BÀI TẬP LỚN VĂN HỌC ANH MỸ NGÔN NGỮ ANH

BÀI TẬP LỚN VĂN HỌC ANH MỸ NGÔN NGỮ ANH BÀI TẬP LỚN VĂN HỌC ANH MỸ NGÔN NGỮ ANH BÀI TẬP LỚN VĂN HỌC ANH MỸ NGÔN NGỮ ANH BÀI TẬP LỚN VĂN HỌC ANH MỸ NGÔN NGỮ ANH BÀI TẬP LỚN VĂN HỌC ANH MỸ NGÔN NGỮ ANH BÀI TẬP LỚN VĂN HỌC ANH MỸ NGÔN NGỮ ANH BÀI TẬP LỚN VĂN HỌC ANH MỸ NGÔN NGỮ ANH BÀI TẬP LỚN VĂN HỌC ANH MỸ NGÔN NGỮ ANH BÀI TẬP LỚN VĂN HỌC ANH MỸ NGÔN NGỮ ANH BÀI TẬP LỚN VĂN HỌC ANH MỸ NGÔN NGỮ ANH BÀI TẬP LỚN VĂN HỌC ANH MỸ NGÔN NGỮ ANH BÀI TẬP LỚN VĂN HỌC ANH MỸ NGÔN NGỮ ANH BÀI TẬP LỚN VĂN HỌC ANH MỸ NGÔN NGỮ ANH BÀI TẬP LỚN VĂN HỌC ANH MỸ NGÔN NGỮ ANH BÀI TẬP LỚN VĂN HỌC ANH MỸ NGÔN NGỮ ANH BÀI TẬP LỚN VĂN HỌC ANH MỸ NGÔN NGỮ ANH BÀI TẬP LỚN VĂN HỌC ANH MỸ NGÔN NGỮ ANH

HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY E-Learning Center ASSIGNMENT ON ENGLISH AND AMERICAN LITERATURE HANOI, 2022 DECLARATION Title: Assignment on English and American Literature I certify that no part of the above report has been copied or reproduced by me from any other’s work without acknowledgement and that the report is originally written by me under strict guidance of my supervisor Hanoi, 18th January 2022 Supervisor signature Contents Rationale Objectives of The Study Research method PART 2: DEVELOPMENT I Answering the theoretical questions on literature II Working on the given literary works PART 3: CONCLUSION .25 REFERENCES 26 PART 1: INTRODUCTION Rationale Literature is considered as a great treasure of a nation, providing us with considerable knowledge of the people's customs, habits, religions, rites, lifestyles and their points of view In such a treasure, Charles Dickens's works have been evaluated as a valuable one With Oliver Twist - his second novel published in 1838, Dickens sprang his fame to readers all over the world Oliver Twist is a story about the battles of good versus evil, with the evil continually trying to corrupt and exploit the good It portrays the power of Love, Hate, Greed, and Revenge and how each can affect the people involved It goes without saying that, to achieve this success, the author had to use different kinds of figures of speech, especially metaphors to express his ideas In Oliver Twist, it is estimated that there are about two hundred and fifty examples of metaphors, which are used to describe graphically, and symbolically physical appearances, characteristics of human beings, nonhuman living beings and lifeless objects Objectives of The Study To analyze Oliver Twist novel by Charles Dickens based on the structural element Research method Type of research : The method that is used in this reasearch is qualitative research and also the theory is Sociological Approach Object of the study: The object of this study is Oliver Twist novel by Charles Dickens which is written in 1837 Data source: Data sources are taken from the various sources which are namely primary data and secondary data - Primary data This study analyses about Oliver Twist novel by Charles Dickens, of course the primary data is the novel entitled Oliver Twist Novel by Charles Dickens - Secondary data Secondary data are taken from another sources dealing with issue and the Sociology Theory and some sources from internet - PART 2: DEVELOPMENT I Answering the theoretical questions on literature What makes Hamlet one of the greatest of Shakespeare’s masterpieces? One of the most popular works of William Shakespeare is the Hamlet This work is a masterpiece not because it is just a work of literature but because the book addressed a lot of societal issues during the Elizabethan period, which are still being made reference to up till today Hamlet is a play that was written by William Shakespeare in 1599-1601, a period in England called the Elizabethan period During this period, there was a clash of interest between the protestant and the Catholics The period births the puritanism movement in England Hamlet was set in the mid to late 1500s, after the protestant reformation of 1517 Hamlet is a catholic and he attended a protestant University and English citizens were supposed to join the protestant church of England This brought about the transition of Hamlet between Catholicism and Protestantism This religious confusion, some claims it cause Hamlet’s indecision of avenging his late father’s murder There were claims that Shakespeare used the play to warn England not to repeat what happened after the death of Henry VIII Fortunately, no fight ensued over the control of the country and James VI of Scotland became the King James II of England The play is linked to the Danish history of the ancient legend of Amleth, Prince of Denmark The Social context of the play has to with the features of the society that the play is set in and the impact of the society at that time on the play There are two aspects to Social context; i) the kind of Society in which the characters live and ii) the time period that the play was produced The problems of renaissance and its fundamental themes played a major role in the play Renaissance humanism is interested in human experiences and the society learning from the experiences This movement centres on optimism and the potential scope of human understanding Act 2, Scene is directly linked to one of the texts of an Italian Humanist, Pico della Mirandola’s Oration on the Dignity of Man The humanists aim is to create a better understanding among humans and how understanding can give birth to a better