Introduction
Charles Dickens, the greatest representative of English critical realism, was the son of an English navy clerk. In his outstanding novels he masterly depicted the life of contemporized English society. Oliver Twist was Dickens’ second novel, which marked the beginning of Dickens’ literary life. It concentrates on the hard years of an orphan. It is the first novel that led the readers to a very sad world．This novel is a powerful exposure of bourgeois society. It shows the extreme brutality and corruption of the oppressors and their agents under the mask of philanthropy. Dickens, the great critical realist, gives vivid descriptions of the sufferings of the poor and oppressed. This novel was famous for exposing the dark side of people lived at that time. In this novel Nancy is a typical character of the poor people who lived at the bottom of the society; she had the same suffering with Oliver Twist, but she didn’t have a happy ending like Oliver Twist. This thesis is provided to help readers appreciate the critical novel by analyzing Nancy’ character and her fate. Dickens described Nancy not only from the good side but also the bad side. There are many different opinions on whether people are born well or bad. In this novel, Nancy’ character is complex and ambiguous; sometime she is good, sometime she performs bad behaviors. It is just this complex nature that well reflects the reality of that time.
Chapter 1 Introduction of Oliver Twist
1.1 Abstract of Oliver Twist
One of Dickens’ most enduringly popular stories is Oliver Twist, an early work published in 1837-8. Like many of his later novels, its central theme is the hardship faced by the people who live at the bottom of the society. Oliver Twist was born in a workhouse in 1830s, England. His mother, whose name no one knows was found on the street and died just after Oliver’s birth. He was brought up in the workhouse where he and other orphans were maltreated and constantly starved. One day, because that Oliver asked for more gruel, he was sent to an undertaker to work as an apprentice. Noah Claypole, a boy worked with Oliver made disparaging comments on Oliver’s mother and Oliver was unable to bear it, so he attacked him and ran away to London. There he fell into the hands of a gang of thieves headed by old Jew Fagin. In the thieves’ den Oliver was taught the skill of pocking and stealing and was forced to steal. He was rescued for a time by a kind-hearted old gentleman Mr. Brownlow. But Nancy and other gang members found him and brought him back .It finally turned out that a mysterious man Monks wanted to make the boy a criminal.
Once Oliver was forced to help a burglar who was called Bill Sikes in a burglary and In the course of it, Oliver was shot and badly wounded, the kindly care from Mrs. Maylie and her beautiful adopted niece Rose brought him back to health. Nancy, who now repented for what she had done and tried to help. She told Rose and Mr. Brownlow the mystery about Oliver’s origin and was found out by the gang and brutally murdered by Bill Sikes. Pursued by his guilty conscience and an angry mob, Bill Sikes inadvertently hung himself while trying to escape. Fagin was arrested and executed. It was now known that Monks was the half-brother of Oliver and he did all these for the purpose of seizing the whole of their father’s property. Rose was revealed in the end to be the sister of Oliver’s dead mother. Oliver was finally adopted by Mr. Brownlow. Monks was exiled and died in prison. Bumble, the self–important beadle of the workhouse who had conspired with Monks, became an inmate of the workhouse over which he formerly ruled.
1.2 Introduction of the author of Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist was written by Charles Dickens. He is a British novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Charles Dickens, one of the most popular, productive, and skilled English novelist, were acclaimed for his rich storytelling and unforgettable characte
