Oliver Twist

Oliver Twist was born in a workhouse in a provincial town. His mother has been found very sick in the street, and she gives birth to Oliver just before she dies. Oliver is raised under the care of Mrs. Mann and the beadle Mr. Bumble in the workhouse. One day Noah Claypole insults Oliver’s dead mother and the small and frail Oliver attacks him. However, Oliver is punished severely, and he runs away to London. Here he is picked up by Jack Dawkins who is a member of the Fagin’s gang of boys. Fagin has trained the boys to become pickpockets. One of the victim , the old benevolent gentleman Mr. Brownlow rescues Oliver from arrest and brings him to his house and for the first time in his life he is happy. One day Fagin kidnaps Oliver. Fagin is prompted to do this by the mysterious Mr. Monks. Oliver is taken along on a burglary expedition in the country. The thieves are discovered in the house of Mrs. Maylie and her adopted niece, Rose, here Oliver is shot and wounded. Rose and Mrs. Maylie nurse the wounded Oliver. When he tells them his story they believe him, and he settles with them. Monks’ plot against Oliver is disclosed : Oliver’s father’s will states that he will leave money to Oliver on the condition that his reputation is clean. Oliver’s discovers that his mother and Rose were sisters. Monks receives his share of the inheritance and goes away to America. He dies in prison there, and Oliver is adopted by Mr. Brownlow. It is the story of the family of Thomas Gradgrind and take place in Coketown, an industrial city . Gradgrind is a man obsessed with ‘Utilitarian’ values, based upon James Mill (the Utilitarian leader).He directs his own children, Louisa and Tom, in this same way: enforcing an artless existence upon them. He makes Louisa marry Josiah Bounderby who is thirty years her elder. James Harthouse arrives and seduces her so she can escape her constricted life. Her father Tom steals from the bank and dishonestly tries to shift the blame. He does so successfully for a time but eventually gets found out and must leave the country.