Uncovering the Dark Truths of Society and the Unbreakable Power of the Good in Dickens’s Oliver Twist
Keywords:
literature and ethics, literary criticism, ethical turn, English literature, Dickens, Charles, Oliver Twist, good and evilAbstract
This paper presents Dickens’s novel Oliver Twist and focuses on literary technique of unveiling of contrasting relationship between criminal deeds of the old Jew Fagin and noble behaviour of the orphan Oliver. It analyses denouement of the story until the severest punishment and the triumph of good over evil. We are interested especially through what devices Dickens’s narrative text, written and read in specific contexts, thematises, problematises and consolidates specific moral values and norms. Dickens’s novel, through its narrativity, uncovers ethical concerns in the area of human values and responsibility in a capitalist society that is fraught with injustice, abuse, and overt or covert violence. It offers stories and reflections on the actions and characters of various individuals, which are adopted from real life, presenting them to the reader in order to challenge his values, moral judgments and ethical engagement. When we see the connection between acts and consequences, we see how literature, especially the novel with its narrativity, can effectively complement moral philosophy (Nussbaum). Whereas moral philosophy is tied to abstract language and deals with universals, narrative’s ability to imaginatively display the mental and spiritual states of its heroes engages our practical moral sense; we pursue the ethos that imbues the entirety of Dickens’s novel.References
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