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1、Oliver Twist, one of the most famousworks of Charles Dickens, is a novel reflecting the tragic fact of the life in Britain in 19thcentury. IntroductionLifetime worksOliver TwistsGreat Expectations? Great Expectations ?Oliver Twist?A Christmas Carol?Hard Times?A Tale of Two Cities?David Coperfield? W

2、orks by Charles Dickens?雾都孤儿雾都孤儿?圣诞颂歌圣诞颂歌?双城记双城记?艰难时世艰难时世?远大前程远大前程?大卫大卫科波菲尔科波菲尔?Lifetimes Works The first period (1836-1841) 特点：特点：youthful optimism?博兹札记博兹札记? Sketches by Boz ?匹克威克外传匹克威克外传? The Pickwick Papers ?雾都孤儿雾都孤儿? Oliver Twist ?尼古拉斯尼古拉斯尼克贝尼克贝? Nicholas Nickleby ?老古玩店老古玩店? The Old Curiocity Sh

3、op ?巴纳比巴纳比拉奇拉奇? Barnaby Rudge The second period (1842-1851)特点：excitement and irritation ?美国纪行? American Notes ?圣诞颂歌? A Christmas Carol ?马丁翟述伟? Martin Chuzzlewit ?教堂钟声? The Chimes) ?灶上蟋蟀? The Cricket on the Hearth) ?董贝父子? Dombey and Son ? 大卫科波菲尔 ? David Copperfield the third period1851-1870特点：intensi

4、fying pessimism ?写给孩子看的英国历史? A Childs History of England ?荒凉山庄? Bleak House ?艰难时世? Hard Times ?小杜丽? Little Dorrit ? 双城记 ? A Tale of Two Cities ?远大前程? Great Expectations ?我们共同的朋友? Our Mutual Friend ?艾德温德鲁德之谜? The Mystery of Edwin Drood 未完成why he wrote this book ? In 1830, the wealth assumed the poor

5、were uncontrollable. So state cared their existence only when they committed crimes. The Poor Laws also caused some problems : the children uneducated, the lower class population starving and so on. Main Characters Oliver Twist: an orphan who has grown up in the workhouse Mr. Bumble: an officer of t

6、he workhouse who is callous and selfish Mr. Brownlow: a real gentleman who is kind-hearted Fagin: a Jew who trains some children to steal things for him Sikes: a ferocious thief who is familiar with Fagin Oliver Twist was an orphan lived in workhouse. Life there was so hard that Oliver escaped to Lo

7、ndon. However, he was controlled by Fagin to steal things. Olive was soon saved incidentally. Then he lived a happy life just for a short time as he was caught to Fagin again. But at last, Oliver lived a permanent happy life! Oliver Twist is Charles Dickenss second novel and also is the first novel

8、in the English language to centre throughout on a child protagonist and is also notable for Dickenss unromantic portrayal of criminals and their sordid lives.Oliver Twist is about a boy named Oliver Twist, who escapes from an orphanage(孤儿院孤儿院 and meets a gang of pickpocketers(扒扒手手 in London. The nov

9、el is one of Dickenss most well-known works, and has been the subject of numerous film and television adaptations.Please, sir, I want some more .Oliver is wondering whether he should go to London.Oliver finally decides to run away. He wanders aimlessly for a time, until a well-placed milestone sets

10、his wandering feet towards London.When Oliver is punched and beated some kindhearted person help and protect him. In Oliver Twist , Oliver, an innocent child, is trapped in a world where his only alternatives seem to be the workhouse, Fagins thieves, a prison, or an early grave. Oliver remains pure-

11、hearted; he steers away from evil when those around him give in to it; and, in proper fairy-tale fashion, he eventually receives his reward leaving for a peaceful life in the country, surrounded by kind friends. On the way to this happy ending, Dickens explores the kind of life an orphan . Please,si

12、r,I want some more The bowls never wanted washing.The boys polished them with their spoons.Charles Dickens Preface to OTBut I had never met (except in HOGARTH) withthe miserable reality. It appeared to me that todraw a knot of such associates in crime as really did exist; to paint in them in all the

13、ir deformity, in all their wretchedness, in all the squalid misery of their lives; to show them as they really were, forever skulking uneasily through the dirtiest paths of life, with the great black ghastly gallows closingup their prospect, turn them where they might; it appeared to me that to do t