humanity Michel de Montaigne of the sixteenth century was not interested in studying human experiences but instead emphasised on World of appearances This which is reflected in Hamlet,as Hamlet was in a dilemma as he had huge difficulty in knowing the truth about the murder of his late father This shows that one will always have huge difficulty in knowing the real truths about people Henry the King developed religious samples, cited the book of Leviticus that no man shall take his brother’s wife and if peradventure, it happens, the brother and the brother’s wife union will not produce a child The embedded video buttresses on the relevance on the play One of the main things that makes Hamlet relevant today is that it addresses social class and political issues There are several scenes that discusses our flawed society, especially in relation to division and biases which still occurs in the modern society The play also discusses the concept of life and death The protagonist contemplates on suicide and the essence of life, which brings us to the inevitability of death and the concept of suicide in our modern society This is how Hamlet perceived his mother’s remarriage to his Uncle, as shown in the scene when Hamlet and his father’s ghost were conversing Shakespeare wrote Hamlet in the period when some beliefs were protestant and some are catholic, a time when the people were faced with so many rulers and different Christian faiths The play, Hamlet by William Shakespeare is one of the plays of William Shakespeare that the literary device of play within the play was employed and it is a ‘metadrama’ The play within the play differentiates Shakespeare’s Hamlet from his other Tragedy works The play encapsulates betrayal, revenge and indecision The play is a reflection of the society Hamlet is a play of moral instruction, as Shakespeare as mastered the art of instructing the society through his works and particularly the universality of his plays The play is regarded as one of the greatest works of William Shakespeare, perhaps due to the several political undertones of the play The play does not just instruct on good family relationship but also can be seen on a bigger societal scale, as it instructs the society as well The play captures all the aspects of the society, from religious aspect to the politics of the society It makes us to see how things work with the upper class and the period that the play was written is that of the Renaissance period, also called the period of classical learning when there was an outburst of knowledge The play also centres on the themes; ‘the meaning of life’, as Hamlet ponders on the cruelty of life and the uncertainty of life as well Hamlet acts mad, Claudius murders his brother and marries his wife, this shows the level of deception and secrecy in the play The play within the play in the text sheds light and begins to unravel mysteries and make people to be themselves It was after the play within the play was presented that everyone in the play starts playing out their true nature and character The literary device of play within the play always has a great significance in a play as it achieves a particular role in a play The literary device is quite technical as it has to be presented in such a way that it is not seen as the play but a play staged in a play, whereby the characters in a play are acting out a play and the other characters are the audience in the play What accounts for Hamlet's melancholy and irresolution? Hamlet is the center of action in the play This is a play so dominated by one character that Hamlet without the 'Prince is impossible to imagine The play deals with his suffering and tragic death The other characters in the play serve as foils to him Hamlet's tragedy is a particular example of a universal predicament; action is necessary, but action in a fallen world involves us in evil To attempt to shuffle off responsibility by refusing to act, or by shuffling off this mortal coil-by 'handing god back his ticket,' as Dostoevsky puts it involves us equally in guilt Like other tragic heroes of Shakespeare, he is also endowed with exceptional qualities like royal birth, graceful and charming personality and popularity among his own countrymen He is essentially a scholar and a thinker, and his noble brain conceives the finest thoughts He has a high intellectual quality He is religious-minded and is very sensitive In spite of possessing all these higher qualities which rank him above the other characters, but the flaw in his character named as 'tragic flaw' by A.C Bradley, leads to his downfall and makes him a tragic hero The tragic flaw in the character of Hamlet is that he thinks too much and feels too much He is often disturbed by his own nature of 'self-analysis.' He is forever looking into himself, delving into his own nature to seek an explanation for every action, and giving vent to his own thoughts in soliloquies Coleridge says that his enormous intellectual activity prevents instant action and the result is delay and irresolution Bradley gives his own explanation for his delay and irresolution According to the learned critic, he suffers from melancholia, a pathological state only a step removed from insanity His thoughts are diseased thoughts What is required of Hamlet is prompt action, whereas he broods over the moral idealism which leads to his delay in action When he gets an opportunity to kill