1、Charles Dickens and Oliver Charles Dickens and Oliver TwistTwist英语12-03徐潇潇541208010323Charles Dickens（1812-1870）Charles Dickens is the greatest novelist of the Victorian Age,a master story-teller,Personal LifeCharles Dickens（1812-1870）was born at Portsmouth.His father，a poor clerk in the Navy Pay of
2、fice，was put into the Marshalsea(马歇尔希）Prison for debt when young Charles was only 11 years old.The son had to give up schooling to work in an underground cellar at a shoe-blacking factorya position he considered most humiliating(羞耻的）.The 11-year-old Dickens had to work ten hours each day in the fact
3、ory,and earned six shillings a week,pasting labels on the jars of thick polish.We find the bitter experiences of that suffering child reflected in many of Dickenss novels.In 1827,Charles entered a lawyers office，and two years later he became a Parliamentary reporter for newspapers.From 1833 Dickens
4、began to write occasional sketches of London life，which were later collected and published under the title Sketches by Boz(笔名）(1836).Soon The Posthumous（作者死后出版的）Papers of the Pickwick（匹克威客传主角）Club(1836-1837)appeared in monthly installments.And since then,his life became one of endless hard work.In h
5、is later years，he gave himself to public readings of his works，which brought plaudits(喝彩，赞扬)and comfort but also exhausted him.In 1870，this man of great heart and vitality died of overwork，leaving his last novel unfinished.Contribution to English literature He was one of the greatest critical realis
6、t writers of the Victorian Age and accomplished over twenty novels.Greatly with his efforts and accomplishments,Critical Realistic tradition was firmly established.He successfully portrayed a number of characters by presenting a lot of exact actions and words that fit these characters in their posit
7、ions and in their environments.His works博兹札记（Sketches by Boz）1836年 匹克威克外传（The Pickwick Papers）1836年 雾都孤儿（Oliver Twist）1837年-1839年 尼古拉斯尼克贝（Nicholas Nickleby）1838年-1839年 老古玩店（The Old Curiocity Shop）1840年-1841年 巴纳比拉奇（Barnaby Rudge）1841年 美国纪行（American Notes）1842年 圣诞颂歌（A Christmas Carol）1843年 马丁翟述伟（Marti
8、n Chuzzlewit）1843年-1844年 董贝父子（Dombey and Son）1846年-1848年 大卫科波菲尔（David Copperfield）1849年-1850年 写给孩子看的英国历史（A Childs History of England）1851年-1853年 荒凉山庄（Bleak House）1852年-1853年 艰难时世（Hard Times）1854年 小杜丽（Little Dorrit）1855年-1857年 双城记（A Tale of Two Cities）1859年 远大前程（Great Expectations）1860年-1861年 我们共同的朋友
9、（Our Mutual Friend）1864年-1865年 艾德温德鲁德之谜（The Mystery of Edwin Drood）未完成，1870年Oliver TwistOliver Twist was Dickens second novel,which marked the beginning of Dickens literary life.It began to appear in a monthly magazine.“I had perhaps the best subject I have ever thought of,I have thrown my whole hea
10、rt and soul into Oliver.”Purpose of this book That it s general purpose was clear in his mind was evident from his later-written preface.I wished to show,in little Oliver,the principle of Good Surviving through every adverse circumstance and triumphing at last.The companions among whom he was to be
11、tried were the criminals of Londons under-world.The author depicted it not in a romantic mood just as his contemporary novels,but showed much miserable reality.That reality was the great and enduring strength of the book.Dickens knew it a lot by close observation,which he had already demonst rated i
12、n,had newspaper sketches of London street s and criminal court.Also,there was another reason,that is,he knew it by his own experience.He was born in a provident way so even when he was very young,he suffered a lot.He knew those kinds of feeling and of course he could share the solitary childs pain,f
13、or he bewildered in those years when he hand labored hopelessly in the blacking-warehouse.As he said much later,himself might have become a little robber or a little vagabond.That period of time was so bitter and galling to this sensitive boy that many years later,when he was very successful,he coul
14、d not look back upon it without tears in his eyes.Maybe it was the main reason that why he took much more attention to common peoples lives and their feelings.Oliver twist(hero)Fagin(bad man)Nancy(kindness)Mr.brownlow(nice)happy lifeadoptedsavedtaught himto stealworksBill sikes(bad man)partnersMain
15、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,conciliatory and naturally good,quite defen
16、seless against the cruel and unscrupulous.Oliver lacks the capacities ordinarily expecte 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 becomes the prize for which the opposing
17、forces contend.He is more acted upon than acting.Fagin,a conniving career criminal.Fagin takes in homeless children and trains them to pick pockets for him.He is also a buyer of other peoples stolen goods.He rarely commits crimes himself,preferring to employ others to commit themand often suffer leg
18、al retributionin his place.Dickenss portrait of Fagin displays the influence of anti-Semitic stereotypes.Bill Sikes,a brutal professional burglar brought up in Fagins gang.Sikes and Nancy are lovers,and he treats both her and his dog Bulls-eye with an odd combination of cruelty and grudging familiar
19、ity.His murder of Nancy is the most heinous of the many crimes that occur in the novel.Monks,Olivers brother,did bad things to hurt Oliver.He wanted to get the legacies（遗产）left by his father alone.He paid Fagin to trap Oliver into a life of crime.In fact,they were all afraid of being put into prison
