“The beliefs that Dickens held, were so strong that he could not help but to portray them in his writings.” Charles Dickens influenced the fictional story Oliver Twist through his perception of the era, understanding of the individual and self realization. There are several aspects in which Dickens influenced the story. His strong political beliefs, dreadful childhood, unfortunate time period, and strong morals are among a number of of the various methods induced by Dickens.
The workhouse conditions that were common during the Victorian Era were quite appalling, and as a workhouse boy, Dickens quickly learned what it was like when experienced firsthand. The “shocking conditions of the factory that made an ingrained impression on Dickens” is clearly portrayed in Oliver Twist. The conditions in which Oliver is forced to work in are just as poor as the conditions that Dickens worked in for many years. Just as Oliver had been orphaned and left alone, “Dickens had felt abandoned by his own family when his father was imprisoned and his mother wished to keep him working in the blacking warehouse”. Furthermore, many young boys were either provided no alternate option to slaving away in the poor conditions of workhouses, of felt obliged to help support their family. Moreover, many young men worked hard to escape the grasps of poverty, sadly many failed at the task. The small living quarters supplied to the workers were of wretched condition, as described by Dickens: “Now, these tumbling tenements contain by night, a swarm of misery, As on the ruined human wretch, vermin parasites appear, so these ruined shelters have bred a crowd of foul existence that crawls in and out of gaps in walls and boards; and calls itself to sleep, in maggot numbers, where the rain drips in; and comes and goes, fetching and carrying fever..” Simply stated, the conditions witnessed by Dickens directly impact the character Oliver Twist and his experiences throughout the book.
The location of Dickens’s birth and his childhood town gave him an insight on the dark, crime oriented conduct of the lower class. He lives during the new Industrial Era, which created misery for the class of low-paid workers. Furthermore, both Dickens and Oliver were born to middle to upper class families. However, Dickens’s family went into debt and gave him insight on what it was like to be poor. Likewise, Oliver was born to an upper class family but his true identity was hidden due to the corrupt nature of the government at the time. Moreover, the dramatic moral strains led many young children to think of themselves as lesser beings. Dickens “thought of himself as a very small and not-over-particularly taken care of boy.” This is mirrored in the story by Oliver silently accepting his dreadful fate as if he had deserved it. Furthermore, the early life experiences of Charles Dickens led to his strong views on the industrial-era workhouses, and the various unfortunate qualities that were a component of them.
The strong social beliefs during the time period of Dickens also directly affect the story. A clear example of this is Oliver’s Mother, Agnes Fleming. Due to the illicit nature of her love affair with Oliver’s father, Mr. Leeford she chooses to die alone in a workhouse rather than stain her family’s reputation. This is the main basis for the conflict in the story. Furthermore, the social beliefs of the time had quite a vast effect on the story. The poor treatment towards the lower class is also a directly influenced by the social standards of the time. Poor citizens were viewed as less than human. They were greatly despised by the general public, thus the creation of the poor laws, which focuses on getting poor people off the streets and into jobs. Consequently, the strong social beliefs outlined many of the conflicts present in Oliver Twist.
The strong morals held by Dickens were portrayed in Oliver Twist through the means of Oliver’s strong force of innocence and sense of good. “The many obstacles Oliver faces symbolize the concept of good versus evil, with the evil continually trying to corrupt and exploit the good.” Moreover, Oliver is caught in a constant struggle of good versus evil. He has a strong child-like innocence combined with morally being a good person. The combination of these two factors assists in him partaking in activities, that unbeknownst to him, are criminal and immoral. Both Dickens and Oliver held very strong morals, thus prioritized the beliefs that they held most dearly. As stated, the sturdy moral beliefs of Dickens are portrayed in the story.
Dickens felt that both the government and the church failed the people which they governed. The policies adopted to deal with the lower class citizens, fittingly named the “poor laws”, did nothing to help the populace escape poverty. Moreover, the unjust laws gave way for corruption in government. The ideas of repairing the atrocious system failed miserably, as stated by Dickens, “Night after night I record predictions that never come to pass, professions that are never fulfilled, explanations that are only meant to mystify.” Furthermore, these corrupt and unjust ways are displayed in the story through Mr. Bumble, Old Sally, Mrs. Corney, Mrs. Mann and Mr. Fang. Furthermore, Dickens strongly opposed the poor laws, which made public aid intolerable. The unjust and dramatic laws created the stimulus for the crime infestation and poor living conditions present in the book. This led to the rise of criminal activates and the motivation for people to partake in them. Furthermore, the shockingly low standards of lower class living allowed naive young children who were eager to escape poverty suspect to being lured into the life of crime. Moreover, it was not uncommon for children to lack mothers or other positive influences in their life, thus opening opportunities for criminals to become role models. This is portrayed in the story by Oliver partaking in the criminal activities of Fagin’s gang. Dickens strongly opposed the luring of young children into the life of crime, one of the many reasons he greatly opposed the poor laws. Dickens explained in the preface to the 3rd edition that he wanted to portray criminals realistically because he wanted to show how easily young harmless children could be dragged into the net of crime that could only lead to their transportation or death. Thereupon, the political beliefs held by Dickens led way to the portrayal of society in the book.
The perceptions of the era, understand of the individual and self realization blatantly had an effect on the fictional story Oliver Twist. If it was not for the strong beliefs held by Dickens, the people in his life and the dramatic experiences of his social age, many characters and conflicts would not exist to intensify and drive the story. Charles Dickens embodied part of himself, his era and his experiences with the story Oliver Twist.