Olivers life Essays

Olivers life Essays Olivers life Essay Olivers life Essay After nine years with Mrs Mann, Oliver is moved to the workhouse to undergo even more pain and suffering where the boys are so hungry that one boy says he is scared that he will eat the boy that sleeps next to him. Eventually the starving boys decide that one of them will ask for more at the next meal and they come up with a way of deciding it and, as it turns out, Oliver gets the short straw and ends up saying Please sir, I want some more. Mr Bumble almost cant believe what Oliver has said and his face turns pale and he stumbles and clings for support. This is one of the most important parts of Olivers life because it changes the path of his life completely. Straight away he is marched down to the market by Mr Bumble offering Oliver together with five pounds. Eventually they come across Mr Gamfield, a vicious chimney-sweep who offers to take Oliver on as an apprentice for 5 pounds which is later lowered to 3. Mr. Bumble, Mr. Gamfield, and Oliver appear before a magistrate to sign the documents for Oliver to be taken. At the last minute, when he was looking for his inkbottle to sign the document, the magistrate notices Olivers pale face. He asks the boy why he looks so petrified. Oliver tells the magistrate that he would rather be beaten or killed rather than being an apprentice to Mr. Gamfield. The magistrate refuses to allow Oliver to be an apprentice. This is also a big turning point in Olivers life as a hint of fate comes in that if the ink bottle had been in the right place he would have been a chimney-sweep but he is put back for sale again and a kind undertaker called Mr Sowerberry takes him on trial for one week. His wife, Mrs Sowerberry, is not a very nice person and as soon as Oliver enters the shop she remarks that he is very small, only for Mr Bumble to assure her that he will grow but she isnt happy and says I dare say he will on our bittles and our drink and complaining that the workhouse boys always cost more than they are worth. Mr Sowerberry points out that Oliver is a good-looking boy and would make a good mute in proportion. This is the only time we get told about Olivers facial features this links back to the beginning of the book where Oliver is branded and described as it.  Noah Claypole works under the Sowerberrys he is slightly higher in the hierarchy of the lower class yet he still has a go at Oliver just because he has some little form of power. He keeps saying to Oliver Hows your mother, Workhouse Oliver tries to be nonchalant about this and gets on with his job even though it is bothering him. Eventually Noah gets on his nerves so much by saying your mother, she was a nice one, a regular right down bad one. Its a good thing she died when she did otherwise shed be in prison doing hard labour even though Noah doesnt have a clue who Olivers mum is. Eventually Oliver lashes out at him and jumps on him and starts punching him. Noah is a coward because he starts screaming to get people in the room and when two people have Oliver pinned Noah takes two cowardly cheap shots from behind. Then Noah runs to get Mr Bumble from the Workhouse and they lock Oliver in the cellar until they can decide what to do with him. In the cellar Oliver escapes and decides to walk to London and there he finds Jack Dawkins, more commonly known as The Artful Dodger. Oliver tells him that he has come to London to make his fortune. At this The Dodger says I suppose youll want some place to sleep tonight and this takes Olivers fancy since he has no lodgings and no money and so he agrees. The Dodger says as it happens I know a rather kind and respectable gentleman wholl give you lodgings for nothing. Oliver follows him to Fagins hideout where the children are sat around playing cards, smoking and drinking gin. Fagin is a good man that bad things have happened to and Oliver is very grateful because he would have probably died of starvation if Fagin had refused to take him in. Fagin then tells Oliver to make The Artful Dodger his role model because hes going to be a right little Bill Sykes. During Olivers first night he wakes up and sees Fagin looking at all his stolen treasure. Fagin then gets really concious that Oliver will tell the authorities and so he threatens him with a knife to the throat. The next day Oliver wants to go on his first job with The Dodger, so Fagin thinks it over and agrees. During the job The Dodger steals an elderly mans wallet who we later know as Mr Brownlow and he mistakes Oliver for The Dodger as Oliver wasnt ready to run away. Mr Brownlow gets the police to chase after him and eventually the police catch him and take him to the magistrates, or the beaks as The Dodger refers to them. Then Fagin starts yelling at The Dodger saying, why didnt you look after him, why didnt you bring him back This shows that Fagin is very worried because Oliver could tell the police everything about Fagin and his associates so Fagin and Bill Sykes decide to send Nancy to the court hearing. In the hearing the magistrate is drinking behind his desk and doesnt care what anybody says which mirrors the surgeon and the drunk nurse at the begging of the novel. Eventually the shop owner from outside where the robbery took place comes in and says it wasnt Oliver but another boy all the charges are dropped. Mr Brownlow decides to adopt Oliver and all the parts of Olivers life are falling right into place. It then gets even better when Mr Brownlow comes across a necklace that he gave to his niece for her 18th birthday one that was taken off her by a drunk nurse at her death when she gave birth to young Oliver. Fagin is still not convinced that Oliver wont tell the police of his wearabouts so they decide to kidnapp Oliver, which completley rips his troubled life apart, just as it was beginning to come-together.  Unlike other characters throughout the book Nancy is not entirely good. She has battles between her inner conscience and her devotion to  Bill Sykes. Nancy cares for Oliver so overwhelmingly she tries to take Oliver back to Mr Brownlow and it results in her death. Eventually Bill Sykes is killed trying to escape after everybody comes to try to save Oliver.  This book changed peoples opinion towards the poor and the rich people loved reading it and couldnt wait for the next issue to come out every month.