Claudius, he puts aside the thought because he cannot strike an enemy while he is at prayer Again he allows himself to be taken to England, although he knows well that the plan is part and parcel of Claudius's evil intent Hamlet himself is fully aware of his own irresolution There are several causes account for Hamlet's inaction By nature he is prone to think rather than to act He is a man of morals and his moral idealism receives a shock when his mother remarries Claudius after his father's death Chance too plays an important part in shaping his character Chance places him in such a position in which he is incapable of doing anything He feels sad at his position and says ''The time is out of joint cursed spite, that ever I was born to set it right.'' He becomes inconsistent and is no longer a person who reaches a conclusion only by reasoning He cannot quite accept the role that nature has prescribed for him-that of a revenger-and thus he is unable to act quickly Like other tragic heroes Hamlet too has to face conflict, both internal and external The internal conflict is between his moral scruples and the act of revenge, which he is called upon to perform Love of his father, the dishonor of his mother, and the villainy of his uncle prompt him to take revenge while his nobility, his moral idealism, his principles and his religion revolt against such a brutal act The result is that, torn within himself, he suffers mental torture The external conflict is with Claudius-'the mighty opposer'-and the murderer of Hamlet's father To Hamlet, Claudius is a smiling, damned villain, a seducer and a usurper of his rights to Denmark's throne; he is one against whom he has to take revenge The other external conflicts are with Laertes, his friend and the brother of his beloved Ophelia, with Guildenstern and Rosencrantz, his former school fellows and friends but present enemies Indeed Hamlet succeeds in overcoming his foes, but only at a dreadful cost Character is not the only factor that is responsible for the tragedy of Hamlet External circumstances are also responsible for making Hamlet tragic hero Shakespeare creates a heeling that there is a mysterious power in this universe, which is responsible for every small -happening The appearance of the Ghost and its revelation is a manifestation of Fate Many of the things that take place in Hamlet's life are by chance, but none of these are improbable He kills Polonius by chance The ship in which he travels is attacked by pirates, and his return to Denmark is nothing but chance Gertrude drinks the poisoned wine, by accident, and dies So fate in the shape of chance shapes the future of all characters including Hamlet But the sense of fate is never so overwhelming as to cast character in shade; after all, it is Hamlet himself who is responsible for his tragedy The realistic novel is a narration of plausible events, set in very specific places and times and near to the author In this kind of novel are treated aspects of contemporary society: as the contradictions of the social order, and the changes of costume and mentality in relation to major political and economic events The realistic novel was born in the nineteenth century, and is characterized by the social content: such as the description of the struggle of the bourgeoisie against the aristocratic society, or the description of the world of the poor and unfortunate (Dickens) The realism is meant to capture the reality as it is and to cancel the individual sensibility Hence arose important choices formally: a prose flat and linear, to maintain the narration in the context of an absolute objectivity; the presence of a narrator who expresses himself in the third person (external narrator); few spaces for the interventions of the author, for comments and for advances The realism spreads rapidly across Europe, and in Victorian England is greeted by the work of Charles Dickens Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth in 1812, had a childhood plagued by poverty, living the exasperation of the squalid suburbs of London and being in contact with the poorest social classes In his novels he is interested in the social and human problems of the time, and treats them with an ironic tone and spirit of moving participation Among his most important works: The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Hard Times and Little Dorrit London was the setting of most of his novels; he knew and described it in realistic details At first, Dickens created middle class characters, though often satirised He gradually developed a more radical social view, although he was not a revolutionary thinker He was aware of the spiritual and material corruption under the impact of industrialism and he became increasingly critical of society 12 Oliver Twist is the first of the novels in which Dickens reflects on the defects of society and the functioning of public administration Even in David Copperfield and in Hard Times, he describes a society hard and ruthless, operated by the strict laws of profit Dickens exposes a philanthropic and paternalistic solution in his novels: appear rich and good gentlemen who take care of the little orphans, assuring a better life But the excellent skills of this author is to represent situations that understand the desperate isolation of man Written in 1854, Hard Times is one of the most representative novels of the changes in the way of production