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Tema 47:
La revolución
industrial inglesa:
Modelo de
transformación
histórica. Novela
política y social:
Charles Dickens.
Madhatter Wylder
12/06/2007

Tema 47:
L revolución ind
La dustrial inglesa:: Modelo de tran
nsformación hisstórica. Novela política
p y social: Charles Dickens.
2
Table of contents
1. Tiimeline ______________
____________________ ___ 3
______________________________
2. Th
he Industriaal revolutioon. _________________ ___ 4
______________________________
2.11 Introductiion: Causes.. ____________________ ________________________________ ____ 4
2.1.1. Why toook place the Industrial
I revoolution? _____ _____ 4
____________________________________
2.1.2. Populaation _______________________________ _____ 5
____________________________________
2.1.3. Agricuulture. ______________________________ _____ 5
____________________________________
2.1.4. Textilees__________________________________ _____ 6
____________________________________
2.1.5. Coal Mining
M ______________________________ _____ 8
____________________________________
2.1.6. Transpportation ____________________________ _____ 8
____________________________________
2.1.7. Steam __________________________________ _____ 9
___________________________________
2.22. Products of the Indusstrial Revolu ution ______________________________________ ____ 9
2.2.1. The Huuman Aspect _______________________ _____ 9
____________________________________
2.2.2. Capitall __________________________________ ____ 11
____________________________________
2.2.3. Labor __________________________________ ____ 12
___________________________________
3. Th
he political and social novel. ______________ __ 12
______________________________
3.11. Benjamin
n Disraeli. ___________
_ ___________
________________________________
___ 12
3.22. Charles Dickens:
D Olivver Twist. ___________
_ ________________________________ ___ 16
3.2.1. The chharacters. ____________________________ ____ 18
____________________________________
3.2.1.1. Olliver Twist __________________________ ____ 18
____________________________________
3.2.1.2. Mr.
M Bumble __________________________ ____ 18
____________________________________
3.2.1.3. Arrtful Dodger. _______________________ ____ 19
____________________________________
3.2.1.4. Faagin. _______________________________ ____ 19
____________________________________
3.2.1.5. Mr.
M Brownlow _______________________ ____ 19
____________________________________
3.2.1.6. Biill Sikes (Sykees) _____________________ ____ 20
____________________________________
3.2.1.7. Monks
M (Also knnown as Edwaard Leeford) ______________________________________ 20
3.2.1.8. Naancy _______________________________ ____ 20
____________________________________
3.2.1.9. Roose Maylie. ____________
_ ____________ ____ 20
____________________________________
3.2.3. Themees. _________________________________ ____ 21
____________________________________
3.2.3.1. Thhe Influence of
o the environm ment. _______ ____ 21
____________________________________
3.2.3.2. Thhe power of trrue love. ________________ ____ 21
____________________________________
3.2.3.3. Thhe Failure of Charity
C _________________ ____ 22
____________________________________
3.2.3.4. Thhe Folly of Inddividualism ______________ ____ 22
____________________________________
3.2.4. Point of
o view. _____________________________ ____ 23
____________________________________
3.2.5. Characcters’ Names ____________
_ ____________ ____ 23
____________________________________
Bibliiography_____________
____________________ __ 23
______________________________
Iván Matellaness’ Notes

Tema 47:
La revolución industrial inglesa: Modelo de transformación histórica. Novela política y social: Charles Dickens.
3
Tory Whig
Conservatives Liberals
1. Timeline
-1733: John KAY invented the Flying Shuttle
-1760-1840: ENCLOSURE ACTS were passed. It did away with all of the public land, which meant
Wiil
Pitt
that peasant farmers usually did not get land in the re-division of land, since they had no
political influence. Farmer got very small or bad pieces of land, if they got any.
Greenwill -1764: HARGREAVES invents the Spinning-Jenny.
-1769, Richard ARKWRIGHT invented the water frame.
-1775: Samuel CROMPTON crates “the mule” (spinning machine)
North
Lord
-1776: James WATT created the Steam-machine.

-1801: Richard TREVITHICK had an engine pulling trucks where he worked (Cornwall mine).
-1804: CORN LAW: Landowners, who dominated Parliament, sought to protect their profits by
imposing a duty on imported corn
-1812: Charles DICKENS is born in Portsmouth.
-1826: DISRAELI publishes his first novel: Vivian Grey
-1830: Railway opened from Liverpool to Manchester
-1832: 1st REFORM BILL: King created new peers to overcome the hostile majority in the HofL.
Grey
Earl
-1834: POOR LAW ACT: External aid to the poor was to be stopped (only workhouses). No person
was to receive money or any help from the poor law authorities except in a workhouse.
Melbourne
Viscount
-1836: DICKENS wrote The Pickwick Papers

-1837: Charles DICKENS published Oliver Twist.
-1845: DISRAELI publishes The two nations
-1847: DISRAELI publishes The new crusade
Russell
John
-1848: 1st PUBLIC HEALTH ACT: The Act made little difference.
-1852: Lord JOHN RUSSELL, the leader of the Whig government, resigned.
Derby DISRAELI is appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer by Lord DERBY (new PM)
Palmerston -1858: Lord DERBY became PM again. DISRAELI is appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer.
-1859: Lord PALMERSTON, became PM (seven years of Liberal control)
Palmerston
-1866: Lord DERBY became PM again. DISRAELI is appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Derby
-1867: REFORM ACT: Aimed to extend the voting rights & redistribute Parliamentary seats.
Gladstone
-1868: GENERAL ELECTION: William GLADSTONE and the Liberals returned to power.
-1874: GENERAL ELECTIONS: DISRAELI and the Conservative Party won the elections.
-1875: Social reforms passed by the DISRAELI government:
THE ARTISANS' DWELLINGS ACT: gave local authorities more power to clear areas of bad
housing, and to pay landlords compensation if their houses were pulled down.
2nd PUBLIC HEALTH ACT: provided sanitation such as running water and refuse disposal.
PURE FOOD AND DRUGS ACT
Disraeli
CLIMBING BOYS ACT: Prohibited the employment of juvenile chimney cleaners.

CONSPIRACY AND PROTECTION OF PROPERTY ACT: A trade union could not be prosecuted
for an act which would be legal if performed by an individual.
-1876: Alexander Graham BELL in transmitted the human voice over a wire.
-1880: EDUCATION ACT made schooling compulsory for infants
William GLADSTONE became PM again.
Gladstone
DISRAELI publishes Endymion
Iván Matellanes’ Notes

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2. The Industrial revolution.

2.1 Introduction: Causes.
The most far-reaching, influential transformation of human culture since
the advent of agriculture eight or ten thousand years ago, was the industrial
revolution of 18th C Europe. The consequences of this revolution would
change irrevocably human labour, consumption, family structure, social
structure, and even the very soul and thoughts of the individual. This
revolution involved more than technology; to be sure, there had been
industrial "revolutions" throughout European history and non-European
history. In Europe, for instance, the 12th & 13th C saw an explosion of
technological knowledge and a consequent change in production and
labour. However, the INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION was more than technology—
impressive as this technology was. What drove the industrial revolution were
profound social changes, as Europe moved from a primarily
agricultural and rural economy to a capitalist and urban economy,
from a household, family-based economy to an industry-based
economy. This required rethinking social obligations and the structure of the
family; the abandonment of the family economy, for instance, was the
most dramatic change to the structure of the family that Europe had ever
undergone—and we're still struggling with these changes.
2.1.1. Why took place the Industrial revolution?

