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Study Questions for Oliver Twist In his second novel, how does Dickens structure the narrative? In particular, how does it compare to the structure in The Pickwick Papers? Is the tone of Twist different from that of Pickwick? In considering this question, think about the opening sections of both novels; about the Fleet chapters of the first one and the Fagin/Sikes chapters of the second; and about contrasts in light and dark imagery. While this novel often verges on the tragic, it has a comic ending, comic characters, and numerous comic episodes. Do these work well with the more somber exploration of English society that seems to reside at the heart of the novel? Dickens utilized interpolated narratives extensively in Pickwick. Do they have any sort of equivalent here? As with Pickwick, Twist takes place in both the city and the country. Aside from the expected differences (there are fewer people in the country, for instance), how does Dickens characterize and shape these two landscapes? Are they equally detailed? Why does the novel end in the country, when it spends so much of its time in the city? What happens when the two locations mix--as when Fagin and Monks appear at Oliver's garden window? What is the social burden of this novel? What does it have to say about class, poverty, wealth, labor, crime, the law, and so on? Are these topics more or less pronounced than in Pickwick? Does Dickens suggest solutions to social problems here? What is the place of personal benevolence? Who are the most memorable, lively characters in the novel? Oliver, Rose, and Brownlow? Fagin, Sikes, and Nancy? If the latter set, what do we make of that answer? The subtitle of this novel is "The Parish Boy's Progress." Do you detect any allusions therein? What would it have been like to read this novel in parts? Does Dickens use the serial form to build suspense in his readers? If so, in what cases? In what ways do the illustrations punctuate the text? |