Oliver Twist

These prompts can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before or after reading the novel.

Pre-Reading Warm-Up

Consider how you define yourself as an individual. Do you strongly identify with an ethnic or cultural heritage? Does class or place of birth factor into your sense of identity? What role does family play in your self-perception? Do you prefer to think of yourself in terms of your own preferences, accomplishments, and goals? Bearing all of this in mind, to what extent do you think we shape our own identities, and to what extent do you think our identities—and ourselves—are shaped by factors beyond our control?

Teaching Suggestion: Use this prompt to guide students to think about the inescapability of identity. Students who have grown up in individualist societies may find the notion that socioeconomic class (for example) strongly dictates the course of a person’s life surprising or difficult. Although Oliver Twist does not endorse a completely deterministic view of personal identity, its depiction of systemic inequality provides a useful starting point for thinking about the way similar forces persist in contemporary society.

Personal Response



Dickens’s novels typically feature a broad assortment of colorful characters. Which characters in Oliver Twist made a particular impression on you and why? Do you have any favorites? Alternatively, were there any characters you particularly disliked?

Teaching Suggestion: This is an open-ended question that students can consider both as they read and after finishing the novel (to help keep track of characters, students may find it helpful to jot down names and brief descriptions as they work their way through the book). Although their responses will be subjective, you can use them to segue into a consideration of Dickens’s use of caricature, what distinguishes a round character from a flat one, and the overall realism of Oliver Twist. You may also find students’ answers open up a conversation about good and evil in the novel, as some characters may strike students as either implausibly virtuous or villainous.

Post-Reading Analysis

Dickens’s tone in Oliver Twist is often biting. What characters come in for particular criticism? Do these characters represent particular ideologies or institutions? How does Dickens’s treatment of villainous figures like the Bumbles compare to his treatment of figures like Fagin and Bill Sikes?

Teaching Suggestion: Use this prompt to spark reflection and discussion on institutional corruption and greed. Oliver Twist spends much of its time in the criminal underworld, and some of its most memorable antagonists operate in that arena; at the same time, Dickens harshly critiques not only society at large but also supposedly charitable institutions (e.g. the orphanage) for allowing poverty to run rampant. How do these two halves of the novel fit together? There’s no shortage of resources concerning Dickens’s social criticism, but this article from Victorian Web is a good start. This may also be a good time to address the antisemitic tropes Dickens relies on in characterizing Fagin (notably, Dickens received pushback for this at the time, as the Jewish Virtual Library explains). Lastly, you may want to contextualize students’ responses within a discussion of the contemporary social supports and resources that exist (or don’t exist) to help people living in poverty.