"Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it makes some virtues

impracticable and others extremely difficult." Quoted by Samuel Johnson. This quote certainly describes
the case in the screen adaptation of Charles Dicken’s classic adventure story Oliver Twist.
Charles Dickens, in full Charles John Huffam Dickens, born on February 7, 1812, Portsmouth,
Hampshire, England—died June 9, 1870, Gad’s Hill, near Catham, Kent. He is an English Novelist,
generally considered the greatest of the Victorian Era. The famed British author was the second of eight
children. His father, John Dickens, was a naval clerk who dreamed of striking it rich. Charles' mother,
Elizabeth Barrow, aspired to be a teacher and school director. Despite his parents’ best efforts, the family
remained poor. Nevertheless, they were happy in the early days. In 1816, they moved to Chatham, Kent,
where you
ng Dickens and his siblings were free to roam the countryside and explore the old castle at Rochester. In
1822, the Dickens family moved to Camden Town, a poor neighborhood in London. By then the family’s
financial situation had grown dire, as John Dickens had a dangerous habit of living beyond the family’s
means. Eventually, John was sent to prison for debt in 1824, when Charles was just 12 years old.
Within a year of being hired, Dickens began freelance reporting at the law courts of London. Just a few
years later, he was reporting for two major London newspapers. In 1833, he began submitting sketches to
various magazines and newspapers under the pseudonym “Boz.” In 1836, his clippings were published in
his first book, Sketches by Boz.
He later edited magazines including Household Words and All the Year Round, the latter of which he
founded.
Throughout his career, Dickens published a total of 15 novels. His most well-known works include:
'Oliver Twist' (1837-1838)
Oliver Twist, Dickens first novel, follows the life of an orphan living in the streets. The book was inspired
by how Dickens felt as an impoverished child forced to get by on his wits and earn his own keep. 
After suffering a stroke, Dickens died at age 58 on June 9, 1870, at Gad’s Hill Place, his country home in
Kent, England. 
Five years earlier, Dickens had been in a train accident and never fully recovered. Despite his fragile
condition, he continued to tour until shortly before his death.

The novel introduces Oliver Twist, who was born in early Victorian London to an unidentifiable woman
who died after giving birth to him.
Oliver spends his youth in a sort of orphanage which Dickens calls a child farm until it is decided he is
old enough to work. At almost nine years old, Oliver is sent to work at an adult workhouse. Here, he
suffers tremendously and is left hungry. Left with little food, he utters the famous words: please sir, I
want some more. Disgusted with the boy's hunger, the parish officials sell Oliver to Mr. Sowerberry, an
undertaker, who uses him as an apprentice to his trade.
After being mistreated again, he runs away to London, where he befriends the Artful Dodger and Fagin,
who let Oliver live with them and teach him pickpocketing.
While pickpocketing, Oliver is caught by Mr. Brownlow, a victim of the team's criminal acts. Believing
Oliver to be a victim of misfortunate events, Mr. Brownlow offers to take Oliver in and help him.
Fagin sends Bill Sikes and Nancy to kidnap Oliver and bring him back.
Oliver is paired with Bill on a house burglary, but they are too loud and wake up the servants. Oliver is
shot in the scuffle but reveals he was trying to wake up the house to warn them of Fagin's gang. The
homeowners, Mrs. Maylie and her young niece, Rose, take in Oliver to nurse him back to health. Here, he
learns to read and write and is reunited with Mr. Brownlow.
Fagin reveals that a man named Monks paid him off to turn Oliver into a criminal. After hearing this,
Nancy secretly tries to help Oliver, but Bill kills her after feeling betrayed.
After being mistreated once more, he flees to London, where he meets the Artful Dodger and Fagin, who
invite him to live with them and teach him pickpocketing.
Oliver is apprehended while pickpocketing by Mr. Brownlow, a victim of the team's criminal activities.
Mr. Brownlow offers to take Oliver in and help him because he believes he is a victim of unfortunate
events.
Fagin dispatches Bill Sikes and Nancy to kidnap and return Oliver.
On a house burglary, Oliver is paired with Bill, but they are too loud and wake up the servants. In the
scuffle, Oliver is shot, but he reveals that he was trying to wake up the house to warn them of Fagin's
gang.
Mr. Brownlow finds Monks and discovers that Monks is Oliver's half-brother because their father had an
affair with Oliver's mother. Monks' plan was to strip Oliver from their shared inheritance. However, this
discovery leads Monks to have to give Oliver his share.
Rose turns out to be related to Oliver as well. She was his mother's younger sister and was adopted by
Mrs. Maylie after her death.
Fagin is found guilty of his crimes and hanged.
Mr. Brownlow adopts Oliver, and they live peacefully with Mrs. Maylies.

Oliver Twist can be described as Text-to-World connection because the movie adaptation focused on how
the poorest people in society were treated the worst. We can see the failure of the workhouse system that
was unable to look after the poor and lonely orphans that were in their care. Oliver Twist represents some
of whats happening in our lives nowadays. Dickens used satire and humor to call attention to these
wrongs and bring to light the unchristian manner in which the poor were being forced to live. It also
portrays the power of Love, Hate, Greed, and Revenge and how each can affect the people involved. The
movie shows what is exactly we are experiencing nowadays. They suffer poverty and cannot do anything
to change the condition. In order to stay alive, most of the characters who experience such kind of social
injustice prefer to conduct criminal. In relation to the application of sociology of literature theory, it is
found that social injustice like poverty, social stratification and child labor depicted in the novel are the
representation of the real condition at the time the novel was written.

Faithful, captivating and thrilling. A very captivating story with very detailed text about the places,
environment and characters that sometimes you need to take a short break to just enter all information.
Reading Oliver story gave me a wealth of insight as to how someone diagnosed with a learning disability
is viewed, treated and more importantly how Society treats them along with the emotional battles he
faced trying to cope with his emotions. I found it interesting that Oliver’s most fierce advocate and the
one person he admired so much for sticking up for him he was not close to. Poor people have less access
to health care and education. I believe that the best way out of poverty is a well-paying job. To start job
growth now, governments should invest in their infrastructure by rebuilding bridges, railways, roads,
schools, libraries, and make other investments that create jobs and boost national economy. To my
mind, once we understand how serious are the effects of poverty, we can take the necessary steps to
solve the issue altogether.
In conclusion, I want to say that “Oliver Twist” has opened my eyes. It made me look a little deeper into
serious social issues. I feel that Dickens wanted to make some kind of announcement, to persuade
people that these problems need to be solved. Society nowadays is aware of the global issues. There are
many organizations and campaigns that help people and try to improve the world. Although some of the
problems have become even bigger, I believe that little by little we are moving toward a better future.