In our efforts to try to explain why the INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION took
place, the globalization of the European economy is an undeniable
explanation. European trade and manufacture spread to every
continent except Antarctica; this vast increase in the market for
European goods in part drove the conversion to an industrial,
manufacturing economy. Why other nations didn't initially join this
revolution is in part explained by the monopolistic control that the Europeans
exerted over the global economy. World trade was about making Europeans
wealthy, not about enriching the colonies or non-Western countries.

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2.1.2. Population
Another reason given for the INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION is the
substantial increase in the population of Europe. Population growth is a
mysterious affair to explain: it most often occurs when standards of production
rise. So whether the Industrial Revolution was started off by a rise in
population, or whether the Industrial Revolution started a rise in
population is hard to guess. It's clear, though, that the transition to an
industrial, manufacturing economy required more people to labour at
this manufacture. While the logic of a national economy founded centrally on
the family economy and family production is more or less a subsistence
economy—most production is oriented around keeping the family alive,
the logic of a manufacturing economy is a surplus economy. In a
MANUFACTURING ECONOMY, a person's productive labour needs to produce
more than they need to keep life going. This surplus production is
what produces profits for the owners of the manufacture.
2.1.3. Agriculture.
In 1750, the European economy was an agricultural economy. The land was
owned largely by wealthy and frequently aristocratic landowners; they
rented the land to tenant farmers who paid for the land in real goods that
they grew or produced. Agriculture was an indispensable source of raw
materials for the textile industry. Wool and cotton production for the
manufacture of cloth increased in each successive year, as did the yield of food
crops.
The agricultural sector’s improvement can be attributed to the
“enclosure movement” and to improved techniques and practices
developed during this period:
On the one hand, the ENCLOSURE MOVEMENT was the cause of one of
the greatest changes in the landscape of rural England. It was the
process whereby the system of communal exploitation of the cultivated
land, open pastures, meadows and wastes (uncultivated land) was gradually
replaced by a system of private land management. It involved both a
legal change and a physical change.

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The communal element was abolished and individual landowners and

tenants took over separate private control of defined areas of land.
The community no longer had rights over most of the land and the
poorer members of village society were frequently disadvantaged in
consequence. Physically, the great unfenced open fields were gradually divided
up into fenced fields. The land was enclosed, instead of open.
In central England and much of southern England the process reached its peak
in the 18th & early 19th C, when it was facilitated by a large number of Acts
of Parliament. In other parts of England, such as the north-west, such
legislation was rare, and instead the enclosure movement was conducted
largely by private agreement between manorial lords and their tenants.
On the other hand, a common practice in early agriculture was to
allow the land to lie uncultivated after it had been exhausted through
cultivation. Later it was discovered that the cultivation of clover i and
other legumes would help to restore the fertility of the soil.
Other ADVANCES IN AGRICULTURE included the use of more robust farm
equipment from metal. Up until this period most farming tools were
made entirely out of wood. We do not find much technical innovation
beyond the slight improvements made on existing tools. We do find increased
energy being placed into the breeding of livestock, control of insects,
improved irrigation and farming methods, developing new crops and
the use of horsepower in the fields to replace oxen as a source of power.
These changes which have occurred in agriculture made it possible to
feed all of the people that were attracted to the industrial centers as factory
workers. By providing enough food to sustain an adequate work force, England
was preparing the way for expansion of the economy and industry.
2.1.4. Textiles
Prior to 1760 the manufacture of textiles occurred in the homes,
by people who gave part of their time to it. It was a tedious process from raw
material to finished product. In the case of woollen cloth, the wool had to be
organized, cleaned and dyed. Then the wool was carded and combed. Next, it
was spun into thread which was woven into cloth. Subsequent complex

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processes were performed upon the cloth to change the texture or the colour of
the woollen cloth. Many of these stages of production were performed
by women and children. The supply of raw material for the woollen industry
was obtained domestically. In the cases of silk and cotton, the raw materials
were obtained from foreign sources, such as, China, the West Indies, North
American and Africa.
Changes in the textile industry were already occurring in the
early 1700s; however, these changes were not easily accepted as
evidenced by the workers’ riots which
broke out in response to these new
machines. The FLYING-SHUTTLE, which
enabled one weaver (=tejedor) to do the work
of two, and the ROLLER SPINNER (=maquina de
hilar), which was to make spinning more

efficient, were the precursors of the
inventive spirit and the application of
new technology to the textile industry.
In the mid-1760s the textile
industry began to experience
rapid change. James Hargreaves’
JENNY, a device which enabled the
operator to simultaneously spin
(=hilar) dozens of threads, was
readily adopted. By 1788 nearly
20,000 of them were being
employed in England.
Arkwright and others developed the WATER FRAME. This
device performed similarly to the ROLLER SPINNER, though its use
demanded greater power than could be applied by muscle. Arkwright
needed extra financial support to set up a water-powered factory that
utilized his invention. This factory, located in Cromford, employed more
than 600 workers, many of whom were women and children.

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These inventions that were perfected and employed led to tremendous

change in the world of work. Gone were the days of the Domestic
System, yielding to the new ways of the Factory System. These factories
which were to spring up throughout the countryside were large, dusty, poorly
illuminated and ventilated and dangerous. The employment of women and
children was commonplace and desired, for they were paid lower
wages than their male counterparts. Working conditions in these factories
were not subject to much regulation.
2.1.5. Coal Mining

One finds the working conditions and practices of coal mining in the
18th & 19th C to be risky, at best, and suicidal at worst. This industry, even
today, provokes thoughts of hazards at every turn. Different methods of mining
coal were employed in various locales throughout England. All coal mining
had one trait in common: the movement of coal was accomplished solely by
muscle power (animal, man, woman and child), the latter being the most
desirable for their size. The process of removing the coal was obviously as
slow as it was dirty. Coal was moved along horizontal tunnels by the basketful
and hauled up a vertical shaft to the surface.
Improvements in coal mining came in the form of improved tunnel
ventilation, improved underground and surface transportation, the use
of gunpowder to blast away at the coal closures, and improved tunnel
illumination through the use of safety lamps.
2.1.6. Transportation
As an integral part of determining the cost and availability of
manufactured products and as a means of improved communications, and as
an industry unto itself, the improvement of transportation stimulated the
course of the INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION. Finished products, raw materials, food
and people needed a quicker and less costly system of transportation. Canals
and rivers had long been used as a means of internal transportation.
The mid-1700s began the first construction of canals between industrial
districts. The problem of moving huge quantities of goods overland was