and work, which go under the name of the industrial revolution In fact, it has the negative effects of an industrialized society that reduces men to machines, and criticizes the materialistic mentality of the time Dickens while having a great distrust of the working class, gives importance to the worker as an individual In fact, he devotes his interest in analyzing the condition of the workers, not only for the inhuman effort and working conditions but also because it affects the private lives of workers Major Themes in Oliver Twist Good versus Evil: Good versus evil is the central theme of the novel, Oliver Twist The author portrays Oliver as a personification of goodness who struggles hard to survive despite ever-emerging adversities Throughout the novel, Oliver suffers at the hands of evil-minded people such as Fagin, a primary reason for his trouble, who tries his best to manipulate the young boy to steal and involve in other criminal activities for his gang He strives to transfer those vicious traits into the boy but fails Oliver’s struggle to get rid of evil and find good finally takes him to his family after various trials It is because Oliver outweighs the evil and remains a kind and innocent boy The World of Crimes: The novel, Oliver Twist, demonstrates the nature of criminality prevalent in England during the 1830s Although punished by the authorities, various people thought that stealing and pickpocketing were the right courses of action for them to stay alive They not only adopted them as professions but also tried to throw 13 others into that dark web of criminality When Oliver makes his way to London to find a better way to live he finds such people in a gang of Fagin This new company puts him at the risk of learning criminal behavior from is fellows like Bill Sikes, Charley Bates, and Fagin To them, crime is an organic outgrowth of their instinctive evilness Child Abuse: The novel also presents a horrible picture of child abuse that wears down the very fabric of the society on which its future hinges The institutionalization of this abuse is shown when the uncaring doctor and the drunk nurse attend to Oliver’s mother, and later, Oliver faces thrashing and hunger at the warehouse The author presents a gruesome reality of how children at the warehouse were locked up in a dark place and face emotional and physical abuse After having trapped in such a dinghy environment, Oliver tries his best to escape but becomes a puppet in the hands of the Fagin gang His journey from institutional to individual abuse helps readers understand how these inhumane practices were systematized Nature versus Nurture: The novel presents a clash between nature and nurture Fagin tries his best to corrupt Oliver and wants to turn him into a convict like him against his nature but fails Although Oliver is involved in a serious crime, his good nature finally saves him when he reaches his family The novel also explores how nurture supersedes nature in characters such as Nancy and Mr Sowerberry; both possess natural decency, but the temptation and other influences eclipse this positive trait Poverty: Marked by poverty and deprivation, Oliver Twist’s life spins around the atrocious conditions he braves in his teenage years First, he endures the brutalities at the warehouse, and later he learns criminal tactics with the Fagin gang It is actually poverty that has led him to accept the realities he has never imagined to accept in his life The children are going through grueling sufferings only because their parents cannot afford and the same is the case with Oliver Vulnerabilities of Children: The novel presents Oliver to highlight the powerlessness and vulnerabilities of the children Oliver is continuously dependent on the 14 bullies such as Fagin, Mr Bumble, and Nancy In fact, this vicious circle of negativity never allows him to exercise his will even for once It is only because of some good people, he pulls himself out of the clutches of the immoral and dangerous world of such corrupt people Justice: Oliver Twist also presents various forms of justice Almost all of the characters face justice toward the end of the novel The good characters like Oliver and Rose live happily, while criminals such as Fagin, Sikes, and Monks are punished for their crimes Suffering: Suffering stands at the core of the text The novel begins by portraying the troublesome life of Oliver’s mother, who suffers at the hands of a corrupt world Oliver’s own life, too, shows these sufferings and that of others who become a victim of poverty, exploitative system, and finally fall into the hands of the criminal gangs Individual Against Society: The novel also shows an individual pitted against society through the character of Oliver, who tries his best to come out of the systematic exploitation and finally succeeds To his astonishment, he finds his brother standing in the gang of those exploiting him This is how an individual becomes a victim in such a social fabric where exploitation becomes an institution The writing style of Charles Dickens Dickens has been greatly inspired by a variety of things when he started writing The major influences he has was the picaresque tradition in novel writing, novel of sensibility, and melodrama Other than these, the fables of The Arabian Nights have been the most significant literary inspiration for him In the picaresque novel tradition, satire and irony are the