📖 Oliver Twist: Complete & Unabridged

Oliver Twist, who is born in a workhouse in England, is an orphan with no idea of his parentage as his mother dies shortly after giving birth. In the workhouse, he is raised under cruel conditions of starvation and abuse. When Oliver is dared by his "friends" to ask for more food, he is sold to an apprentice as punishment. Angered by the conditions he has been put through all his life, Oliver decides to run away to London, where he meets Jack Dawkins, also known as the Artful Dodger, who introduces him to Fagin, a criminal who trains a gang made up of little boys. However, Oliver is caught during a pickpocketing attempt by the kind Mr. Brownlow, but he believes in Oliver's innocence and decides to take him home. Suddenly, Oliver doesn't even get to settle into his new life before he is kidnapped by Fagin's collaborators, Bill Sikes and Nancy. Oliver is unfortunately forced back into a life of crime. Later, the gears of life start to shift when Sikes' plan to use Oliver in a house burglary goes wrong, and Oliver is wounded. As a result, the community and Nancy take pity and develop a fondness for Oliver. Therefore, Nancy secretly meets with Mr. Brownlow, tells him about Oliver's situation, and hopes to save him. Unfortunately, Sikes and Fagin eavesdrop and discover her betrayal, and she is unfortunately murdered. Immediately after, though, Sikes accidentally hangs himself, and Fagin is captured to death, marking the end of the gang. On the other hand, Oliver's true identity is revealed as he is the son of a wealthy family. With Mr. Brownlow's help, he can receive his inheritance, and he escapes the cycle of poverty and crime in the 1830s in slums and workhouses of London. For me, I particularly enjoyed Dickens' ability to convey dialects and simple yet powerful phrases, especially, "Please sir, may I have some more?" which represents the boy's manifestation of his food and fate. It was also inspiring to see Dickens' childhood experiences reflected in the way he crafted the characters and dialogues, as Dickens was forced to work as a child when his father was arrested for not paying back debt. In addition, Fagin was inspired by Issac Solomon, who was introduced to a life of crime by his father and trained little children in them. More about the historical context, Oliver Twist is written in the context of the Victorian era between the Napoleonic wars and the First World War. This was a period of significant social change from a rural to urban society with large families, migrations, and moving into terrible workhouse conditions. There was also the New Poor Law of 1834, which ended support for the poor unless they worked in brutal workhouses. Also, a fun fact is that Dickens used to walk obsessively for 10 to 20 miles a day around London and captured all his observations of immoral Victorian society into his prose. His social critique and personal trauma are especially highlighted in this raw piece.

奥利弗·特威斯特(Oliver Twist)出生于英国的一家济贫院,因母亲产后不久便去世,他成了一名身世不明的孤儿。他在济贫院饱受饥饿与虐待,生活环境极其恶劣。当"朋友们"怂恿他去索要更多食物时,他因这一举动受到惩罚,被卖去当学徒。长期遭受非人待遇的奥利弗愤而逃往伦敦,在那里结识了绰号"机灵鬼"(Artful Dodger)的杰克·道金斯(Jack Dawkins)。道金斯将他引荐给了费金(Fagin),此人是一个专门训练一群小男孩从事犯罪活动的罪犯头目。 后来,奥利弗在一次行窃时被善良的布朗洛先生(Mr. Brownlow)抓住,但布朗洛先生坚信奥利弗是无辜的,并决定将他带回家收留。然而,奥利弗还没来得及安顿下来,就被费金的同伙比尔·赛克斯(Bill Sikes)和南希(Nancy)绑架,被迫重回犯罪的深渊。 此后,命运的转折点出现了:赛克斯企图利用奥利弗潜入一户人家行窃,结果计划败露,奥利弗在过程中受伤。这一事件引起了当地居民和南希的同情与喜爱。南希因此秘密会见布朗洛先生,告知了奥利弗的处境并希望能救他脱离苦海。不幸的是,赛克斯和费金偷听到了谈话并发现了她的背叛,南希惨遭杀害。紧接着,赛克斯意外上吊身亡,费金也被捕并最终被处死,这个犯罪团伙随之覆灭。 与此同时,奥利弗的真实身份大白于天下——他出身于一个富裕家庭。在布朗洛先生的帮助下,他得以继承家产,从而彻底摆脱了19世纪30年代伦敦贫民窟与济贫院中贫困与犯罪交织的恶性循环。 我特别欣赏狄更斯驾驭方言以及运用简洁却极具感染力的短语的能力,尤其是那句"先生,请问我能再来一点吗?"——这句话生动地展现了这个男孩对食物的渴望以及他那身不由己的命运。看到狄更斯的童年经历如何影响他对人物和对话的塑造,也让人深受触动;毕竟,他曾在父亲因无力偿债被捕入狱后被迫在童年时期就外出做工。此外,书中费金(Fagin)这一角色的原型是艾萨克·所罗门(Isaac Solomon),此人早年受父亲引诱走上犯罪道路,后来专门训练儿童从事犯罪活动。 关于历史背景,《雾都孤儿》创作于维多利亚时代,这一时期介于拿破仑战争与第一次世界大战之间。当时社会正经历着从乡村向城市转型的剧烈变革,伴随着大家庭模式、人口迁徙以及大量贫民被迫进入条件恶劣的济贫院生活。 当时还出台了1834年《新济贫法》,规定除非贫民愿意在残酷的济贫院里劳动,否则将无法获得任何救济。 还有一个有趣的细节:狄更斯曾有每天在伦敦步行10到20英里的习惯,他将自己对维多利亚时代社会种种不道德现象的观察融入了笔下的文字之中。这部作品真实而深刻,充分体现了他对社会的批判以及他个人的创伤经历。