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addressed, at least for the time being, by canals. However, their days were
numbered, for the coming of the railroads was imminent.
The principles of rail transport were already in use in the late 1700s.
Tramways, using cast iron rails, were being employed in a number of
mines in England. By 1800 more than 200 miles of tramway served
coal mines. It is not surprising, then, to find a number of engineers connected
with coal mines searching for a way to apply the steam engine to railways.
Railroads dominated the transportation scene in England for nearly a
century. Railroads proliferated in England, from 1,000 miles in 1836 to
more than 7,000 miles built by 1852. Here again is another example of
economic necessity producing innovation. The development of efficient rail
service was crucial to the growth of specific industries and the overall
economy.
2.1.7. Steam
The development and subsequent application of steam power
was undoubtedly the greatest technical achievement of the INDUSTRIAL
REVOLUTION. A number of industries needed the ability to apply the
enormous power produced by the steam engine, in order to continue
their advancement in production. JAMES WATT is credited with the
invention of the steam engine. In fact, Watt improved upon a design which
was developed by THOMAS SAVERY & THOMAS NEWCOMEN.
The development of a practical & efficient steam engine and its
application to industry and transportation caused a great jump for
industrialization. Its application was virtually limitless, and it was responsible
for rising industries from infancy to adolescence.
2.2. Products of the Industrial Revolution

2.2.1. The Human Aspect
In the 18th C the population grew at a faster rate than ever before.
There are four primary reasons which may be cited for this growth: (1)
a decline in the death rate, (2) an increase in the birth rate, (3) the
virtual elimination of the plagues and (4) an increase in the availability

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of food. The latter is probably the most significant of these reasons, for English
people were consuming a much healthier diet. One can find a countless number
of reasons for the growth of the population, in addition to those above:
Industry provided higher wages to individuals than was being offered in the
villages. This allowed young people to marry earlier in life, and to produce
children earlier (the old system of apprenticeship did not allow an apprentice to
marry)
With the adoption of the FACTORY SYSTEM, we find a shift in population.
Settlements grew around the factories. In some cases, housing was
provided to workers by their employers, thus giving the factory owners greater
control over the lives of his workers. In some cases factories started in existing
towns, which was desirable because a workers were already available. The
prime consideration for locating a factory was the availability of
power: The early form of power was derived directly from moving water.
Thus, we find factories in the hills near streams and rivers. The development of
the STEAM ENGINE to drive machinery freed the owners from being locked
into a site that was close to moving water. The steam powered machines
still had to be located near a source of water, though the field of choice was
much wider. Other factories, such as those involved in the manufacture of
iron, had considerations of a different kind involving their location.
Due to the great difficulty in moving those huge materials, these factories had
to be located close to the mineral source.
The towns that grew in the North were crowded, dirty and
unregulated. They grew so rapidly that no one took the time to
consider the consequence of such conditions. No one understood the
effects of these unsanitary conditions upon humans: Reappearance of
epidemic diseases, such as typhoid and cholera. Some attention to these
conditions was accorded by Parliament in the form of PUBLIC HEALTH
ACTS. These acts did improve conditions, though they were largely
ineffective.

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2.2.2. Capital
Prior to industrialization in England, land was the primary
source of wealth. The landed aristocracy held enormous powers the feudal
system. However, a new source of great wealth grew from the
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: that derived from the ownership of factories and
machinery. Those who invested in factories and machinery cannot be
identified as belonging to any single class of people. Their backgrounds were
quite diverse, yet they had one thing in common: the daring to grab to the
opportunity to invest in new ventures. It was these capitalists who gave
the necessary impetus to the speedy growth of the Industrial Revolution. In the
early years of this period we find most investments being made in a field
closely related to one’s original source of capital.
Two kinds of capital were needed by these industrialists: LONG-
TERM CAPITAL to expand present operations, and SHORT-TERM CAPITAL to

purchase raw materials and pay the wages. The need for short-term
capital presented some problems. The need for short-term capital for raw
materials and maintaining stock was accommodated by extending credit to the
manufacturers by the producers or dealers. The payment of wages, however,
was not an easily solved problem, one which taxed the creativity of
employers. The problem was in finding a sufficient amount of small value legal
tender to pay the wages.
The root of the problem was the lack of an adequate banking
system in these remote industrial centres. The BANK OF ENGLAND,
established in the late 1690s, did not accommodate the needs of the
manufacturers. It concentrated its interest on the financial affairs of state and
those of the trading companies and merchants of London. By the early 1700s
appeared the first COUNTRY BANK. These private banks were founded by those
who were involved in a variety of activities. However, from 1772 to 1825, a
large number of these banks failed. Their limited resources were
inadequate to meet the demands of the factory economy. A banking
system was eventually set up to distribute capital to areas where it
was needed, drawing it from areas where there was a surplus.

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2.2.3. Labour
If the conditions in which people lived in these factory towns were
considered bad, then the conditions in which they worked can be
appropriately characterized as being horrendous. Inside these factories
one would find poorly ventilated, noisy, dirty, damp and poorly lighted working
areas. These factories were unhealthy and dangerous places in which
to work. Normally, workers put in twelve to fourteen hours daily.
FACTORY ACTS that were later enacted by Parliament regulated the number
of hours that men, women and children worked.
The FACTORY SYSTEM changed the manner in which work was
performed. Unlike the domestic system the work was away from home, in
large, impersonal settings. Workers were viewed by their employers merely as
hands. Slowly, workers began to realize the strength they could possess
if they were a unified force. It was a long battle for workers to be able to
have the right to organize into officially recognized unions. Their lot was
one of having no political influence in a land where the government followed
a laissez-faire (“allow to do”) policy.
This hand off policy changed as the pressure from growing trade
unions increased. A movement was beginning to free workers from the
injustices of the factory system. Political leaders called for reform legislation
which would address these injustices.
3. The political and social novel.

3.1. Benjamin Disraeli.
The most remarkable attack on the new industrialism with its
accompanying poverty was made, not by a solemn revolutionary, but by a
vivacious dandy who became PRIME MISTER: BENJAMIN DISRAELI (1804-81).
Nothing that DISRAELI ever did was done without self-consciousness.
Benjamin DISRAELI, was born in London on 21st December, 1804. His
father, Isaac Disraeli, was the author of several books on literature and history,
including The Life and Reign of Charles I (1828). After a private education
Disraeli was trained as a solicitor. Like his father, Isaac Disraeli, Benjamin took

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a keen interest in literature. His first novel, Vivian Grey was published in 1826.
The book sold very well and was followed by The Young Duke (1831),
Contarini Fleming (1832), Alroy (1833), Henrietta Temple (1837) and
Venetia (1837).
Disraeli was also interested in politics. In the early 1830s he stood in
several elections as a Whig 1 , Radical & an Independent. Disraeli's early
attempts ended in failure, but he was eventually elected to represent
Maidstone in 1837.
DISRAELI became a progressive Tory and advocated triennial
parliaments and the secret ballot. He was sympathetic to the demands of
the Chartists and in one speech argued that the "rights of labour were as
sacred as the rights of property". In 1839 Benjamin DISRAELI married an
extremely wealthy widow. The marriage was a great success. On one
occasion Disraeli remarked that he had married for money, and his wife replied,
"Ah! but if you had to do it again, you would do it for love."
After the Conservative victory in the 1841 General Election,
DISRAELI suggested to Sir Robert Peel, the new Prime Minister, that he
would make a good government minister. Peel disagreed and Disraeli
had to remain on the backbenches. Disraeli was hurt by Peel's rejection
and over the next few years he became a harsh critic of the Conservative
government.
In 1842 DISRAELI helped to form the YOUNG ENGLAND GROUP.
Disraeli and members of his group argued that the middle class now had too
much political power and advocated an alliance between the
aristocracy and the working class. DISRAELI suggested that the
aristocracy should use their power to help protect the poor. This
political philosophy was expressed in DISRAELI's novels The new
generation (1844), The two nations (1845) and The new crusade (1847).
In these books the leading characters show concern about poverty and
the injustice of the parliamentary system. Disraeli favoured a policy of
1
By the 19th century their rivals in Parliament, the Tories, were the supporters of the
established church and the traditional political structure. The Whigs, in contrast to the Tories,
favored reform.

