Oliver Twist

In a bleak Victorian setting, a pregnant woman makes her way to a harsh workhouse, where she dies giving birth to a baby boy. The stern beadle, Mr. Bumble, names the child Oliver Twist. That single act sets in motion a life shaped by the cruelty of institutions and the hope of find­ing someone who will treat him with humanity. The years that follow harden the boy’s early innocence, and Oliver’s journey becomes a test of resilience in a world that often means him harm.

Years pass, and Oliver’s simple request for more gruel becomes a pivotal moment. After he asks for more, he faces punishment and is sold away as an apprentice to a local undertaker named Sowerberry. There he is pressed into service as a mute at the funerals of children, a cruel duty that deepens his sense of isolation. This sparks resentment from Sowerberry’s older apprentice, Noah Claypole, who taunts Oliver’s mother and enrages the boy, who reacts with a rare act of defiance. The fallout leads Sowerberry to send him back to the workhouse, yet Oliver seizes a chance to escape and undertakes a grueling seven‑day trek toward London, seeking a life beyond the walls he has known.

On the streets of the great city, Oliver meets a streetwise pickpocket named Jack Dawkins, better known as the The Artful Dodger. Dodger introduces him to his wily master, Fagin, who trains a cadre of boys in the arts of theft. Oliver also crosses paths with Bill Sikes, a brutal associate who becomes entwined with the group, and with Nancy, who begins to feel something like maternal care for the frightened newcomer. Under pressure from Sikes, Oliver is forced to participate in a burglary that goes disastrously, leaving him wounded while Sikes escapes. The upheaval brings Mr. Brownlow, a kindly guardian, and his niece Rose Maylie into Oliver’s life, and they nurse him back to health, recognizing a striking resemblance between him and a portrait of Agnes Fleming.

Behind the scenes, ominous family ties pull tight the threads of Oliver’s fate. Fagin is working with a dark figure named Monks, Oliver’s supposed half‑brother, whose father left a will that favored Oliver—provided Oliver does not fall into crime. Monks visits Mr. and Mrs. Bumble and procures a locket stolen from Oliver’s mother, then tries to seal Oliver’s doom by offering money to murder him. The scheming intensifies when Nancy overhears plans and warns Mr. Brownlow and Rose, though she herself becomes a casualty of the feud when Bill Sikes brutally murders her, driven by fear and anger. Meanwhile, Fagin is arrested as the net tightens around him, and Monks is later confronted by Mr. Brownlow, who reveals a long‑hidden truth: he was once a close friend of Oliver’s father and fell in love with Agnes Fleming, the woman who bore Oliver.

As the web unravels, Oliver, still on the run, must confront the implications of his birthright and the choices that have led him here. He begins to recognize Monks from earlier encounters, and the weight of family secrets presses in from every side. The chase ends in tragedy for Sikes, who, haunted by Nancy’s memory, hanges himself on a rooftop while pursued by an angry mob. In the aftermath, Mr. Brownlow, Oliver, and Rose visit Fagin in jail, where the criminal hints at treasure hidden away for Oliver in his hideout. The truth comes to light at the workhouse, where the Bumbles are stripped of their power and Monks is imprisoned. Oliver’s life finally shifts toward stability as he leaves to build a future under Mr. Brownlow’s guardianship, his early trials giving way to the possibility of belonging and a chance at a kinder path.

Last Updated: November 29, 2025 at 00:47