1. Children in Poverty Qo ‘The conditions for poor children in Victorian England were dangerous and bleak, as shown in the story. Babies were wrapped in old clothes. Cl <2) cold_as they never had enough warm clothes. They were G fea with a@ tee meals of soup everyday and on Sundays they got a smiall piece of bread. Each x boy had one small bowl of soup and no more. The bowls never needed washing, because the boys cleaned them with their spoons until they shone. Oliver was a pale, thin child. In contrast the master was a fat healthy man. Children received (© severe beatings for small transgressions. When Oliver asked for more, this was seen as a revolt and he was severely punished so that other children would not dare to ask for more. ‘were This shows that many children would have died of starvation and only a few survived to adulthood. Thus, reducing the population of the workhouse. ‘Scanned with CamScannerLee 2. Child Abuse The story presents a horrible picture of child abuse that wears down the very fabric of the society on which its future hinges. Oliver and his companions face thrashing and hunger at the warehouse. The boys never had warm clothes. The severe punishment meted out to Oliver makes the reader's heart bleed for him. He is beaten up when he asks for more and then locked up in a cold dark room for a week. During this time he receives beatings first after his wash and then before the other boys. The cold dark room, no clothes and severe beating every day must have been terrible for the nine-year old child. The author has successfully portrayed the cruelty children, especially poor orphans, were subjected to during the Victorian era in England. ‘Scanned with CamScanner