How is Oliver Twist like a melodrama?

Answer 1

A melodrama is defined as having a romantic plot with a sensational development, usually relying heavily on the evocation of the audience's feelings and with a superficial arrival to poetic justice. Superficial in the sense that the ending is usually happy, and characters are punished accordingly based on their deeds. Oliver Twist can certainly be looked upon in that way--it's a pretty dramatic plot that uses extreme events to stir the audience's emotions, and Oliver sees a happy ending, while the crooks are all jailed and/or eventually killed. But Oliver Twist is a lot more complex than just that. Dickens is trying to point to a variety of social issues through the plot, and there is quite a bit of character development, not to mention murkier elements, i.e. the death of Nancy? Take a look here for more answers on these complexities, and character developments: http://www.shmoop.com/intro/literature/charles-dickens/oliver-twist.html