Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
SOCIETY: Aristocracy > Middle class > Working class Middle class dominated the poor POVERTY: move to city to chase the urban dream institutional crime Oliver the illegitimate child of an aristocrat - Dickens makes him suffer like the oppressed but not all middle-class people are evil IDENTITY: mistaken identity orphans don't know their roots GOOD VS. EVIL SOCIAL CRITICISM: origins matter more than character - rather assumptions made about character on the basis of only origin bias showed England at its worst - but if he sugar-coated it, the book would be dismissed rich-poor divide ------------- Oliver neglected, starved, ill-clothed Mistreated even as a child Theme of innocence - where do you begin to differentiate between naivete and stupidity "inappropriate" time of birth Reality of workhouses portrayed ---------------- SOCIAL CONTEXT English Poor Law biased implementation - emphasis on virtues of hard...