most important elements Similarly, in British picaresque novels, Henry Fielding, Laurence Sterne, and Tobias Smollett used the aspect of comedy as well Tom Jones, by Henry Fielding, has not only influenced Charles Dickens but also the other novelist of the Victorian Era as well 15 Melodrama is also a great aspect of Dickens’ novels as it strongly appeals to the emotions of the readers The writing style of Charles Dickens is unique His manner of writing is poetic, with a lot of satire and humor Most of his novels and stories are episodic as his literary career started with working and writing for a newspaper He is the master of using the element of suspense or cliffhanger ending to engage the readers, thus establishing their interest Though Dickens’ literary works contain idealized characters, he does not make them appear perfect Idealized characters appear to be a bad choice as it does not provide room for personal growth during the course of the story, however, uses his idealized characters to portray the horrible and ugly side of life and society One of the best examples of idealized characters is Oliver Twist Oliver is put in many trials, including a preparation center for thieves and malevolent orphanages during the course of the novel; however, he remains to be innocent and never compromising his values at all Despite showing the ugly side of human society, Dickens creates the character of Oliver, an idealized character that the readers chose to love Had Dickens not chosen to idealize the character, the book would have been gloomy and dark, with nothing to take pleasure in it Dickens’ works also contain unbelievable circumstances, thus adding the element of melodrama For example, in the novel Oliver Twist, Oliver is rescued by a rich wealthy family from the gang thieves; the family then turns out to be his relatives Authors or writers of the Victorian era would use such unbelievable circumstances to add a twist to the plot of the story However, Dickens uses it in an entirely different way The other writers would use it to extend their plot in their picaresque stories; Dickens used this method to portray the idea that good is always superior to evil, and even in unexpected cases, goodwill wins over evil The writing style of Charles Dickens is also marked by prolific linguistic creativity He uses satire in his work to criticize the follies of society His satire flourishes with his misrepresentation of situations He has been compared to Hogarth for his use of satire and a real sense of the foolish and ridiculous side of life He has the much-admired 16 mastery of various classes of idioms, which reflects the traditions of the theatre of the Victorian era To name his characters, Dickens worked arduously He wanted his characters to appeal to the readers, and their names are suggestive of their personalities Moreover, he also wants these arresting names to contribute to the development of motifs in the plot, thereby providing an “allegorical impetus” to the overall meaning of the novel One of the examples is the name of Mr Murderstone from the novel David Copperfield The name refers to two things: murder and coldness and harness as stone Moreover, the literary cycle of Charles Dickens is also a blend of realism and fantasy He satirizes the British aristocratic class and is very famous for it To criticize the noble, he calls one of his characters, “the Noble Refrigerator.” In his literary works, he compares the orphans as shares and stocks of a business, people with tug boats, and party guests to furniture; these are some of his best examples of fancy Writing Style of Oliver Twist The novel represents an array of different writing styles and this Dickensian approach shows the merit of the story Dickens has used satire and sharp irony to mock several institutions such as the justice system, the parish house, unfair legal system, and labor farms Realism is juxtaposed with melodrama in the text at several points, leading Dickens to comment on the biting social and political approach of the system However, the skillful use of elements of periphrasis, complex characterization, and a varied sentence structure allows him to present the struggle between the forces of good and evil The diction is quite simple and the flow of the language does not hinder readers’ progress 17 The influences of Oliver Twist on the other aspects of society, culture and reader’s viewpoints and psychology The main focus of Oliver Twist was the inadequacy of charitable institutions run by the government along with the abuses inflicted by them on the poor Dickens used satire and humor to call attention to these wrongs and bring to light the unchristian manner in which the poor were being forced to live Instead of coming straight out and voicing his opinions about the injustices being committed by the government in their quest to ‘assist’ the poor, Dickens goes at it from an angle that is better suited to his time Had he just railed against the government for their abhorrent system, it is most likely that he would have either ended up in jail or had his means of support stripped away But by using literary art to convey his message, he was able to plant seeds of disillusionment and stir feelings of empathy in the hearts of his readers For those who believed the poor deserved what they got, reading Dickens’ novel about a child who had no say in how he came into the world and was thus