Topic > A look at the story of Oliver Twist in the 19th century

The story of Oliver Twist begins in 19th century England in a small workhouse where Oliver was born. Shortly after Oliver's birth, his mother dies of starvation. Since the identity of Oliver's father was unknown, he was forced to spend the first nine years of his life in an orphanage, later being transferred to an adult workhouse. There he spends a few months until he is auctioned off for five pounds by the parish priest of the workhouse for asking for more food. From then on he was tossed from place to place until he finally decided to run away from his permanent residence with an undertaker named Mr. Sowerberry. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Oliver was on the run for several days until he came across a young boy named Jack Dawkins. Jack noticed how hungry and exhausted Oliver looked, so he offered him accommodation with his boss Fagin. Later, Oliver discovers that Fagin is a criminal who trains and hires young orphans to pickpocket people for him. After living with Fagin for a few days, Oliver is sent with the rest of the boys on his first pickpocketing mission. Though after witnessing the theft of the other children firsthand, Oliver runs in the opposite direction in disgust and fear. Due to Oliver's escape, the man who was robbed immediately became suspicious of Oliver, leading him to capture and falsely accuse Oliver of theft. Oliver barely escapes conviction, and in the process rapidly becomes ill throughout the trial. Once the verdict was reached, Mr. Brownlow, the man who had been robbed, decided to take Oliver home allowing him to stay there until he was back to full health. Although after a couple of weeks Oliver's stay at Mr. Brownlow's house is interrupted by two members of Fagin's gang, Nancy and Bill Sikes, who take him back to Fagin. As punishment for running away from his gang, Fagin sends Oliver with his friend Sikes to help him rob a house. While attempting to sneak into the house, Oliver is shot and then abandoned by Sikes in a ditch. After waking up in a ditch, Oliver limps back to the house he was forced to rob in search of help. Upon arriving, Oliver apologizes and tells them his life story which led Mrs. Maylie and her niece Rose to welcome him. The story then turns away from Oliver, revealing to the reader Fagin's growing desire to recover Oliver, as well as a mysterious man named Monaco with the same aspiration. Returning to the story, the Maylies travel to London, where Nancy secretly meets with Rose and informs her of Fagin's plans. However, when Sikes recognizes her betrayal, he brutally kills her, then hangs himself in an attempt to escape. Eventually, Monks is revealed as Oliver's biological brother who seeks to take their family's inheritance all for himself, only to be forced to give it up to Oliver by Mr. Brownlow. Who eventually adopts Oliver with the Maylies' permission. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay I would definitely recommend this book to one of my friends in the future. I enjoyed reading the novel; some of the things that happened to Oliver reminded me of the plot of the Lemony Snicket series. Both Oliver and the children in "A Series of Unfortunate Events" are orphans, and throughout their story they run away from a criminal who causes "unfortunate" things to happen in their lives. To Oliver he was Fagin, and to the other children he was Count Olaf. I think any child my age will do.