Oliver Twist

Rating:
Summary: Oliver Twist/Pure of Heart
Review: Can someone be pure of heart, or are we all products of our environment and upbringing? Dickens explores this premise in his novel 'Oliver Twist' quite effectively, while creating some of the most memorable characters ever written. (The Artful Dodger, Fagin, Charlie Bates, etc..) At the same time he also captures the essence of Victorian England perfectly. (At times while reading I even felt that I was there with them, wondering around in the dark of some of these houses waiting for a candle to be drawn to show me the way.) Oliver is an orphan just trying to stay alive in an unsympathetic world. He falls into the company of pickpockets and thieves, and battles to maintain his moral character. He catches some breaks, but seems to always be plagued with the worst luck. (You find out later that not all of it is coincidence, as forces are deliberately working against him.) Most of the so called bad guys are not all bad, and not everybody with the proper upbringing is good. You feel a sense of sympathy for the people living under these conditions and at times can't blame them for what they have become. Even Fagin you find yourself rooting for at times, even though he's the one ruining so many young lives by corrupting them into his own way of life. Even if corrupted though, this book still shows a few people willing to change their ways, either for good or bad. You are not caste into one mold. My only critique of Dickens and this novel is that it was originally written for a magazine in which Dickens was paid by the word. At times it is very obvious he has drawn out a description or a point beyond what was necessary.

Rating:
Summary: Oliver Twist/Pure of Heart
Review: Can someone be pure of heart, or are we all products of our environment and upbringing? Dickens explores this premise in his novel 'Oliver Twist' quite effectively, while creating some of the most memorable characters ever written. (The Artful Dodger, Fagin, Charlie Bates, etc..) At the same time he also captures the essence of Victorian England perfectly. (At times while reading I even felt that I was there with them, wondering around in the dark of some of these houses waiting for a candle to be drawn to show me the way.) Oliver is an orphan just trying to stay alive in an unsympathetic world. He falls into the company of pickpockets and thieves, and battles to maintain his moral character. He catches some breaks, but seems to always be plagued with the worst luck. (You find out later that not all of it is coincidence, as forces are deliberately working against him.) Most of the so called bad guys are not all bad, and not everybody with the proper upbringing is good. You feel a sense of sympathy for the people living under these conditions and at times can't blame them for what they have become. Even Fagin you find yourself rooting for at times, even though he's the one ruining so many young lives by corrupting them into his own way of life. Even if corrupted though, this book still shows a few people willing to change their ways, either for good or bad. You are not caste into one mold. My only critique of Dickens and this novel is that it was originally written for a magazine in which Dickens was paid by the word. At times it is very obvious he has drawn out a description or a point beyond what was necessary.