RICK VAN
SPLUNTER
V4a
OLIVER TWIST
Charles Dickens
592 pages
,Content
Reason....................................................................................................................................................2
Summary................................................................................................................................................2
Autor information...................................................................................................................................5
Title & Characters...................................................................................................................................6
1
, Reason
I have chosen this book because I had already heard of it a long time ago. I think in the first class we
had a lesson about Charles Dickens, the famous English writer. I have also read other books from
Tolkien, for example David Copperfield and A tale of two cities. I did like that books, so I thought that
this might be that good as well. Dickens writes in such a way that you are in the story, he describes so
many details, you exactly know the environment the protagonist is in. It isn’t just a flat story about a
poor boy, it goes further. I have read it because I wanted to know how the life of Oliver went, I only
had heard from the first part, from his birth till he arrived in London.
Summary
Oliver Twist's mother dies after the birth of her child in a workhouse. The infant's
father is unknown, and the orphan is placed in a private juvenile home. After nine
years of mistreatment, the boy is returned to the workhouse for even more abuse.
After representing his fellow sufferers in an attempt to get more food, Oliver is
punished and is apprenticed to Sowerberry, an undertaker. Noah Claypole, a charity
boy working for Oliver's master, goads Oliver to rebellion, for which Oliver is savagely
flogged. Consequently, Oliver runs away and heads for London.
Near London, Oliver joins company with John Dawkins, The Artful Dodger, a
questionable character who brings the boy to Fagin, the ringleader of a gang of
criminals. Instructed in the "art" of picking pockets, Oliver goes out with Charles
Bates and the Dodger. His companions pick an old gentleman's pocket and flee, and
Oliver is arrested for their offense. At the police station, the terrified boy is cleared by
the testimony of the bookseller who witnessed the theft. Oliver collapses and is taken
home by Mr. Brownlow, the victim of the crime.
While Oliver recovers at his benefactor's home, Brownlow is puzzled by the
resemblance between Oliver's features and the portrait of a young woman. Fagin is
apprehensive and furious at Oliver's rescue. Nancy, one of his trusty retainers, is set
on the boy's trail as the gang shifts headquarters.
Mr. Grimwig, Brownlow's friend, has no faith in Oliver, so Oliver is sent on an errand
to test his honesty. The boy is recaptured by Nancy and her friend Bill Sikes, a
vicious lawbreaker. Oliver is restored to Fagin, who holds him in strict captivity for a
while. In the meantime, Bumble, a minor parish official from Oliver's birthplace,
answers Brownlow's advertisement inquiring about Oliver. Bumble turns Oliver's
benefactor against him by grossly misrepresenting the boy's history and character.
Eager to get Oliver completely in his power by thoroughly involving the child in some
crime, Fagin convinces Bill Sikes to use Oliver in a major burglary that is being
planned. Sikes takes Oliver westward through the city to a rendezvous near Chertsey
with Toby Crackit.
At the house that is to be burglarized, Oliver is hoisted through a small window. The
occupants are aroused and in the resulting melee, Oliver is shot. The robbers run off
with the wounded Oliver but abandon him in a ditch.
2
SPLUNTER
V4a
OLIVER TWIST
Charles Dickens
592 pages
,Content
Reason....................................................................................................................................................2
Summary................................................................................................................................................2
Autor information...................................................................................................................................5
Title & Characters...................................................................................................................................6
1
, Reason
I have chosen this book because I had already heard of it a long time ago. I think in the first class we
had a lesson about Charles Dickens, the famous English writer. I have also read other books from
Tolkien, for example David Copperfield and A tale of two cities. I did like that books, so I thought that
this might be that good as well. Dickens writes in such a way that you are in the story, he describes so
many details, you exactly know the environment the protagonist is in. It isn’t just a flat story about a
poor boy, it goes further. I have read it because I wanted to know how the life of Oliver went, I only
had heard from the first part, from his birth till he arrived in London.
Summary
Oliver Twist's mother dies after the birth of her child in a workhouse. The infant's
father is unknown, and the orphan is placed in a private juvenile home. After nine
years of mistreatment, the boy is returned to the workhouse for even more abuse.
After representing his fellow sufferers in an attempt to get more food, Oliver is
punished and is apprenticed to Sowerberry, an undertaker. Noah Claypole, a charity
boy working for Oliver's master, goads Oliver to rebellion, for which Oliver is savagely
flogged. Consequently, Oliver runs away and heads for London.
Near London, Oliver joins company with John Dawkins, The Artful Dodger, a
questionable character who brings the boy to Fagin, the ringleader of a gang of
criminals. Instructed in the "art" of picking pockets, Oliver goes out with Charles
Bates and the Dodger. His companions pick an old gentleman's pocket and flee, and
Oliver is arrested for their offense. At the police station, the terrified boy is cleared by
the testimony of the bookseller who witnessed the theft. Oliver collapses and is taken
home by Mr. Brownlow, the victim of the crime.
While Oliver recovers at his benefactor's home, Brownlow is puzzled by the
resemblance between Oliver's features and the portrait of a young woman. Fagin is
apprehensive and furious at Oliver's rescue. Nancy, one of his trusty retainers, is set
on the boy's trail as the gang shifts headquarters.
Mr. Grimwig, Brownlow's friend, has no faith in Oliver, so Oliver is sent on an errand
to test his honesty. The boy is recaptured by Nancy and her friend Bill Sikes, a
vicious lawbreaker. Oliver is restored to Fagin, who holds him in strict captivity for a
while. In the meantime, Bumble, a minor parish official from Oliver's birthplace,
answers Brownlow's advertisement inquiring about Oliver. Bumble turns Oliver's
benefactor against him by grossly misrepresenting the boy's history and character.
Eager to get Oliver completely in his power by thoroughly involving the child in some
crime, Fagin convinces Bill Sikes to use Oliver in a major burglary that is being
planned. Sikes takes Oliver westward through the city to a rendezvous near Chertsey
with Toby Crackit.
At the house that is to be burglarized, Oliver is hoisted through a small window. The
occupants are aroused and in the resulting melee, Oliver is shot. The robbers run off
with the wounded Oliver but abandon him in a ditch.
2