14、his, would be to attempt a something which was needed, at which would be a service to society. And I did it as I best could. reveal the ugly masks of those cruel criminals and to expose the horror and violence hidden underneath the narrow and dirty streets in London. Main CharactersOliver Twist- The

15、 main character of the story, Oliver is an affection-starved little boy who will not commit crimes. He was abused as a young child, and only wants to be loved. His adventures make him the best of friends and the worst of enemies. Fagin- The main antagonist in the story, “The Jew takes Oliver under h

16、is wing and tries to make a pickpocket out of him. He is a powerful crime leader who has an affection for only money and will kill anyone who stands in his way. Nancy- A woman who works for Fagin and tries to help Oliver which eventually leads to her death. he is passionate, caring, and loves Sikes,

17、 who eventually kills her. Mr. Brownlow- A man who Olivers thief friends rob on the street. He takes Oliver in, and discovers his true parentage. * Oliver Twist (1837-1838)The story Oliver Twist, an orphan born and raised in a workhouse, is apprenticed at 9 to an undertaker. Suffering maltreatment,

18、Oliver runs away and heads for London. On the way he is picked up by a group of thieves and is drilled in the art of picking pockets. once out for theft, Oliver is rescued by Mr. Brownlow, a kind old gentleman. But soon Oliver is recaptured by the gang. Fagin, the head of the gang, tries to1. involv

19、e Oliver in some crime. So he convinces Bill Sikes, a vicious criminal, to use Oliver in a major burglary. The attempt fails, and Oliver is wounded and rescued by Mrs. Maylie. Meanwhile a person named Monks is angry with Fagin for failing to trick Oliver into a lawless life. When they are planning n

20、ew tricks, Nancy, one of the gang members, goes to tell everything to Olivers rescuers. At this time Mr. Bownlow has managed to know about Monks and Oliver. Nancy is found out and is killed by Bill. In the final chase, Fagin is arrested and sentenced to be hanged. Bill accidentally hangs himself. Th

21、e novel ends happily with Oliver getting his due property and being adopted by Mr. Brownlow and other rewards for the good and punishment for the evil. 2. Setting a. A suggestively unwholesome background: (The story of Oliver Twist is a dark tale generated by vice, degradation and terror) slime and

22、filth / dismal atmosphere heightened by the elements: bitterly cold weather, rain and fog; b. Night activities: the criminals live in gloom, and the only period of sustained brightness is during summer months when Oliver stays with the Maylies at their rural cottage. c. The main concern of the novel

23、: poverty and crime - the harvest of social dereliction. The outcasts of society lurk amid crumbling ruins that are expressive of tottering institutions that have helped to deform their lives (the constant words “neglect & “decay). It has been the neglect of human values that has fostered the sp

24、iritual decay. 3. Main characters Oliver Twist The titular hero of the novel, Oliver is the natural son of Edwin Leeford and Agnes Fleming. He is a pallid, unrealized figure. Authorial assertion, instead of his own behaviour, decides upon his character. He is shown to be quiet, yielding, conciliator

25、y and naturally good, quite defenseless against the cruel and unscrupulous. Oliver lacks the capacities ordinarily expected in a protaganist, whose acts and decisions usu. have some influence on the course of events. Instead of being an active participant in the shaping of his own destiny, Oliver be

26、comes the prize for which the opposing forces contend. He is more acted upon than acting. Monks Olivers brother and major persecutor. He is a dark, sinister figure who lurks ominously in the background during much of the novel, only appearing occasionally and suddenly. He controls Fagin by exploitin

27、g the latters avarice. He typifies a kind of festering evil that works under the surface. Monks also reveals the bad influence of a tainted environment in his case the greed and ill-will of an unworthy mother. Dickens shows with such a figure that it is not poverty alone that results in mutilation o

28、f the human spirit, but the absence of benevolence and affection. Fagin The master mind among the criminals, Fagin is ugly in appearance and repulsive in disposition. Dickens displays in Fagin some of the complexities of normal human nature: he is shrewd, reflective, extremely self-controlling, sava

