Essay About Oliver Twist And Great Expectations

Great Expectations and Oliver Twist
Essay title: Great Expectations and Oliver Twist
Great Expectations and Oliver Twist
During his lifetime, Charles Dickens is known to have written several books. Although
each book is different, they also share many similarities. Two of his books, Great
Expectations and Oliver Twist, are representatives of the many kinds of differences and
similarities found within his work..
Perhaps the reason why these two novels share some of the same qualities is because they
both reflect painful experiences which occurred in Dickens past. During his childhood,
Charles Dickens suffered much abuse from his parents.1 This abuse is often expressed in
his novels. Pip, in Great Expectations, talked often about the abuse he received at the
hands of his sister, Mrs. Joe Gargery. On one occasion he remarked, I soon found myself
getting heavily bumped from behind in the nape of the neck and the small of the back, and
having my face ignominously shoved against the wall, because I did not answer those
questions at sufficient length.2
While at the orphanage, Oliver from Oliver Twist also experienced a great amount of
abuse. For example, while suffering from starvation and malnutrition for a long period of
time, Oliver was chosen by the other boys at the orphanage to request more gruel at
dinner one night. After making this simple request, the master (at the orphanage) aimed a
blow at Olivers head with the ladle; pinioned him in his arms; and shrieked aloud for
the beadle.3
The whole beginning of Oliver Twists story was created from memories which related to
Charles Dickens childhood in a blacking factory (which was overshadowed by the
Marshalsea Prison).4 While working in the blacking factory, Dickens suffered tremendous
humiliation. This humiliation is greatly expressed through Olivers adventures at the
orphanage before he is sent away.
Throughout his lifetime, Dickens appeared to have acquired a fondness for the bleak, the
sordid, and the austere.5 Most of Oliver Twist, for example, takes place in Londons
lowest slums.6 The city is described as a maze which involves a mystery of darkness,
anonymity, and peril.7 Many of the settings, such as the pickpockets hideout, the
surrounding streets, and the bars, are also described as dark, gloomy, and bland.8
Meanwhile, in Great Expectations, Miss Havishams house is often made to sound
depressing, old, and lonely. Many of the objects within the house had not been touched or
moved in many years. Cobwebs were clearly visible as well as an abundance of dust, and
even the wedding dress, which Miss Havisham constantly wore, had turned yellow with
age.9
However, similarities are not just found in the settings. The novels two main
characters, Pip and Oliver, are also similar in many ways. Both young boys were orphaned
practically from birth; but where Pip is sent to live with and be abused by his sister,
Oliver is sent to live in an orphanage. Pip is a very curious young boy. He is a child of
intense and yearning fancy.10 Yet, Oliver is well spoken. Even while his life was in
danger while in the hands of Fagin and Bill Sikes, two conniving pickpockets, he refused
to participate in the stealing which he so greatly opposed. All Oliver really longed for
was to escape from harsh living conditions and evil surroundings which he had grown up
in.11 However, no matter how tempting the evil may have been, Oliver stood by his
beliefs.