Oliver Twist, Ch. 22-32

In Chapters 22-25, Sikes arrives with Oliver at the house they are going to rob. Oliver tries to chicken out, and Sikes almost shoots him before Oliver decides to continue. The owner of the house awakes and shoots Oliver as the crooks try fleeing. Fagin finds out that the robbery was foiled through the papers. Oliver was left on the side of the road when they fled.

In Chapters 26-29, Nancy tells Fagin that Oliver is hiding, and she hopes he is dead. When Oliver awakes, he wanders to the house he had tried to rob with Sikes. The two servants at the house recognize Oliver and take him in. The woman in the house calls for a doctor to be sent to help Oliver as she feels bad for his wounds. The doctor is surprised to find that the woman is not scared of the thief being in the house.

In Chapters 30-32, the seventeen year old niece exclaims that the boy must have been forced to steal. The old woman thinks otherwise and wants him in prison. The family decide to lie to the police and tell them that Oliver wasn't the boy who helped the two robbers break in. Oliver is let off without question. Oliver slowly grows attached to the two ladies as they care for him while his wounds heal.

The author tries to show the difference between a thief like Oliver with remorse and the thief like Fagin with little remorse. Fagin convinces Oliver to steal by teaching him the skills unknowingly. He only uses Oliver because he is small and can get into smaller places, as well as look innocent. Fagin bases people's worth on how much money they can make him, rather than worrying about friendships.

Oliver Twist, Ch. 10-21

In chapters 10-13, Oliver perfects his pickpocketing skills and joins Dodger and Charley (Fagin's partners in crime) where he realizes what he has been taught. Oliver watches Dodger take the handkerchief from a gentlemen pocket, forgets to run, and is caught by the police after a short chase. He is cleared of all charges after the owner of the bookstall the gentlemen was at tells of two other boys that did the crime. Fagin is mad when he finds out what happened to Oliver, and wants him back before his operation is revealed.

In chapters 14-17, Oliver becomes friends with Mr. Brownlow, the man that took him in after the trial. Mr. Grimwig, Mr. Brownlow's friend, arrives at his house and thinks Oliver is a "bad apple". Mr. Brownlow sends Oliver on an errand, hoping to prove Mr. Grimwig wrong, but Oliver never returns. Nancy, the one sent by Fagin, finds Oliver and drags him back to the new hideout in a rundown house.

In chapters 18-21, Fagin keeps Oliver locked in the house. Sikes, one of Fagin's goons, decides to rob a house and he needs Oliver to help him in the robbery. Sikes threatens Oliver that he must not hesitate, even though inside, Oliver is having second thoughts. Oliver and Sikes head out in Chapter 21 to Shepperton, where the house is located.

There is alot of racism used to describe some of the characters. Fagin is described as a "very old shrivelled Jew" and is always wanting more money, further advancing the stereotype. Oliver is portrayed as doing almost anything to get money, due to being in poverty all his life. The author also refers to Fagin many times as "the Jew", suggesting the stereotype that is mostly affiliated with the Jewish community.

Oliver Twist, Ch. 1-9

The novel starts off with a boy named Oliver Twist, almost nine years old, an orphan in the 1800’s. Mrs. Mann is the overseer of the orphanage and treats Oliver and the other orphans badly. Oliver is sent to a workhouse when he is too old to work and he is treated like a slave, receiving barely enough food to survive.

In Chapter 3, Oliver asks for more food after drawing the short end of the stick for a boy who had threatened to eat one of them. Oliver was taken and beaten in a dark room for asking for more food.Mrs. Sowerberry gave Oliver the food that even the dog would not eat to help him grow. In Chapter 5, Oliver goes with Mrs. Sowerberry to the funeral of a poor wife who died of hunger. In Chapter 6, the reader is informed of a measles outbreak that kills quite a few people. Also, when Noah makes fun of Oliver's mother, Oliver attacks Noah but is later locked in the cellar and beaten.

In Chapter 8, Oliver begins his walk to London, in hope of a better life. Jack Dawkins finds Oliver collapsed and gets him back up. Jack buys Oliver lunch and tells him where to find a place to stay for free. In Chapter 9, once there, Oliver finds boys his age smoking and drinking and finds it interesting. Fagin, a gentleman, shows him how to pickpocket, though Oliver doesn't realize what he is learning at the time.

One quote that I remember hearing in many places is "Please, sir, I want some more." Oliver asks the man giving out rations if he can have some more food for his friend who had contemplated eating his peers. I believe that this shows courage as Oliver knew that if the man would have Oliver beaten if he refused to give more food. I don't think any of the other boys would have had the courage to ask for more food, even if they were starving to death.