29、ge and sardonically humorous. Though basically depraved and evil, he could reveal occasionally a tincture of human feeling, as in the case of his warning Oliver of Sikes cruelty. Sikes A brutal criminal. He is bestial, despotic, irrational, losing every sign of human sensitivity or tenderness. Stupi

30、d rather than courageous, he openly scorns the sly Fagin and finally, stirred up by the latter, murders his only friend Nancy. Nancy Though a member of the gang, Nancy still keeps in her a dormant tendency toward good. This reveals itself in her saving Oliver though she knows that by doing this her

31、own position is hopeless. Her own refusal to escape shows her to be a lamentable figure: a basically good person who has drifted so far from honest ways that no return is possible. Rose Maylie A typical example of unblemished Dickensian womanhood an angel-like figure: worthy, incorruptible and untai

32、nted by human complexity and inconsistency. She could also be compassionate towards Oliver and humane towards Nancy when they are in normally repellent situations. Brownlow A person of kindness, generosity and benevolence, Brownlow also shows a character of diverse traits he could be impatient and c

33、urt, and is not always paying enough regard to legal and ethical means in the pursuit of his objectives. Brownlow is an activist and the acknowledged leader of the honorable company gathered around Oliver. 4. Plot and structure a. Oliver Twist a typical Dickens novel: the novel develops around a cor

34、e of tangled intrigue that brings together a large number of people (though on the surface their paths do not seem likely to cross) the interrelatedness of the people. The attendant complications and their unraveling contribute a large measure of mystery and suspense b. Characteristic conflict and r

35、esolution in the novel: dual conflicts in the novel the one between Monks and Oliver; the one between Fagin and Sikes. Through his conspiracy with Monks, Fagin is involved in both conflicts and converges the two lines of tumultuous actions. c. The climax of Olivers trials: The abortive Chertsey burg

36、lary a turning point for Oliver whose fortunes steadily improve thereafter. (the crisis is more of Fagins decision than of Olivers own volition). d. The crisis of the conflict between Fagin and Sikes: Fagins step of having Nancy spied upon leads directly to the climax of girls murder. With the blood

37、y deed the entire gang of criminals was destroyed. e. Liberal use of accidents and coincidence to draw the numerous persons into the current of events. f. Characteristics of melodrama: the free injection of the quality of pathos (as in the case of “little Dick); the portrait of Olivers mother and Mo

38、nks scar signs as recognition devices; evil brother, a destroyed will, assumed names, and the discovery of unknown relatives. g. The romantic subplot melodrama: In the contest between the dark and light forces of the book, the maiden stands out in dazzling white purity. The wooers noble renunciation

39、 of fame and fortune for the sake of true love is a lofty tribute to virtuous sentiment. Although the romance is hardly integral to the plot, it does defer to established literary tradition and provides a center of interest for bringing the book to a conclusion. 5. Ideas (many interrelated ideas in

40、the novel) a. Preoccupation with the miseries of poverty (indicative of this is the motif of hunger) and the spread of its degrading effects through society (crime as one of its vile consequences). b. Crime the by-product of poverty: a dehumanizing evil (criminals in the book are painfully alienated

41、 from the society). c. Stress on the elevating influence of a wholesome environment: the power of benevolence to overcome depravity. 6. Symbolism (multi-layer symbolism in the novel) a. Setting as symbols (apart from its plot function): the external evidence of neglect and decay their counterparts i

42、n society and in the hearts of men; the dark deeds and passions dim rooms, smoke, fog, and dark nights; the mood of terror and brutality frequent rain and cold weather. b. Characters as symbols (apart from its plot function): The chimney sweep Gamfield cruelty (purely symbolic figure with no plot fu

43、nction); Brownlow the symbol of benevolence. c. Gestures of persons as symbols: Bumbles fondness for his three-cornered hat devotion to an empty authoritarianism. d. Allusion to obesity: symbol for hunger in an inverse fashion (by calling attention to its absence) Many people in the novel are descri

44、bed as “fat. 7. Style a. luxuriant style verbose rhetoric It might be displeasing to some of the modern tastes, but quite suited the tastes of his contemporary readers (marked with slow pace of life, publication by installment which means the need to make scenes unforgettable in order to keep readers interest); b. (sardonic) humour8. Selected readings Chapter 2-3: