As we finish up our study of Oliver Twist, E. is intrigued about Dickens' own story, about his father's time in debtor's prison and his own traumatic experience working in the blacking factory.
Based on elements of his biography, this is a productive essay question: List the characters in Oliver Twist who do not live in poverty. What does each character see when they look at Oliver? How does their judgment and treatment of Oliver reflect who they are, what they believe, and what their values are?
Also, is the criminal underworld better or worse than the workhouse? What does Oliver find in his first days living in Fagin's den that he has never known before? What does Dickens believe is the relationship between poverty and criminality? What do you think the relationship is today?
Is Nancy a heroic figure? Why does she return to Bill?
Since the publication of Oliver Twist, many readers have had difficulty understanding Nancy's fidelity to the brutal Bill Sikes. Did you find it natural or unnatural? Probable or improbable? Read Dickens's Preface, written for the 1841 edition of the novel. How does he defend the character he created? Paraphrase his argument and respond to it. Here are biographical facts about Charles Dickens that may help you directly relate his story to the story of Oliver Twist.
It's fascinating to read about the fervor with which people greeted each new chapter from Dickens' serialized fiction, and a good place to begin is the dramatic response to each section of The Olde Curiousity Shoppe that arrived on American shores describing the fate of Little Nell.
There are many ways to bring alive this wonderful author for a modern young reader.
Here is a decent SparkNotes quiz about the novel. For contextual studies, this is a very good site about British newspapers during the novel's era.