condemned before having the opportunity to choose his path, showed them in a non-confrontational way that their beliefs were wrong Using humor to address the shocking abuses committed against innocent children and satirizing those responsible, Dickens was able to express his opinion about the erroneous nature of these actions and condemn those who agreed with them while still retaining the interest of the reader As the readers maintained interest in his work and continued to be affected by his writings, Dickens was better able to instill his views of how unjust the current system was towards the poor and needy in their society and thus promote a muchneeded change While there is no direct link between Dickens’ work and the abolishment of the Poor Laws, his works sparked debate and changed the way people viewed what was going on in England at the time Dickens’ vivid stories that captured the attention of the country gave faces and names to the tragedy that was the Poor Laws and showed a view into the 18 lives of the poor As people grew attached to Oliver and felt for his situation, many began to change their views on how the poor should be treated and the current modus operandi of ‘helping’ them One of the highlights of how Dickens was able to influence so many was his penchant for using real places and describing things people had seen, but hadn’t really noticed, such as Jacob’s Island on the Thames Dickens also avoided expressing his own opinion or trying to tell others what was right or wrong, he just presented the story and let the readers form their own opinions Now, this is not to say that Dickens never voiced his thoughts or tried to persuade people He was an avid philanthropist who helped girls and young women get off the streets and learn employable skills He advocated for child labor laws, housing reform, and improved sanitation for the poor And he was a loud supporter of educating the poor to help them improve their circumstances His stories worked to instill seeds of sympathy and open eyes to the plight of the poor while his works sought to bring about change Charles Dickens was able to much during his life to improve the lives of the poor as best he could in his area, but his books were able to turn the entire country towards creating a better system to of support and empathy for a class of people who had, until this time, been viewed as deserving of their predicaments Dickens was able to achieve what very few before him could: turning the proud hearts of the wealthy British elite from believing the poor were vile sinners to having compassion on those who had no say in the life of poverty they were brought into The Construction of Identity Oliver Twist is a novel that evades easy categorisation; what begins as a political satire of the 1834 Poor Law morphs into a detective novel which in turn becomes a melodramatic thriller with a surprisingly tidy ending While Dickens juggles contrasting tones in many of his novels, as one of his earlier works Oliver Twist has been particularly noted for consisting of "a patchwork of genres" (Wood, 2014) Therefore, it is no surprise that for a 19 novel which itself undergoes a series of identity crises, issues to with identity become a reoccurring theme of the narrative Indeed, our understanding of the social message of the novel rests upon the way in which Dickens frames identity Strangely, for a novel which seems concerned with promoting the social message that the poor are not inherently morally inferior, Dickens presents an ambivalent picture of the nature of identity This essay will address how Dickens presents elements of socially constructed and crowd identity while also reconciling this with ideas of innate goodness and morality Perhaps the most well-known cultural staple from Oliver Twist is the eponymous hero, who has become almost synonymous with our idea of the orphan Yet ironically it is this projection of an 'orphan' identity that Dickens critiques within the novel, as characters constantly project their prejudices onto Oliver due to his parentless, low socio-economic status It is only in the first chapter, whereby Oliver has not yet been clothed that he is free from constraints of societal identity, as Dickens states "he might have been the child of a nobleman or a beggar" This suggests that Dickens views class identity as something which is fluid and socially learned rather than inherent The abuse Oliver faces in the workhouse and later on the streets of London is symptomatic of an unjust societal stigma faced by those on the bottom rungs of Victorian society, and ultimately this stigma revolves around a false conception that poverty correlates to inherent immorality This was particularly pertinent in the aftermath of the 1834 Poor Law, which sought to lessen the cost of looking after the ever-growing number of paupers by establishing workhouses (May, 1987) They also wielded tremendous power to individuals such as that of Mr Bumble Indeed, even Oliver's name is chosen by Mr Bumble: his nominal identity is given to him by the system that abuses him Moreover, the superficiality of social identity is illustrated by how easy it is for one character to adopt another identity through the means of simply changing their clothes For instance, Nancy's adoption of middle class attire completely alters the way society views her, allowing her the privilege of respect and trust amongst strangers who