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protectionism and strongly opposed Peel's decision to cancel the CORN

LAWS 2 . This issue split the Conservative Party and Disraeli's attacks on Peel
helped to bring about his political downfall.
In 1852, Lord JOHN RUSSELL, the leader of the Whig government,
resigned. Lord DERBY, the new Prime Minister, appointed DISRAELI as his
Chancellor of the Exchequer. This period of power only lasted a few months
and Derby was soon replaced by the Earl of Aberdeen.
Lord DERBY became Prime Minister again in 1858 and once again
DISRAELI was appointed as Chancellor of the Exchequer. He also became
leader of the House of Commons and was responsible for the introduction of
measures to reform parliament.
In 1859 Lord PALMERSTON, became Prime Minister, and Disraeli
once more lost his position in the government. For the next seven years
the Liberals were in power and it was not until 1866 that DISRAELI returned to
the cabinet. Once again, Lord DERBY appointed Disraeli as his Chancellor
of the Exchequer and leader of the House of Commons.
In 1867 Disraeli proposed a NEW REFORM ACT. Lord Cranborne (later the
Marquis of Salisbury) resigned in protest against this extension of democracy.
In the House of Commons, Disraeli's proposals were supported by Gladstone
and his followers and the measure was passed. The 1867 REFORM ACT gave
the vote to every male adult householder living in a borough
constituency. The REFORM ACT also dealt with constituencies and
boroughs with less than 10,000 inhabitants lost one of their MPs. The 45
seats left available were distributed by: (i) giving 15 to towns which had never
had an MP; (ii) giving one extra seat to some larger towns: Liverpool,
Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds; (iii) creating a seat for the University of
London; (iv) giving 25 seats to counties whose population had increased.
2
A CORN LAW was first introduced in Britain in 1804, when the landowners, who dominated
Parliament, sought to protect their profits by imposing a duty on imported corn. During the
Napoleonic Wars it had not been possible to import corn from Europe. This led to an expansion
of British wheat farming and to high bread prices. Farmers feared that when the war came to
an end in 1815, the importation of foreign corn would lower prices.
This legislation was hated by the people living in Britain's fast-growing towns who had to pay
these higher bread prices. The industrial classes saw the Corn Laws as an example of how
Parliament passed legislation that favored large landowners.

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In 1868 Lord DERBY resigned and Benjamin DISRAELI became the

new Prime Minister. However, in the 1868 General Election3 that followed,
William GLADSTONE and the Liberals were returned to power with a
majority of 170.
After six years in opposition, DISRAELI and the Conservative Party
won the 1874 General Election4. It was the first time since 1841 that the
Tories in the House of Commons had a clear majority. DISRAELI now had the
opportunity to develop the ideas that he had expressed when he was
leader of the Young England group in the 1840s. Social reforms
passed by the DISRAELI GOVERNMENT included: the ARTISANS DWELLINGS ACT
(1875), the PUBLIC HEALTH ACT (1875), the PURE FOOD AND DRUGS ACT (1875), the
CLIMBING BOYS ACT (1875), the EDUCATION ACT (1876). Disraeli also introduced
measures to protect workers such as the 1874 FACTORY ACT and the
CLIMBING BOYS ACT 1875. DISRAELI also kept his promise to improve the legal
position of trade unions. The CONSPIRACY AND PROTECTION OF PROPERTY ACT 5
(1875) allowed peaceful strikes.
Unlike William GLADSTONE, DISRAELI got on very well with QUEEN
VICTORIA. She approved of Disraeli's imperialist views and his desire to make
Britain the most powerful nation in the world. In 1876 Victoria agreed to his
suggestion that she should accept the title of Empress of India.
The Liberals defeated the Conservatives in the 1880 General Election
and after William GLADSTONE became Prime Minister, Disraeli retired from
politics. Disraeli hoped to spend his retirement writing novels but soon after the
publication of Endymion (1880) he became very ill & died on 19th April, 1881.
Political Parties Total Votes % MPs

Conservatives (DISRAELI) 903,318 38.4 271
Liberals (Gladstone) 1,428,776 61.5 387
4
Political Parties Total Votes % MPs

Conservatives 1,091,708 43.9 350
Liberals 1,281,159 52.7 242
Home Rule Party 90,234 3.3 60
5
New legislation concerning trade unions: A trade union could not be prosecuted for an act
which would be legal if performed by an individual.

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3.2. Charles Dickens: Oliver Twist.

Few writers are lucky enough to have their first novels become
runaway bestsellers. Yet that is exactly what happened when 25-year-
old Charles Dickens published Oliver Twist in 1837.
Many readers already knew of young Dickens. As a journalist, he had
written, under the pen name Boz, exposing social conditions in England. He
had also written a bestselling collection of humorous stories called The
Pickwick Papers.
One reason why Oliver Twist was so popular was that Dickens
understood what his audience wanted to read and was willing to
write it. He gave them sentimental love scenes, a horrifying glimpse of
the criminal underworld, a virtuous hero in Oliver, and nasty villains in
BILL SIKES and FAGIN. And he mixed it all up in a complicated, puzzling
mystery story. Because Oliver Twist was published in monthly
instalments, DICKENS could leave his readers in agonizing suspense
from month to month. All across England, readers eagerly discussed what
had happened in the most recent instalment and argued over what they
thought would happen in the next one, just as Big Brother Shows are for
us today.
Dickens wanted to do more than just entertain. He challenged
his readers to consider things they would rather have ignored. He drew
a picture of London's poorest neighbourhoods that was shocking in its
realism. Victorian authors were not supposed to acknowledge the
existence of drunkards & prostitutes, but DICKENS did. They were not
supposed to use street language, even in dialogue, but DICKENS did.
In 1834, a few years before the publication of Oliver Twist,
Parliament had passed a POOR LAW intended to end some of the worst
abuses against the indigent. Yet the provision of the bill didn't go far in
providing aid for those who were suffering. DICKENS wanted to do something
about the poverty in England. Although his readers didn't know this,
poverty had personally touched Dickens. His family had been quite
comfortable when he was born in Portsmouth in 1812, but his parents weren't

Tema 47:
17
very skilled at managing money. When he was about 12, his family was
confined to debtors' prison, in London. Only the money left by his
grandmother when she died paid them out. His knowledge of prison
gave Dickens a lifelong obsession with prisoners and inhumane
institutions. The hunger and loneliness that tortures Oliver Twist while he is a
ward of the parish were very real to Dickens during his own family crisis.
Young DICKENS was forced to work as an apprentice in a boot
blacking factory, for 6 awful months. Not only was the work exhausting,
the experience was humiliating. In Oliver Twist he included a brief
episode condemning the apprenticeship system, but it was not until later,
in David Copperfield, that he could face writing about the factory in detail.
While Oliver Twist is not as autobiographical as David
Copperfield, many other incidents in the novel reflect DICKENS'
experiences. He deeply regretted not having had more schooling and
suggests that in Oliver's eagerness to learn.
The criminal underworld of FAGIN, NANCY, and SIKES in Oliver
Twist was as well-known to Dickens as the workhouses6 and debtors'
prisons. As a reporter and journalist, he had seen the sordid side of urban life.
He had met criminals like SIKES and women like NANCY. He had little sympathy
for criminals like FAGIN, who abuse and corrupt others, yet he knew that there
were others- like NANCY and CHARLEY BATES- who were criminals only because of
their environment, and who might still be reformed. Later he became actively
involved with URANIA COTTAGE, a refuge for homeless women, including
prostitutes. URANIA COTTAGE was set up as an environment where these
women could feel at home and prepare themselves for a better life.
DICKENS' sympathy for NANCY is clear in OLIVER TWIST. Typically, he was
motivated to get involved, to try to change conditions for girls like her
before it was too late. The 1830s were a time of growing concern about
social issues and reform. As a popular writer, he could reach a vast middle-
class audience, shocking them into action by his dramatic storytelling.
6
Workhouses were common institutions in 19th C. They provided shelter for the unemployed
poor. But for many people, also Dickens, they seemed places of punishment rather than charity.

Tema 47:
18
3.2.1. The characters.
3.2.1.1. Oliver Twist

The orphan Oliver is a loving, innocent child. In his poor-to-rich
career he finally finds happiness with his aunt, ROSE MAYLIE, and his
mentor, MR. BROWNLOW. But at birth, his prospects aren't very bright. He is
left in a public workhouse deprived of affection, education, and adequate food.
OLIVER is generally quiet and shy rather than aggressive. But
when he is 9, he does two bold things that change his life: At the
workhouse, he asks for more food and when he's an apprentice he beats up
a work mate who continuously torments him and runs away. After that, most
of the things that happen to him are out of his control. They are the
result of luck- either good or bad- or the active intervention of someone else.
When he arrives in London, he finds himself in the control of
FAGIN and his thieves. Twice he is rescued by the very people that
FAGIN's gang is trying to rob, first Mr. BROWNLOW, and later Mrs. MAYLIE. Then
his half-brother (MONKS) plans to destroy him. Oliver's weakness and
innocence earns him the pity and love of the good people he meets. At
the same time, his goodness makes him the victim of FAGIN, SIKES, and
MONKS because they persistently scheme to turn him into a thief like
themselves. Because Oliver discovers that good people are successful
and evil ones are punished, he turns out to be a happy, secure, honest
person.
DICKENS choice of OLIVER's name is very revealing, because the boy's story
is full of "twists" and turns.
3.2.1.2. Mr. Bumble

A beadle's job was to maintain order in churches and other
parish institutions, and Mr. BUMBLE likes his work- especially keeping the
poor in line. He takes a special responsibility for OLIVER TWIST, from the day
he names the infant to the time when people like kindly BROWNLOW and
MONKS ask for information about the orphan's past. However, DICKENS
suggests that BUMBLE's interest is self-serving.

Tema 47:
19
3.2.1.3. Artful Dodger.

ARTFUL DODGER is a talented pickpocket. Oliver is initially impressed
by him and follows him to FAGIN's school for thieves. DODGER's charms may
simply make him a bad example for OLIVER and the other boys. On the
contrary, DODGER might be seen as a misguided, but generous, teenager.
At times, DODGER seems more like a free spirit than a conscious criminal.
Notice that he's arrested before NANCY's murder. It has been said that
Dickens did this so that DODGER is not implicated in that grim act.
3.2.1.4. Fagin.
FAGIN is a Jewish master criminal whose specialty is selling stolen
property. He employs a team of thieves (some of them ignorant children)
and is always looking for new recruits. That's why he is glad when
DODGER brings OLIVER home. He finds out later from MONKS that he can
make a profit from turning OLIVER into a criminal, & he's even more happy.
FAGIN seems like a villain straight out of melodrama (hiding
through the dark London streets and called "the old gentleman"7). Even his
red hair links him to descriptions of Judas, the betrayer of Jesus. It may
be said that FAGIN is just making a living the best way he can. He is a
man of considerable intelligence, though corrupted by his self-interest.
3.2.1.5. Mr. Brownlow

BROWNLOW is a generous man, concerned for other people. Not
only does he withdraw his accusation of OLIVER, he takes the boy home
with him and nurses him out of his fever. BROWNLOW is quick to feel pity
for OLIVER. He insists that MONKS must restore the identity and fortune
he has stolen from Oliver. He posts a reward for SIKES' capture.
BROWNLOW seems to be a caricature of a virtuous man. They point
to his attitude toward NANCY, especially his conviction that she should
change her lifestyle.
7
A common nickname for Satan

Tema 47:
20
3.2.1.6. Bill Sikes (Sykes)

SIKES is a robber and a murderer. Because he is an ally of FAGIN,
they are often described as the two faces of evil in the novel: FAGIN
plans the crimes; SIKES carries them out. The scenes in which SIKES brutally
beats NANCY to death are the most frightening moments in the novel.
From the beginning, SYKES is compared to a beast. He uses brute violence
to intimidate and injure other people like NANCY, his unwilling accomplice
OLIVER, and even clever but cowardly FAGIN.
3.2.1.7. Monks (Also known as Edward Leeford)

MONKS is OLIVER's half-brother. Because he wants to destroy the
boy's chance of inheriting their father's money, he asks FAGIN to turn
OLIVER into a criminal. Monks is driven by hate. However this hate makes
him fall: if he hadn't gone looking for Oliver, he would have kept the entire
fortune for himself, as he was the only person who knew the boy's identity.
3.2.1.8. Nancy
NANCY is the unfortunate product of the poor neighbourhoods: pupil of
FAGIN and mistress of SIKES. Although she is a prostitute, she has the
instincts of a good person. She protects OLIVER as soon as she sees the
threat to him, even though it means landing in trouble with FAGIN and SIKES.
Incredibly, she’s faithful to Sikes bc she loves him, despite his abuses. She
dies at the end of the novel.
3.2.1.9. Rose Maylie.

At least on the surface, ROSE is very different from NANCY. Though
both were orphans, ROSE was rescued as a child by Mrs. MAYLIE and
grew up secure and protected. Like NANCY, she is compassionate and
devoted to OLIVER, but in contrast Rose is innocent of the world’s evils.
OLIVER loves ROSE because she is so beautiful and good. She
represents, for him, the idea of what a perfect woman should be. After he
is "adopted" by Rose and Mrs. Maylie he is able to feel secure and happy.
Because Rose knew what it was like to be rescued from an unhappy childhood,

Tema 47:
21
she urgently wants to rescue Oliver, and Nancy too. In that way, she is a
representation of all the good instincts of Victorian society.
3.2.2. Setting.
The major action in Oliver Twist moves back and forth between
two worlds: the filthy neighbourhoods of London and the clean,
comfortable houses of BROWNLOW and the MAYLIES. The first world is real
and frightening, while the latter is idealized, almost dreamlike, in its safety and
beauty.
The world of London is a world of crime. Things happen there at
night, in dark streets and in abandoned, unlighted buildings. In contrast to
FAGIN's London, the sunlit days and fragrant flowers of the MAYLIES' cottage or
the handsome library at BROWNLOW's teem with goodness and health.
3.2.3. Themes.
There is not much difference of opinion about what Dickens intended Oliver
Twist to communicate to readers. The following are major themes of the novel:
3.2.3.1. The Influence of the environment.

Do living conditions determine what happens to people? If so,
we are to believe that those of Dickens' people who are deprived of
good influences are doomed, while those who enjoy love and security
flourish. However, despite the environment in which Oliver has been grown up,
he is still good and naïve. Dickens may also be arguing that criminals are
made, not born.
3.2.3.2. The power of true love.

Many forms of love appear in Oliver Twist, whether between
man and woman or parent and child (including adopted children). Dickens
seems to suggest that affection is the only source of real strength.
BROWNLOW's love saves OLIVER. ROSE and HENRY find happiness together after all
their suffering. But love is not successful if it is one-sided. NANCY's love for
SYKES, though sincere on her part, fails because it is not returned. Love

Tema 47:
22
also fails when it is motivated by greed or self-advantage: The Bumbles'

marriage and the relationship between Noah and Charlotte mock true love.
3.2.3.3. The Failure of Charity

Much of the first part of Oliver Twist challenges the organizations
of charity run by the church and the government in DICKENS’ times. The
system Dickens describes was put into place by the POOR LAW of 1834, which
stipulated that the poor could only receive government assistance if
they moved into government workhouses. Residents of those workhouses
were essentially prisoners whose rights were severely curtailed by a
host of onerous regulations. Labour was required, families were almost
always separated, and rations of food and clothing were meagre. The
workhouses operated on the principle that poverty was the
consequence of laziness and that the dreadful conditions in the
workhouse would inspire the poor to better their own circumstances.
Yet the economic dislocation of the Industrial Revolution made it impossible for
many to do so, and the workhouses did not provide any means for social or
economic betterment.
Furthermore, as DICKENS points out, the officials who ran the
workhouses deliberately violated the values they preached to the
poor. Dickens describes with great sarcasm the greed, laziness, and arrogance
of charitable workers like Mr. BUMBLE and Mrs. Mann. In general, charitable
institutions only reproduced the awful conditions in which the poor would live
anyway.
3.2.3.4. The Folly of Individualism

With the rise of capitalism during the INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION,
individualism was very much in vogue as a philosophy. Victorian
capitalists believed that society would run better if individuals looked out
for their own interests. Ironically, the clearest pronunciation of this
philosophy comes not from a legitimate businessman but from FAGIN, who
operates in the illicit businesses of theft and prostitution.

Tema 47:
L revolución ind
La dustrial inglesa:: Modelo de tran
nsformación hisstórica. Novela política
p y social: Charles Dickens.
23
3.2.4
4. Point of
o view.
A third person,
p om
mniscientt narratorr, who isn't a chara
acter but who
knows every
ything tha
at is happening and
d what alll of the characters
s are
nking and
thin d doing, tells the story
s mostt of the tiime in Olivver Twist. The
narra
ator desccribes eve
ents and repeats conversatiions so that you can
unde
erstand and evaluate
e what is going on.
Occasio
onally the narrato
or interru
upts the story he is telling, and
spea
aking in his
h own voice,
v as "I",
" urges you to ac
ccept parrticular id
deas.
Whe
en a writerr changes from one narrator to
t anotherr, it is usu
ually to draw
d
atte
ention to the subjject being
g discuss
sed. Some readers b
believe that the
arrator secctions of Oliver Twist
first--person na Tw rese
emble the
e journallistic
skettches Dic
ckens was
s accusto
omed to writing.
w T shifts may signa
The al the
crusa
ading purp
pose that was
w as imp
portant to Dickens
D as telling an exciting sttory.
3.2.5
5. Charac
cters’ Nam
mes
The na
ames of characterrs repres
sent pers
sonal qua
alities. OLIVER
TWISST himself is
i the mosst obvious example.
e The
T name “Twist,” th
hough give
en by
accid
dent, allud
des to th
he outrag
geous rev
versals off fortune
e that he will
expe
erience. ROSE MAYLIIE’s name echoes he
er associa
ation with
h flowers
s and
sprin
ngtime, yo
outh and beauty.
b TOBY
O CRACKIIT’s name is a refe
erence to
o his
chos
sen profe
ession of breaking into houses. Mr. BUMBLE’s na
ame conn
notes
his bumbling
g arrogan
nce; Mrs. MANN’s, her lack of maternall instinct;; and
Mr. GRIMWIG’s, his superrficial grim
mness tha
at can be
e removed
d as easilly as
a wiig.
Bib
bliograp
phy
CEDE Apuntes
A
Editorial MAD
Industtrial Revolution: http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/currriculum/units/11981/2/81.02.06
6.x.html#a
http:///socserv2.socscii.mcmaster.ca/~~econ/ugcm/3ll3/toynbee/indre ev
http:///mars.acnet.wne ec.edu/~grempel/courses/wc2//lectures/industtrialrev.html
http:///www.bbc.co.ukk/history/lj/locallj/ff_thriplow_enclosures.shtmll
http:///www.wsu.edu:8 8080/~dee/ENLLIGHT/INDUSTR RY.HTM
http:///www.micklebrin ng.com/workhouse/chapter27.h htm
B. Disrraeli: http://www
w.spartacus.sch
hoolnet.co.uk/PR
Rdisraeli.htm
Dickenns: http://www.sparknotes.comm/lit/oliver/ ; htttp://www.pinkm
monkey.com/boo
oknotes/barronss/oltwist.asp#co
ontents ;
http:///www.biblioman
nia.com/1/-/fram
meset.html
Iván Matellaness’ Notes

