Oliver's Position In Society In Oliver Twist

Moreover, Dickens thought that one’s position in society could be changed by self-improvement. Then, one’s environment may be decisive to shape your way of being but not to change who you really are. In fact, Oliver’s stay with the Maylies challenges this argument. Whereas Oliver was supposed to be helped and thus, improve, in the city, it is precisely here the moment in which we see the worst side of Oliver: he has no voice, he has no decent opportunities, he is victim of middle-classes prejudices, and so on. Otherwise, in the countryside, where he is supposedly to be a waste for society (not having any opportunity to self-improvement), he finds his true nature, having his own opinion and showing the purest side of Oliver. However, this situation

We get to know that Oliver’s mother was Agnes Fleming and that his father was Mr Leeford. They had an affair and Oliver was born. We also get to know that Rose and Agnes were sisters and thus, Rose is Oliver’s aunt. Then, the theme of Oliver’s identity is revealed and Mr Brownlow adopts him as a son. We get to know too how Bill Sikes knew about Nancy’s attempt to help Oliver and decides to kill her. Then, he flees London, as he fears he can be captured and sent to prison. He then experiences a kind of hallucination when he sees Nancy’s eyes everywhere, as a symbol of his fear of being accused as the culprit of the murder. He then accidentally kills himself with a rope. Moreover, the Artful Dodger has been captured and Fagin has been sentenced to death. It seems that all criminal and vicious characters in the story are now paying for all the injustices they have

One instance is the theme of Oliver’s identity: in spite of Oliver’s origins being revealed at the end of the novel, he does not feel any change in his character. He has always been who he really is and nobody could corrupt him, although the criminal world of the city has been a permanent element throughout the novel as a test Oliver has to face in a Victorian-like society. He preserves his identity as the principle of Good and in fact, in the moment in which his identity is revealed, Mr Brownlow adopts him as his son and he does not change his way of being. However, what is important from this story is that although Oliver has faced many obstacles through his life, that he has been victim of suffering and injustices and that others have always wanted to shape his identity, he has been impenetrable and has won all the battles, providing that moral lesson that social fiction was intended to provide: if you are born poor you do not necessarily have to possess vices such as criminality, laziness and immorality. The fact that you were born poor does not make you a criminal and the fact that you were born rich does not make you honest. In fact, you can forge your future and change other people’s belief about social classes and previously fixed fates, as soon as you try hard to self-improve. One perfect instance of this is that Fagin,