would otherwise have demonised her for her prostitute identity Of all the characters in the novel 20 it is Nancy who is perhaps the most complex, as she is - at least by Victorian standards at least - an immoral woman, yet she is also deeply sympathetic While most of the characters in the novel fall into a label of either good, evil or comic, Nancy defies these labels The reader empathises with her predicament, whereby her toxic upbringing has altered her identity to the point of no return The contemporary reactions to Dickens' inclusion of a 'fallen woman' confirm the prejudice that was rampant within 1840s Victorian society, as even his friend John Forster attempted to discourage him from publication due to its taboo nature (Bowen) By providing a sympathetic platform for the identities of marginalised characters, and highlighting how these identities are, at least to an extent, socially constructed, Dickens' opens a dialogue on how the poor and vulnerable should be treated While Dickens may see elements of class identity as learned, he also suggests that environment can alter the identity to the extent that it is irreversible or as Nancy claims: "I am chained to my old life" Dickens uses her as an obvious foil to Rose, yet had her socio-economic situations been different it is possible that Nancy's selfidentity and ultimate fate would have also been different Not only does Dickens describe how identity is constricted within a classist society, he also illustrates how individual identity can be lost to the crowd A single accusation of stealing results in Oliver being chased by an angry mob, whose actions are portrayed in almost rhythmic lexis: "pellmell, helter-skelter, slap-dash" The mob is depersonalising in its reduction of different facets of society into one antagonistic mass The visceral reaction of the mob against Oliver highlights how illicit or transgressive identities threaten those who have conformed to their societal roles Furthermore, in exploring the crowd mentality of Oliver Twist, the city of London cannot be ignored The urban landscape plays a major role in the collective identity of Dickens' characters Oliver refers to the rancid urban setting of the slums he visits with Mr Sowerberry as having reduced its inhabitants to animalistic qualities; they are a part of the decaying landscape, even suggesting that they "seemed so like the rats he had seen outside" During the 19th century rapid industrialisation had driven many rural migrants 21 to the cities resulting in cramped, squalid conditions, as historian Terry Trainor points out that in 1840s London "one room living was the norm for working class families." (Trainor, 2011) Despite this harsh reality, the idea of domestic bliss and the importance of the house was becoming increasingly popular during the 1840s, and thus home life became an intrinsic part of early Victorian identity Dickens' contrasts the decay of city life and "men who have lived in crowded, pent-up streets, through lives of toil, and who have never wished-for change", with the idealised pastoral setting where Oliver finally joins a stable family unit Therefore, it becomes clear that Dickens sees identity and environment as closely interlinked entities, with Dickens making an implicit link between urban sprawl and the spike in criminality and immorality While it would at first appear that Dickens is arguing against the notion that people are inherently predisposed to crime, and that a mixture of prejudice and socio-economic stances lead those to crime, this message is undermined by Oliver's apparently inherent identity and the resolution of the novel Despite growing up in a workhouse Oliver's lexicon is noticeably middle class Indeed, the infamous line "please, sir, I want some more", while being a radical act of defiance, is almost painfully polite, especially when contrasted with the Artful Dodgers colloquialisms Even if it did not transpire that Oliver was related to the Maylies, the dissonance between his social environment and his mannerisms would be reason enough to accuse Dickens of patronisation of the working classes Indeed, much like contemporary thinkers such as Carlyle who labelled the working classes "wild inarticulate souls", Dickens writes with a prejudice which is ironic considering his reputation as a defender of the working class (Carlyle, 1839) Crucially, the fact that Oliver does turn out to have descended from a middle-class background only confirms that the novel is, at least to some extent, what critic John Carey calls "a hymn to the purity of the middle-class soul" Oliver's identity remains middle class and static throughout, with Dickens contradicting his previous suggestions that social identity was purely superficial 22 It could also be argued that Dickens is guilty of the unjust social labelling which he attempts to critique The very names of his fictional characters are infamous for their "character revealing" nature (Paroissien, 2000, p80), for example Mr Bumble's name derives from the word bumptious, reflecting his arrogant persona (ibid) Therefore, while within the diegesis of Oliver Twist the reader may be implored to look beyond the social confines of a name or label, Dickens himself thrives on this caricature-aesthetic This is most evident in his depiction of Fagin as the epitome of anti-Semitic stereotypes, indeed he is referred to mainly in the novel as "the Jew" While Dickens