2.3 Author’s personal background 2

3. Negative social significance 3

3.1 Drawbacks of capitalist system 3

3.2 Extreme class differentation 3

3.3 Loss of ethics 3

4. Progressive social significance 4

4.1 Lights in darkness 4

4.2 Comparison with current situation of modern society 4

4.3 Progressive significance to the development of modern society 4

5. Conclusion 5

References 6

1. Introduction

“I had perhaps the best subject I have ever thought of, I have thrown my heart and soul into Oliver.” “I wished to show, in little Oliver, the principle of good surviving through every adverse circumstance, and triumphing at last.” Dickens once wrote.

Charles Dickens was born in 1812, England. He was one of the greatest critical realists in the nineteenth century. He wrote a great number of stories and sketches to expose the dark sides of the society. 

Oliver Twist was Dickens’ second novel, which marked the beginning of Dickens’ literary life. It is a novel reflecting the tragic fact of life in Britain in 18th century. Dickens wrote it with compassion and sympathy for those poor people in the London streets. 

This paper aims to analyze the social significance of Oliver Twist. As we all know, children were the representatives of people living in the bottom of the society. This paper analyzes Dickens’ critical realism in Oliver Twist to draw the conclusion that the truth of the society be criticized: child labor, education, orphans and class issues. Oliver Twist is absolutely a classic example of critical realism in English Literature. And researches about it have never stopped at home and abroad. Gilbert Keith has published the essay Appreciations and criticism of the works of Charles Dickens (1911). Another scholar George Gissing has also made an analysis of the Parentage and Inheritance in the novels of Charles Dickens (1932). Chinese professor Lu Jinxing pays her attention on the analysis of Nancy’s images and her miserable fate (1935). 

Dickens is a master using satire and humor to write works, which keep his readers interested in his stories. At the same time, Dickens ruthlessly revealed the dark reality and social evils as well as the abuse and corruption of the English parliamentary system. Besides the exposure and condemnations, Dickens also showed concern for the common, the poor and the oppressed people, feeling the hatred for the exploitation of the upper class. 

However, these don’t just belong to that time, in modern society; such kind of unequal phenomenon can also be found. The social reality and the realistic pictures of the poor inspire most of the readers to think deeply about social reform which can eliminate the inequality and discrimination. And analysis of Oliver Twist’s social significance is helpful and important for citizens who live in the modern society of 21st century. Therefore, this paper, through the deep analysis of social reality in Victorian Age and the modern society, will have significant effects on the development of modern society. This paper was pided into three parts. The first part focuses on the background from the perspectives of economy, politics and the author’s personal experience. The second part of the paper looks into the social problems such as drawbacks of capitalist system, extreme class differentiation and loss of ethics as well as their causes. Last part of the paper is an analysis of the goodness in nature, making a comparison with current situation and find out progressive social significance. 《雾都孤儿》的社会意义(2):http://www.751com.cn/yingyu/lunwen_45479.html