Oliver Twist

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for nothink." (51). The "respectable old gentleman" is none other than Fagin, a crafty, old, shriveled scoundrel who enriches himself by teaching outcast boys how to steal. It's unsettling to witness the calculated manipulation of the trusting and impressionable Oliver into the world of petty crime. And, it isn't only Fagin who spreads evil among the cast-off waifs of London. There is someone viler, someone even Fagin fears; Bill Sikes, a brute and a murderer. He has his own criminal pursuits with the little hero in mind. Through many a "Twist," and the help from a wealthy benefactor, Mr. Brownlow, Oliver manages to escape the clutches of Nineteenth Century Victorian London - for a time.
Oliver is generally quiet and shy, rather than aggressive. But when he is nine years old he does two bold things that change his life. At the workhouse he asks for more food: "Please sir, I want some more." (12), and when he's an apprentice he beats up Noah Claypole and runs away: "I ...

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the plan is known. And in the same manner, it is evident that Mr. Brownlow is a good man when he kindly defends Oliver before Mr. Fang, and then carries him home to care for him. Thus, throughout the "twists" and turns of Oliver's life, he discovers that good people are successful, and evil ones are punished.
is written in many different styles. At times the dialogue is lean and dramatic, as for instance, during Nancy's murder: "She staggered and nearly fell: nearly blinded with the blood that rained down from a deep gash on her forehead�" (327). The story develops quickly, and there are very few descriptive details that aren't directly related to the murder. Similarly, when ...

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