Great Expectations and Oliver Twist
Great Expectations and Oliver TwistDuring his lifetime, Charles Dickens is known to have written
several books. Although each book is different, they also share many
similarities. Two of his books, Great Expectations and Oliver Twist,
are representatives of the many kinds of differences and similarities
found within his work.
Perhaps the reason why these two novels share some of the same
qualities is because they both reflect painful experiences which
occurred in Dickens’ past. During his childhood, Charles Dickens
suffered much abuse from his parents.1 This abuse is often expressed
in his novels. Pip, in Great Expectations, talked often about the
abuse he received at the hands of his sister, Mrs. Joe Gargery. On one
occasion he remarked, “I soon found myself getting heavily bumped from
behind in the nape of the neck and the small of the back, and having
my face ignominously shoved against the wall, because I did not answer
those questions at sufficient length.”2
While at the orphanage, Oliver from Oliver Twist also experienced
a great amount of abuse. For example, while suffering from starvation
and malnutrition for a long period of time, Oliver was chosen by the
other boys at the orphanage to request more gruel at dinner one night.
After making this simple request, “the master (at the orphanage) aimed
a blow at Oliver’s head with the ladle; pinioned him in his arms; and
shrieked aloud for the beadle.”3
The whole beginning of Oliver Twist’s story was created from
memories which related to Charles Dickens’ childhood in a blacking
factory ( which was overshadowed by the Marshalsea Prison ).4 While
working in the blacking factory, Dickens suffered tremendous
humiliation. This humiliation is greatly expressed through Oliver’s
adventures at the orphanage before he is sent away.
Throughout his lifetime, Dickens appeared to have acquired a
fondness for “the bleak, the sordid, and the austere.”5 Most of
Oliver Twist, for example, takes place in London’s lowest slums.6 The
city is described as a maze which involves a “mystery of darkness,
anonymity, and peril.”7 Many of the settings, such as the pickpocket’s
hideout, the surrounding streets, and the bars, are also described as
dark, gloomy, and bland.8 Meanwhile, in Great Expectations, Miss
Havisham’s house is often made to sound depressing, old, and lonely.
Many of the objects within the house had not been touched or moved in
many years. Cobwebs were clearly visible as well as an abundance of
dust, and even the wedding dress which Miss Havisham constantly wore
had turned yellow with age.9
However, similarities are not just found in the settings. The
novels’ two main characters, Pip and Oliver, are also similar in many
ways. Both young boys were orphaned practically from birth; but where
Pip is sent to live with and be abused by his sister, Oliver is sent
to live in an orphanage. Pip is a very curious young boy. He is a
“child of intense and yearning fancy.”10 Yet, Oliver is well spoken.
Even while his life was in danger while in the hands of Fagin and Bill
Sikes, two conniving pickpockets, he refused to participate in...
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