Topic 47: Brief summary
24
Brief Summary La revolución industrial inglesa: Modelo de transformación histórica. Novela político-social: C. Dickens.
- THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION:
th
- The INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION of 18 C Europe involved much more than merely a technological improvement. It underwent profound social
changes, as Europe moved from a primarily agricultural & rural economy to a capitalist and urban economy.
♦ Why took place the Industrial revolution? Probably bc of the GLOBALIZATION OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMY.
___ European trade and manufacture spread to every continent except Antarctica; this vast increase in the market for European
goods in part drove the conversion to an industrial, manufacturing economy.
- Other fields which have been involved in the INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION:
- Population - Agriculture - Textile industry
♦ Another reason given ♦ In 1750, the European economy was an agricultural economy. ♦ before 1760, textiles manufacturing occurred
for the INDUSTRIAL The land was owned by wealthy & aristocratic landowners. at home.
REVOLUTION is the ♦ Agricultural sector’s improvement can be attributed to (a) the ♦ Changes in the textile industry were
substantial increase in enclosure movement & (b) the improved techniques developed: already occurring in the early 1700s, although
the population of (a) The ENCLOSURE MOVEMENT was the process whereby the these changes were not accepted by workers
Europe. sys of communal exploitation of the cultivated land & open at first.
♦ It’s not clear whether pastures was gradually replaced by a system of private land ♦ In the mid-1760s James Hargreaves’
the INDUSTRIAL management. JENNY, a device which enabled the operator
REVOLUTION is a (b) ADVANCES IN AGRICULTURE included the use of more robust to simultaneously spin dozens of threads,
product or the reason farm equipment from metal (until then made up of wood). Also was readily adopted.
REASONS
of the increase in control of insects, improved irrigation and farming methods, ♦ Arkwright and others developed the WATER
population. developing new crops and the use of horsepower. FRAME. This device performed similarly to the
ROLLER SPINNER.
- Coal Mining - Transportation - Steam

♦ Coal was the heart of the Industrial ♦ The improvement of transportation (chiefly ♦ The development and application of
revolution, bc without it, the Steam the railway) stimulated the course of the steam power was the greatest technical
machine and the railway could not be Industrial Revolution. achievement of the INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION.
possible. ♦ The development of efficient rail service was ♦ JAMES WATT is credited with the invention
♦ Improvements in coal mining came in crucial to the growth of specific industries of the steam engine, but he just improved a
the form of improved tunnel ventilation, and the overall economy design developed by THOMAS SAVERY &
improved underground and surface ♦ The principles of rail transport were already in THOMAS NEWCOMEN.
transportation, the use of gunpowder, & use in the late 1700s. TRAMWAYS, using cast iron .
improved tunnel illumination (safety rails, were being employed in a number of
lamps.) mines in England.
- Social aspects
th
♦ In the 18 C the population grew at a faster rate than ever before. There are four primary reasons which may be cited for this growth:
___ (1) a decline in the death rate, ___ (3) the virtual elimination of the plagues and
___ (2) an increase in the birth rate, ___ (4) an increase in the availability of food and a much healthier diet.
♦ With the adoption of the FACTORY SYSTEM, we find a shift in population. Settlements grew around the factories. In some cases, housing was
provided to workers by their employers, thus giving the factory owners greater control over the lives of his workers.
___ Towns that grew in the North were crowded, dirty and unregulated. They grew so rapidly that no one took the time to consider the
consequence of unsanitary conditions upon humans such as Reappearance of epidemic diseases (typhoid & cholera).
___ Some attention to these conditions was accorded by Parliament in the form of PUBLIC HEALTH ACTS, which did improve conditions, though
they were largely ineffective
- Economic aspects
♦ Prior to industrialization in England, land was the primary source of wealth.
PRODUCTS
♦ A new source of great wealth grew from the Industrial Revolution: that derived from the ownership of factories and machinery. Those who
invested in factories and machinery cannot be identified as belonging to any single class of people. Their backgrounds were quite diverse, yet they
had one thing in common: the daring to grab to the opportunity to invest in new ventures.
♦ Two kinds of capital were needed by these industrialists:
___ LONG-TERM CAPITAL to expand present operations.
___ SHORT-TERM CAPITAL to purchase raw materials and pay the wages. The need for short-term capital presented a problem, which was to found
a sufficient amount of small value currency to pay the wages. The root of the problem was the lack of an adequate banking system in these
remote industrial centers, since the Bank of England did not accommodate the needs of the manufacturers. PRIVATE BANKS appeared everywhere,
but their limited resources were inadequate to meet the demands of the factory economy. A banking system was eventually set up to
distribute capital to areas where it was needed, drawing it from areas where there was a surplus
- Labour aspects
♦ The working conditions of the moment can be characterized as horrendous. The factories were unhealthy & dangerous places where
workers put in 12 to 14 hours daily.
♦ FACTORY ACTS that were later enacted by Parliament regulated the number of hours that men, women and children worked.
♦ The FACTORY SYSTEM changed the manner in which work was performed: The work was away from home, in large, impersonal settings.
Workers were viewed by their employers merely as hands thanks to the government policy of LAISSEZ-FAIRE (“allow to do”).
___ Slowly, workers began to realize the strength they could possess if they were a unified force and trade unions appeared.