himself claimed that "I have no feeling towards the Jewish people but a friendly one" (Hartley, 2012) Fagin's whole persona is defined by his cultural identity and his apparent unchangeable physiognomy Indeed, Dickens was a contemporary of Johann Kaspar Lavater who argued that physical traits were intrinsically linked to traits of character This not only contradicts the idea of identity being a social construct, it also questions whether a character such as Fagin can even be held morally responsible if he is inherently immoral To complicate matters further, Oliver's own angelic beauty is noted by the middle-class characters, such as Rose and Mr Brownlowe in the novel who, with little inspection, are able to determine Oliver's true nature through observation of just his face For an author that is so concerned with the use of art as a vehicle for social change, his prejudiced presentations of identity have the potential, by his own artistic philosophy, to be socially damaging As a contemporary review at the time enthused "Mr Dickens characters, as all the world knows, pass their names into our language, and become types" (Anon 1971) It is important to note that Dickens' portrayal of identity in Oliver Twist is not consistently socially progressive, indeed characters such as Fagin are both regressive and damaging Ultimately even if we are to accept that Dickens' conception of inherited identity does not lessen the social message of the novel, the problem of Oliver's actual characterisation remains Ironically for a figure that has become this iconic within popular culture resulting in the novel being the most screen adapted Dickens novel of all time (John, 2010) - Oliver lacks personal growth or a distinct identity that is separable from his own 23 moral goodness Critic J Mullan asserts that "the orphan is above all a character out of place, forced to make his or her own home in the world," yet Oliver does not even meet this basic criterion He remains a protagonist who lacks both agency in the main machinations of the plot nor does he possess a distinct voice His eventual comfortable position with the Maylies comes about due to the work of other characters, such as Mr Brownlowe Other than his fight with Noah Claypole, Oliver demonstrates little active resistance, in contrast to side characters such as Nancy who both propel the plot forward and yet possess identities that are more morally complex The case can even be made Bill Sykes's dog displays a higher level of emotional complexity and tangible identity than protagonist Oliver, who faints and cries his way through the entire plot Perhaps a better way of exploring Oliver's self-identity is to treat him as a narrative device rather than a realistic depiction of an individual Oliver was described by Dickens himself in the 1842 introduction to the 3rd edition as "good surviving through every circumstance" In this context, he becomes more of an entity that allows the reader to understand the moral complexities of London through the lens of an innocent What makes Oliver's story interesting is his interactions with the characters around him As critic Ruth Richardson astutely puts it, Oliver Twist is a "modern fairy-tale" which deals mainly in dualities of good and evil while at the same time being relevant to contemporary Victorian society (Richardson, 2012) The way in which Oliver is treated because of his assumed identity as an orphan, irrespective of his self identity, remains a potent criticism of the treatment of the poor Arguably it invites the middle class Victorian mother or father to consider the treatment of their own child if they were to be brought up in similar social conditions, helping to ignite a social consciousness against the cruelties of a corrupted system unable to deal with the most vulnerable in society 24 PART 3: CONCLUSION Learning to read English and American literature, especially English and American literature is the best way to improve English proficiency As we all know, it is the art of literary language, the essence of language being mainly in literary texts Therefore, the British and American Literature can give English learners colorful, vivid corpus, with its subtle meanings of words, ingenuity sentence, thought-provoking chapter to improve their language skills and comprehension skills Learning English and American literature is a major way to understand Western culture Authors and works of English and American literature and American culture will undoubtedly reflect the values, world view and way of thinking of the English nation, students in the learning process will gradually learn to feel the multicultural fun, develop their own cultural spirit of tolerance, and improve cross-cultural communication ability to succeed in an increasingly frequent and intense competition in the international cooperation 25 REFERENCES Dickens, Charles (1838) Oliver Twist London and Glasgow: Collins Guerin, et al (1979) A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature Oxford: Oxford University Press Holman, C Hugh and William Harmon (1986) A Handbook of Literature London: Collier Macmillan Publishers Jones, Edward H (1968) Outlines of Literatures New York: The Macmillan Company 26 ... conditions in the factory haunted him for the rest of his life, as did the experience of temporary orphanhood Apparently, Dickens never forgot the day when a more senior boy in the warehouse took it