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.