25
- THE POLITICAL AND SOCIAL NOVEL:
- Benjamin Disraeli:
♦ The most remarkable attack on the new industrialism with its accompanying poverty was made, not by a solemn revolutionary, but by a
vivacious dandy who became PM: BENJAMIN DISRAELI, a progressive Tory who advocated triennial parliaments & the secret ballot.
♦ In 1842 DISRAELI helped to form the YOUNG ENGLAND GROUP. DISRAELI & members of his group argued that the middle class now had
too much political power & advocated an alliance between the aristocracy and the working class.
___ This political philosophy was expressed in Disraeli's novels The new generation (1844), The two nations (1845) & The new
crusade (1847). In these books the leading characters show concern about poverty and the injustice of the parliamentary system.
♦ In 1852, Lord JOHN RUSSELL, the leader of the Whig government, resigned. Lord DERBY, the new Prime Minister, appointed DISRAELI as
his Chancellor of the Exchequer. This period of power only lasted a few months and Derby was soon replaced by the Earl of Aberdeen.
♦ In 1867 DISRAELI proposed a NEW REFORM ACT, supported by GLADSTONE (liberal party leader) and the measure was passed. The 1867
REFORM ACT gave the vote to every male adult householder living in a borough constituency. The REFORM ACT also dealt with
constituencies and boroughs with less than 10,000 inhabitants lost one of their MPs. The 45 seats left available were distributed by:
___ (i) giving 15 to towns which had never had an MP
___ (ii) giving one extra seat to some larger towns: Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds
___ (iii) creating a seat for the University of London;
___ (iv) giving 25 seats to counties whose population had increased.
♦ In 1874, DISRAELI (Conservative Party) won the General Elections & now had the opportunity to develop the ideas that he had
expressed when he was leader of the YOUNG ENGLAND GROUP in the 1840s.
___ Social reforms passed by the DISRAELI GOVERNMENT included: the ARTISANS DWELLINGS ACT (1875), the PUBLIC HEALTH ACT (1875),
the PURE FOOD AND DRUGS ACT (1875), the CLIMBING BOYS ACT (1875), the EDUCATION ACT (1876).
___ DISRAELI also introduced measures to protect workers such as the 1874 FACTORY ACT and the CLIMBING BOYS ACT 1875.
___ DISRAELI also kept his promise to improve the legal position of trade unions. The CONSPIRACY AND PROTECTION OF PROPERTY ACT
(1875) allowed peaceful strikes.
♦ In 1880, the Liberals defeated the Conservatives and after WILLIAM GLADSTONE became Prime Minister. DISRAELI retired from politics.
- Charles Dickens: Oliver Twist.
♦ 25 year-old Dickens had his first bestseller when he published Oliver Twist in 1837. Oliver Twist was published in monthly instalments
& DICKENS could leave his readers in agonizing suspense from month to month. All across England, readers discussed what had already
happened and argued over what they thought would happen in the next one, just as Big Brother Shows are for us today.
♦ However, Dickens wanted to do more than just entertain. He challenged his readers to consider things they would rather have ignored:
___ He drew a picture of London's poorest neighbourhoods that was shocking in its realism (Victorian authors were not supposed to
acknowledge the existence of drunkards & prostitutes, but DICKENS did).
___ He used the street Lg used by the lower classes.
♦ In 1834, a few years before the publication of Oliver Twist, Parliament had passed a POOR LAW intended to end some of the worst
abuses against the indigent. Yet the provision of the bill didn't go far in providing aid for those who were suffering. Dickens wanted to do
something about the poverty in England. Although his readers didn't know this, poverty had personally touched Dickens.
___ He spent some years in a debtors prison & was forced to work in a boot factory when still very young. From that experience he had really
bad memories, and in fact he gave a brief description in Oliver Twist & a thorough one in David Copperfield.
___ The criminal world of FAGIN, NANCY, & SIKES in Oliver Twist was as well-known to Dickens as the workhouses & debtors' prisons.
♦ DICKENS became actively involved with URANIA COTTAGE, a refuge for homeless women, including prostitutes. URANIA COTTAGE was
set up as an environment where these women could feel at home and prepare themselves for a better life.
THE CHARACTERS:
♦ OLIVER TWIST: The orphan Oliver is a loving, innocent child. In At birth, he is left in a public workhouse deprived of affection, education, &
adequate food. OLIVER is generally quiet and shy rather than aggressive. But when he is 9, he does 2 bold things that change his life:
___ a. At the workhouse, he asks for more food.
___ b. when he's an apprentice he beats up a work mate who continuously torments him and runs away.
♦ After that, most of the things that happen to him are out of his control.
___ When he arrives to LND, he finds himself in the control of FAGIN and his thieves. Twice he is rescued by the very people that
Fagin's gang is trying to rob. Then his half-brother (MONKS) plans to destroy him. Oliver's weakness and innocence earns him the
pity and love of the good people he meets.
♦ FAGIN is a master criminal whose specialty is selling stolen property. He employs a team of thieves & is always looking for new
recruits. He finds out later from MONKS that he can make a profit from turning OLIVER into a criminal, & he's even more happy.
___ FAGIN seems like a villain straight out of melodrama (hiding through the dark LND streets and called the old gentleman ≈ Satan). He is
a man of considerable intelligence, though corrupted by his self-interest.
♦ SIKES is a robber and a murderer. Bc he is an ally of Fagin, they are often described as the two faces of evil in the novel: FAGIN plans
the crimes; SIKES carries them out. From the beginning, Sykes is compared to a beast
♦ MONKS is Oliver's half-brother. Bc he wants to destroy the boy's chance of inheriting their father's money, he asks FAGIN to turn
OLIVER into a criminal. MONKS is driven by hate, which eventually will makes him fall: if he hadn't gone looking for OLIVER, he would have
kept the entire fortune for himself, as he was the only person who knew the boy's identity.
♦ BROWNLOW is a generous man, concerned for other people. Not only does he withdraw his accusation of OLIVER, he takes the boy home
with him and nurses him out of his fever. He seems to be a caricature of a virtuous man.
♦ NANCY is the product of the poor neighbourhoods: pupil of FAGIN and mistress of SIKES. Although she is a prostitute, she has the
instincts of a good person. She protects OLIVER as soon as she sees the threat to him. She’s faithful to Sikes bc she loves him.
THEMES:
♦ The influence of the environment: Do living conditions determine what happens to people? Then, those deprived of good
influences are doomed, while those who enjoy love and security flourish? DICKENS seem to argue that criminals are made, not born.
♦ Many forms of love appear in Oliver Twist, whether between man and woman or parent and child. Dickens seems to suggest that
affection is the only source of real strength, but love is not successful if it is one-sided (Nancy's love for Sykes is not returned).
♦ Oliver Twist challenges the organizations of charity run by the church and the government in DICKENS’ times.
___ POOR LAW ACT of 1834 stipulated that the poor could only receive government assistance if they moved into government
WORKHOUSES. Residents of those workhouses were basically prisoners whose rights were severely shortened by a nº of regulations.
___ The WORKHOUSES operated on the principle that poverty was the consequence of laziness and that the dreadful conditions in the
workhouse would inspire the poor to better their own circumstances Æ Based on Utilitaristic ideals scheduled by JEREMY BENTHAM.
♦ With the rise of capitalism during the INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION, individualism was very much in vogue as a philosophy. Victorian
capitalists believed that society would run better if individuals looked out for their own interests. Ironically, the clearest pronunciation
of this philosophy comes not from a legitimate businessman but from FAGIN, who operates in the illicit businesses of theft & prostitution.
26
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treboles

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Iván Matellaness’ Notes

-1776: James WATT created the Steam-machine.

-1836: DICKENS wrote The Pickwick Papers

CLIMBING BOYS ACT: Prohibited the employment of juvenile chimney cleaners.

DISRAELI publishes Endymion

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

2. The Industrial revolution.

2.1.1. Why took place the Industrial revolution?

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

The communal element was abolished and individual landowners and

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

hilar), which was to make spinning more

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

These inventions that were perfected and employed led to tremendous

2.1.5. Coal Mining

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

2.2. Products of the Industrial Revolution

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

TERM CAPITAL to expand present operations, and SHORT-TERM CAPITAL to

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

3. The political and social novel.

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

protectionism and strongly opposed Peel's decision to cancel the CORN

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

In 1868 Lord DERBY resigned and Benjamin DISRAELI became the

Political Parties Total Votes % MPs

Political Parties Total Votes % MPs

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

3.2. Charles Dickens: Oliver Twist.

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

3.2.1. The characters.

3.2.1.1. Oliver Twist

3.2.1.2. Mr. Bumble

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

3.2.1.3. Artful Dodger.

3.2.1.5. Mr. Brownlow

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

3.2.1.6. Bill Sikes (Sykes)

3.2.1.7. Monks (Also known as Edward Leeford)

3.2.1.9. Rose Maylie.

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

3.2.3.1. The Influence of the environment.

3.2.3.2. The power of true love.

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

also fails when it is motivated by greed or self-advantage: The Bumbles'

3.2.3.3. The Failure of Charity

3.2.3.4. The Folly of Individualism

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

Iván Matellaness’ Notes

- Coal Mining - Transportation - Steam

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

Iván Matellanes’ Notes