Paper Summary:

This paper introduces, discusses, and analyzes three works by Charles Dickens: "Oliver Twist"; "Nicholas Nickleby"; and "A Christmas Carol". The paper discusses the use of prevalent themes throughout the three works. There are many themes present in these three works by Charles Dickens, from good versus evil to the plight of London's children and good triumphing in the end. However, the main theme in these three works is industrialization and the urbanization of society. Each represents "modern times" in Dickens's day and the way the poor were treated in a continually industrializing society.

From the Paper:

"Each of these touching and classic Dickens' novels is the story of triumph over evil, but they all also chronicle the life of the poor in England's increasingly mechanized and industrialized society of the 1800s. In "Oliver Twist," Dickens portrays the fate of many orphans who were forced to work for their keep even at young ages. Actually, the "poor laws" forced entire families to break up and fend for themselves, as this historian notes, "Forced to leave their homes and sell their possessions, many families found themselves unable to get out of the workhouse once they were in it (and they were separated, with husbands, wives, and children sent to different places)" (Glancy 42). Dickens' hoped to make the plight of the poor more well known and understood with all three of these books, and "Oliver Twist," which first appeared in serialized form, really did bring the plight of the poor home to the world's readers."

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