realis

22、m as we all know that dickens is a representative critical realist, but what is critical realism? critical realism is a philosophical view of knowledge. on the one hand it holds that it is possible to acquire knowledge about the external world as it really is, independently of the human mind or subj

23、ectivity. that is why it is called realism. on the other hand it rejects the view of nave realism that the external world is as it is perceived. recognizing that perception is a function of, and thus fundamentally marked by, the human mind, it holds that one can only acquire knowledge of the externa

24、l world by critical reflection on perception and its world. that is why it is called critical2.1.2 dickens lifecharles dickens, the greatest representative of english critical realism, was born in 1812 at portsmouth, where his father was a clerk in the navy pay office. when he was about four years o

25、f age, his family moved to chatham, and the five years he spent there were the happiest of all his boyhood. what schooling dickens had he got at chatham at a small day-school. in 1821 the dickens family moved to a poor quarter in london. mr. dickens was heavily in debt and did not know which way to

26、turn for money. the few possessions they had were sold one by one, but things still went from bad to worse. finally mr. dickens was taken to the marshalsea prison, london, for debt. shortly afterwards mrs. dickens and the younger children went to the prison to join the father. meanwhile the 12-year-

27、old charles, weak and sensitive, was sent to work in an underground cellar at a blacking factory in the east end of london. work there began at eight in the morning and ended at eight at night. his job was to cover the pots of paste-blacking; first with a piece of oil-paper, and then with a bit of b

28、lue paper; to tie them round with a string; and then to clip the paper close and neat, all round, until it looked as smart as a pot of ointment from an apothecarys shop. after this, he had to paste on the printed label. he worked thus at the scanty wage of 6 shillings a week. it was the most unhappy

29、 time throughout his whole life. he was lonely and hungry. he felt his early hope of growing up to be a learned and famous man crushed in his heart. years later he wrote: i never said, to man or boy, how it was i came to be there, or gave the least indication of being sorry that i was there. that i

30、suffered in secret, and that i suffered exquisitely, no one ever knew but me. sundays he spent at the prison, and during the week he was out working all day. he had to keep himself in food on his own wages. i tried, but ineffectually, not to anticipate my money, and to make it last the week through;

31、 by putting it away in a drawer wrapped up in six little parcels, each parcel containing the same amount, and labeled with a different day. i know that i lounged about the streets, insufficiently and unsatisfactorily fed. i know that, but for the mercy of god, i might easily have been a little robbe

32、r or a little vagabond. then his fortune took a turn for the better. he left the blacking factory and studied at school again. but his miserable life at the factory left an everlasting, painful brand on the boys mind. years later, when he was a man, he would not walk by the place where the factory h

33、ad been situated. all this had a deep influence on dickenss thought and work in after years. when dickens was 15, he left school for good and became a lawyers clerk. after work, he learned shorthand and visited the british museum library, filling up the gaps in his education by reading. the work at

34、the lawyers office afforded him the basis of a confirmed opinion of the law of england, which one is likely to derive from the impression that it puts all the honest men under the diabolical hooves of all the scoundrels. then he became a parliamentary reporter for newspapers. thus dickens gained fir

35、st-hand knowledge of the parliamentary government under capitalism and he never wavered in his understanding of it as an instrument for wielding and disguising the power of the upper classes. in 1834 he was taken on the staff of a newspaper and went all over the country getting news, writing stories

36、, meeting people and learning about life in general.2.1.3 dickens writing style charles dickens has a very distinct writing style; he writes in a poetic way and uses a lot of satire and consequently humor. since dickenss started off his literary career writing papers for newspapers most of his stori

37、es are in an episodic form. he is a master using this method in his stories, using cliff hanger endings he was able to keep his readers interested in his stories. dickens use idealized characters in his books, but this in itself can be a very bad thing because an idealized character does not have an

38、y room to grow throughout the course of the book. however dickens does not make all of his characters perfect, rather he uses his idealized characters to contrast the ugly side of life that he so often portrays. oliver twist is an example of one of his idealized characters, during the course of the

39、book oliver is put through many trials including an evil orphanage and a small training center for thieves. throughout all of this oliver is naive and his values are never compromised even though he is put in very difficult situations. seeing the ugly circumstances that oliver so often occupies, it

