How did the title 'Oliver Twist' originate?

Answer 1

The hero or main character of the novel is called Oliver Twist. He is born in a workhouse to a dying mother and the parish beadle names him "Oliver Twist". At the time it was standard practice to name orphans in such a way that their names were unlike those of real people in the area. However, the names were unmistakably English. (Have you ever encountered the family name "Twist" in real life?) Obviously, the name was invented by the author, Charles Dickens. I hope this is of some use.

Answer 2

Oliver is born in a workhouse to an unknown mother, who dies in childbirth. The workhouse beadle, the pompous and self-important Mr Bumble, gives him the name "Oliver Twist".

The boys are harshly treated, and when Oliver is urged by the other boys to ask for more food, he is removed from the workhouse and apprenticed to Sowerberry, an undertaker. This is not a long-term arrangement, because a fight with Sowerberry's other apprentice, Noah Claypole, leads to Oliver finding himself on the streets to fend for himself.

Oliver makes his way to London, where he is soon found by Jack Dawkins, otherwise known as the Artful Dodger, who takes him to meet Fagin, a receiver of stolen goods and the proprietor of a thieves' kitchen from which boys are sent out to pick pockets and commit petty crimes.

Oliver's training as a pickpocket is short and disastrous, as he is apprehended when the real thieves bungle a theft but escape, leaving Oliver to face the music. The victim, Mr Brownlow, is, however, convinced that Oliver is innocent and secures his release when he is brought before the magistrate. Brownlow takes Oliver home with him, and word of this gets back to Fagin, whose concern is that Oliver will lead the Bow Street Runners to his den.

Oliver wins Mr Brownlow's trust and is sent on an errand, but the house is being watched, and Oliver is kidnapped by two associates of Fagin, namely the housebreaker Bill Sikes and Nancy, a young prostitute.

Sikes sees Oliver's small size and native intelligence as an asset to him, and he takes Oliver to help him on a "job". However, Oliver is clearly a jinx when it comes to criminal enterprises, and he ends up with a bullet in his shoulder. The occupants of the house, Rose Maylie and her aunt, behave in a similar way to Mr Brownlow, taking Oliver in and caring for him as an innocent victim of a criminal gang.

We now meet Monks, who turns out to be Oliver's half-brother, and who wants Oliver out of the way so that he, Monks, can inherit a fortune.

Nancy is concerned for Oliver's welfare and tells both Rose and Mr Brownlow about Oliver's whereabouts. However, Noah Claypole now makes a re-appearance, as an informer, and word gets back to Sikes, who brutally murders Nancy.

Things now unravel as Sikes falls to his death while being chased and Fagin is arrested and condemned to be hanged. The chain of coincidences leads to the revelations that Oliver is Rose's nephew, and his mother was once loved by Mr Brownlow.

by Pradyum

Answer 3

The back-drop for Dickens' second novel, Oliver Twist (published in instalments between 1837 and 1839), was the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 which renewed the importance of the workhouse as a means of relief for the poor and those who, because of sickness, mental disorder, or age, could not provide for themselves. His main argument being that the act did nothing to relieve the issue of poverty and the only way to break the cycle of poverty was through proper education of the poor.

The mid nineteenth-century in England was a time when long-held ideas and beliefs came under serious scrutiny. Profound changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution, religious uncertainty, scientific advancement, and political and social upheaval caused many Victorians to re-examine many aspects of their society and culture.

Industrialization drove many farm workers into the cities, where poor work conditions and inadequate housing condemned most of them to poverty. The unprecedented increase in urban population fostered new and overwhelming problems of sanitation, overcrowding, poverty, disease, and crime in the huge slums occupied by impoverished workers, the unemployed, and the unfortunate.

It is against this setting of the workhouse that the story starts. It is here that Oliver is born and his mother dies. The setting then moves to London as the story of Oliver's encounters with Fagin, the Artful, Dodger, Bill Sykes and his eventual benefactor, Mr Brownlow unfolds.

Many of Dickens' books contained his own observations and criticisms of Victorian society. One of his biggest concerns was the plight of the children of London's poor. When the book was written, thousands of children were living in unimaginable poverty, filth, and disease. It is estimated that in 1839 nearly half of all funerals in London were for children under the age of ten. Those who survived grew up without education and virtually no chance of escaping the cycle of poverty. Dickens, who felt that education was the only way to break the cycle of poverty, became interested in the so-called Ragged Schools in London. These were charity-run schools which provided the poorest children with religious instruction and a very basic education. Most poor children, however, remained uneducated due to the demand for child labour and the apathy of their parents, who saw their children as a way to relieve their own poverty.

Dickens repeats his criticism of the state's attitude towards the poor again in his 1843 novel A Christmas Carol by representing these children through the allegorical twins, Ignorance and Want. The Ghost of Christmas Present shows them, wretched and almost animal in appearance, to Scrooge with the warning: "This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased."

Answer 4

the historical background of Oliver Twist is the industrilization especially in Great Britain, it includes the mistreatment of the poor in the warehouses ... etc.

Answer 5

It probably combines several aspects of and incidents in London at the time, but it is not known to be based on a true story.

Answer 6

Only when Chubby Checker is playing.