Oliver Twist Essays (2313 words) - Charles Dickens, John Dickens

Oliver Twist Have you ever thought about how it would be to live in a time of poverty? How would life be if you were poor and did not know from where you would be getting your next meal? What would it be like to be forced to live in a workhouse? These are some of the questions you might ask yourself if you were living in early nineteenth century England. Dickens addresses these issues in his timeless masterpiece Oliver Twist. In the story of Oliver Twist, Dickens uses past experiences from his childhood and targets the Poor Law of 1834 which renewed the importance of the workhouse as a means of relief for the poor. Dickens' age was a period of industrial development marked by the rise of the middle class (Wagenknecht 219). In the elections brought about by the accession of William IV in 1830, the Tories lost control of the government. Assumption of power by the Whigs opened the way to an era of accelerated progress (Kaste 8). In this time period children worked just as much, if not more, than some of the adults. After 1833, an increased amount of legislation was enacted to control the hours of labor and working conditions for children and women in manufacturing plants. The Poor Law of 1834 provided that all able bodied paupers must reside in a workhouse (8). Widespread hostility was felt to the new law; many believed that life was harder in a workhouse than in prison (Rooke 22). The plan was successful from one standpoint, for within three years the cost of poor relief was reduced by more than one-third. However, this system was sharply censured. The increased prevalence of crime was attributed towards it. Inmates of the workhouses became objects of public stigma, and to further heighten the unpopularity of the institutions, living conditions were deliberately made harsh (Kaste 8). Poverty was at it's peak around this time in England. Houses were overcrowded, packed together in narrow streets and courts which were often piled deep in rotting refuse (Rooke 33). New problems of food and public health were faced by a parliamentary and economic system which was better suited to the eighteenth century. On June 20, 1837, Queen Victoria came to the throne of England as the long period of middle class ascendancy was gaining momentum (Kaste 8). The Victorian age, which this time period is often referred, comes from Queen Victoria. In 1840, it was thought that only twenty percent of the children of London had any form of schooling. The 1840s were years of crises. The character on English life was being transformed by industrial expansion and by great movements of population towards urban life. Charles Dickens was born in Landport, Portsea, on February 7, 1812. He was the second son of John Dickens. John Dickens was a clerk in the Navy pay office. His improvidence would eventually lead to imprisonment in the Marshalsea, a debtor's prison for debt (Hardy 41). As a child Charles Dickens explored London and the fascination that he felt for this booming city remained with him throughout his life (Rooke 15). Dickens received his first instruction from his mother and later attended regular schools in Chatham. When John Dickens, his wife, and their four children went to the debtor's prison, Charles Dickens didn't go. He soon became intimate with his father's small collection of literary classics. He also revealed early signs of genius. Dickens' recollections of early life were centered in Kent and he often regarded himself as a member of that region (Kaste 9). Dickens was sent to work at the age of twelve in Worren's Blacking Warehouse. After his father's release he went back to school.. When school was complete he went to work in an attorney's office. He spent much of his time exploring the busy and varied life of London and decided to become a journalist. He mastered a difficult system of shorthand and by March 1832, at the age of twenty, he was a general and parliamentary reporter. In 1829 he met and soon fell in love with Maria Bendnell, but her parents found him socially inferior (Hardy 41). Not long after, in 1836, he fell in love with and married Catherine Hogarth. They had ten children together. In 1858 Dickens fell in love with Ellen Terron, an actress. This was soon after Dickens and his wife Catherine separated, ending a long stream of marital difficulties. In1842, Dickens traveled to the United States hoping to find