40、is no wonder that dickens chose to idealize oliver and give the reader something to love completely. if dickens had not idealized oliver the book would have been dark with very little joy in it.dickens also loves to employ incredible circumstances in his books. in oliver twist, oliver turns out to b

41、e the nephew of the rich high class family that rescues him from the gang of thieves that oliver had fallen in with. using these incredible coincidences was popular for authors during dickenss time, but he uses it in a distinct way. while other authors of the period would use the method to further t

42、heir plot in their simple picturesque stories, dickenss took the approach that good will triumph over evil sometimes even in very unexpected ways and he used the method of incredible circumstances to show his outlook.2.2 the main story of oliver twistoliver twist, written in 1837-38, tells the story

43、 of an orphan boy, whose adventures provide a description of the lower depths of london. oliver twist is of unknown parentage. he is born in a workhouse and brought up under cruel conditions. the tyrant at whose hands he especially suffers is bumble, the parish beadle. after serving an unhappy appre

44、nticeship to an undertaker, he runs away to london, where he falls into the hands of a gang of thieves. the head of the gang is old fagin, and the other chief members are the burglar, bill sikes, his mistress nancy, and the artful dodger, a young pickpocket. every effort is made to convert oliver in

45、to a thief. he is rescued by the benevolent, rich mr. brownlow, but the thieves kidnap him, make him join them once again and participate in their foul dealings. a bad person named monks, hand in glove with the thieves, has somehow a special interest in keeping oliver in the gang. then oliver is mad

46、e to accompany bill sikes on a burgling expedition, in the course of which he receives a gun-shot wound, and comes into the hands of mrs. maylie and her protge rose, by whom he is kindly treated. after a time, nancy reveals to rose that monks knows olivers parentage, and wishes all proof of it destr

47、oyed; also that there is some relationship between oliver and rose herself. they make some inquiry about the matter. but fagin discovers nancys action and tells sikes, who, in a fit of rage, murders her. a hue and cry is raised. sikes, trying to escape, accidentally hangs himself and the rest of the

48、 gangs are arrested and fagin executed. monks is now compelled to confess what remains unknown. rose is the sister of olivers unfortunate mother. oliver is adopted by mr. brownlow. monks dies in prison. bumble, the cruel persecutor of oliver, ends his career in the workhouse over which he formerly r

49、uled.part three an analysis of nancys double characterthere are many different opinions on whether people are born well or bad. chinese confucianism says that all human are born with good nature. while the bible says that people all sinned to adam. in this novel, nancys character is complex and ambi

50、guous, and she is just like a unit of angle and evil. on the one hand, she has done numerous crimes under control of fagin as a young female thief. on the other hand, she tries all her best to help oliver out from the thief gang with the awareness of disgrace in herself and evil in her fellow gang,

51、gradually, she wakes up and regrets, stands up and defenses against evil and oppression. at last, she overcomes evil by making the sublimating of spirit and breakthrough of nature. its just this double nature that well reflects the reality at that time.3.1 nancy hold a candle to the devil 3.1.1 nanc

52、y is to bug and intercept oliverthe first thing which can prove her evil is her effort in the process of recapturing oliver twist. when oliver twist innocently goes out to “make handkerchiefs” because of no income coming in, with two of fagins underlings: the artful dodger and a boy of a humorous na

53、ture named charley bates, oliver realizes too late that their real mission is to pick pockets. dodger and charley steal the handkerchief of mr. brownlow, and promptly flee. to the judges evident disappointment, a bookstall holder who saw dodger commit the crime and clears oliver who now is sickness

54、and faints in the courtroom. mr. brownlow takes oliver home and along with his housekeeper mrs. bedwin cares for him. sikes and fagin worried that oliver might inform on them. so decides that oliver must be brought back to his hideout. they want to ask betsy go out in search of direction in which ol

55、iver has gone, but betsy unexpectedly tactful and cleverly refused. then they convinced nancy to find oliver and take him back, although she was reluctant to do this, she actually does a good job. she dressed like a gentlewoman so that she could easily get olivers information where oliver is from the policeman. she tells to sikes and fagin that oliver wasnt accused of thieving and removed to a gentlemans house. nancy knows that this means to bring oliver back to the hell again, she winds up attending it, presumably after physically threatened by fagin and sikes as she has the mind of list