20、 and being hanged.They cant live happily.Nancy,a poor girl,loved a bad man.She had to help Bill Sikes perpetrate（作恶）,because she loved him.She had to be loyal to the criminal group,because she loved him.Actually,she was kind.She helped Oliver at the risk of her life.If she hadnt fell in love with Si
21、kes,she would have a happy ending.Mr.Brownlow,an old friend of Olivers father,took good care of Oliver.In the end,he and Oliver had a happy life.Plot and structure a.Oliver Twist a typical Dickens novel:the novel develops around a core of tangled intrigue that brings together a large number of peopl
22、e(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 resolution in the novel:dual conflicts in the novel the one between Mon
23、ks 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 burglary a turning point for Oliver whose fortunes steadily improve thereafter.(t
24、he 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 bloody deed the entire gang of criminals was destroyed.e.Liberal use of accidents and c
25、oincidence 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 Monks scar signs as recognition devices;evil brother,a destroyed will,assumed names,and the
26、 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 of fame and fortune for the sake of true love is a lofty tribute to virtuous sentiment.Although t
27、he 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.Themes The primary theme in Oliver Twist is the age-old battle between good and evil.As quoted in Enotes,Dickens once wrote that he wished
28、 to show,in little Oliver,the principle of good surviving through every adverse circumstance,and triumphing at last.To this end,the characters in the story tend to be rather single-dimensional,with a few exceptions,they are either very good or very bad.Characters like Oliver,Mr.Brownlow,and the Mayl
29、ies are virtuous,and those like Fagin,Monks,and Sikes are evil.A second theme in the book is the effect of British laws during the first half of the 1800s on the poor.Reasoning that the enactment of Poor Laws would save much money on the care of the indigent,the government confined those mired in po
30、verty in workhouses,where they were starved and mistreated with no avenue of redemption.These laws paradoxically resulted in the development of a seedy underground of crime,and rates of lawlessness soared.Alienation is another theme that the story explores in depth.Each of the characters are alienat
31、ed both from each other and society.As an orphan,Oliver is the stereotypical outcast,and,with the possible exception of Dick,the people in his life are only out for themselves.Although the good people in the story do share moments of community and trust,their numbers are small,and they are far outnu
32、mbered by their unscrupulous counterparts.Features of Dickens Novels a.Character sketches&exaggeration-vivid outward portrayal(1,900 characters in his novels);b.Broad humour&penetrating satire(Qian Zhongshu learned from him in this);c.Complicated&fascinating plot -major plots+minor plots/parallel ma
33、jor plots,suspense&mystery,happy ending (esp.earlier works);d.The power of exposure Novels:instrument of morality and justice(Trollope:“An author must entertain his readers,otherwise he will be worthless;meanwhile he should instruct them,whether he likes it or not.”The publication of Oliver Twist he
34、lped improve the living conditions of the workers in London);e.Advocation of humanism(love,tolerance,mercy and romantic realism.).Dickens artistic technique can be summarized as below:1.Dickens has a tendency to depict the grotesque(very odd or unusual,fantastically ugly or absurd)characters or even
35、ts.This is true in his characterization and in his description of scenes.Most of Dickens characters have a peculiar habit,manner,behavior,dress,and catch phrase of his or her own.Evidently in this respect,Dickens was under the influence of Ben Jonsons comedies of humours,in which each character has
36、his or her own peculiar humour.2.Dickens loves to instill life into inanimate things and to compare animate beings to inanimate things.For example,in Hard Times,he compares the up and down movement of engines in a factory to the head of an elephant in a state of melancholy madness,and the smoke in t
37、he air above to snakes trailing themselves for ever and ever.In Martin Chuzzlewit he compares the hypocritical Pecksniff to a direction post,which always points out the direction for other people to go but it never moves an inch towards the direction it is pointing.3.Dickens is noted for his descrip
38、tion of pathetic scenes that aim to arouse peoples sympathy.Pathos is a distinctive quality in Dickens writings.Though we may feel it affected,the readers of Dickens time had great love of pathetic scenes as they were fond of melodramas(传奇剧)which were very popular in their time and which are a kind
39、of naively sensational entertainment with the main character either excessively virtuous or excessively evil.Dickens knew what his readers liked,and he loved to avail himself of every opportunity to appeal to the emotions of his readers.Symbolism(multi-layer symbolism in the novel)a.Setting as symbo
40、ls The external evidence of neglect and decay their counterparts in 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 The chimney sweep Gamfield cruelty(purely symbo
41、lic figure with no plot function);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
42、 novel are described as“fat”.Style a.luxuriant style verbose rhetoric(冗长的修辞）.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)讽刺的 humour
