从《雾都孤儿》看资本主义社会对孤儿成长的影响

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摘 要

英国作家查尔斯·狄更斯的《雾都孤儿》讲述了在资本主义社会，孤儿奥利弗的艰辛成长过程。本文依据马克思关于人与环境关系理论，分析在当时资本主义社会恶劣的环境下奥利弗的悲惨生活状况，指出了资本主义社会对孤儿成长的影响。为了孤儿的健康成长，社会应该给孤儿们基本的物质保障，提供正当的文化教育和正常的家庭温暖和爱。《雾都孤儿》在当时的英国社会造成了巨大的影响。这一孤儿形象的塑造不单单是反映出了当时英国资本主义社会的状况，更主要是对现实的启示：给孩子一个温暖的家、幸福的童年，唤起社会对孤儿的同情和关爱。

关键词：查尔斯·狄更斯；《雾都孤儿》；资本主义；孤儿；影响

Contents

1.Introduction 1

2. Literature Review 2

3. The Capitalist Society’s Influence on Oliver 3

3.1 The Influence of the English Relief System on Oliver 3

3.2 The Influence of Life in the Slums on Oliver 4

3.3 Good People’s Influence on Oliver 5

4. The Critique to Capitalism in the Novel 7

5. Conclusion 8

Works Cited 10

1. Introduction

Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth, son of a petty navy office clerk. The good fortune of being sent to school at the age of nine was short-lived because his father was imprisoned for bad debt. He was sent to work in Warren’s blacking factory and endured appalling conditions as well as loneliness and despair. The hardship and suffering inflicted so early upon such a sensitive boy as Charles Dickens had left an everlasting bitter remembrance in his later life. In 1824-1827 Dickens studied at Wellington House Academy, London. At the age of fifteen he left school and entered a lawyer’s office. He taught himself shorthand to get an even better job later as a reporter in Parliament. The journalistic experience not only enabled him to get acquainted with some inside knowledge of the British legal and political system, and gave him a chance to meet people of all kinds, but also laid a good foundation for his coming literary career. (Zhang Boxiang，2009:104-105) Before his death in 1870 Dickens had published fourteen novels, several plays, numerous short stories, and many other books and articles. At times he was involved in writing as many as three novels simultaneously. Dickens showed incredible energy and vitality and he edited several periodicals and also worked for several charitable organizations. Dickens’s novels such as David Copperfield, Bleak House (1852), Little Dorrit (1857), A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, and Our Mutual Friend (1865)-dominated the Victorian literary scene throughout his life, and he was arguably one of the most popular novelists in the history of English literature. The Mystery of Edwin Drood is Dickens’ unfinished novel when he died because of a stroke on June 9, 1870, in Rochester, England.

Oliver Twist is the English novelist Charles Dickens wrote in the Victorian era. Queen Victoria"s reign, this is the most glorious period in English history. In the mid-19th century, England became the world"s largest economy country. However, under the cover of prosperity and wealth poverty and misery of the working class, in order to have a living, poor women and children had to work at risk, dirty factories and mines. Dickens criticizes the sin of the money doctrine in capitalist society. Although at this time he did not recognize the fundamental reason for the social evils, he revealed the miserable life of the people living in the bottom of the society by the story of Oliver.

In Marx’s view, the relationship between human and environment is interactive. Environment shapes the role of people and people change the environment. Marx believes that the interaction between environment and human is achieved through social practice activities. Environment provides a certain foundation and conditions of development for human. From this perspective, people are restricted by the environment, namely “The environment is the creation of man.” On the other hand, people also create the environment, the environment is changed by people.

This thesis analyzes the life experiences of Oliver under the relief system, the misfortune life in the dens and the help from the good people, to prove that the society has a profound influence on the orphan. And the criticism of capitalism of Dickens in Oliver Twist is also presented.

2. Literature Review

Several studies on social influence on children’s personality are given in order to make this thesis more reliable. The first study is on the negative social impact on Oliver. The scholar Pan Min analyses the negative effect of the social influence on Oliver. Pan Min thinks people are the abstract of social relationship. The dark capitalism and hypocrisy bring indelible influence to Oliver. In life, Oliver suffers from hungry and cold, lack of family and social concern. In education, Oliver has never been well educated, but feels the social moral corruption. In thought Oliver feels the relentless and people commit all sorts in front of the money.(Pan Min,2012:26-27) Another scholar Xiong Ying studies the orphans’ personalities and draws these conclusions: the children need the basic living guarantee, need to receive formal education, need the warmth of family and social care. Although Oliver’ parents are rich, Oliver grows up without his parents’ care and his life is miserable. The wrong family education affects children’s life. General mood of society affects children’s value. Children need a complete and warm family.

This thesis combined the views of the two scholars, carefully studied the external factors on Oliver, both good side and bad side by studying the capitalist society and the good people’s influence on Oliver’s growth. Environment consists of the natural environment and social environment. This thesis analyses the influence of social environment on Oliver with the Marxist perspective of the man and environment. In Marx’s view, in the relationship between man and environment, environment shapes the role of people. Marx thinks that the capitalist society has blindness and anti-nature in the relation between human and nature. The critique to capitalism in the novel is also studied in this thesis. The significance of the research of this thesis is to arouse attention to orphans, appeal to the community to provide a good living environment, good education for orphans.

3. The Capitalist Society’s Influence on Oliver

3.1 The Influence of the English Relief System on Oliver

In the mid nineteenth century England finished the industrial revolution, with the fast development of social economy, social issues in the England is gradually serious, especially after the economic crisis in mid nineteenth century, had an important influence on the English society. The social inequality and poverty phenomenon began to intensify. Farmers and town workers had little food to eat. Most of the residents of England had dull and boring lives and kept working to live. The old had no hope and could only be relieved by the church. By the late nineteenth century, there were nearly one million people unemployed, need government to remedy. In the heyday of free capitalism, the bourgeoisie despised human rights, not to put the unemployed workers and poor people as people to look at, thought that poverty is due to “personal lazy”， therefore it should be “personally responsible for”. With such ideas as a guide, in 1834, the government enacted a “poor law” in the promoting of the industrial bourgeoisie. The law established the government should set up the workhouse for the paupers. “If the paupers live as well as those support themselves, then this remedy will fundamentally make people lose the labor enthusiasm. So as its supplement, the paupers need to work like horses.” Visible, the poor law actually turned “relief the poor” into “punish the poor”. Its ultimate aim was to get rid of the burden and to provide sufficient labor source of capitalist production. In order to carry out the deterrent to the poor, the management of the workhouse was very strict. People those broken the rule of the workhouse would be punished by the official of the workhouse. In the Vitoria times, the British education has the following main features: Firstly, education is mainly running by voluntary organizations and church autonomous agency business. Secondly, education has the disorderly and unsystematic features. Thirdly, education has obvious phase feature, elementary education occupies the man status. The features make the most of the poor children away from education.

Oliver Twist exposes the false and cruel depicted in the parish workhouse of orphan boy Oliver Twist’s childhood. It gave the terrible reality of the existence of the photos in the workhouse. Oliver was born in a workhouse. He was born and at the same time his mom died. Oliver was raised by a feeding bottle. The old woman who was responsible for the care of orphans put most of the expenses in her own pocket. When Oliver was nine years old, he looked pale and thin because of malnutrition. After returned to the workhouse, Oliver had to work hard and could get a spoonful of porridge when the officers in the workhouse ate a lot without doing anything. The children in the workhouse were hungry and made a bold decision, draw lots to decide who would ask for another food. The unfortunate fate came to Oliver’s head, Oliver asked the cook for some more food .As a result, he was punished and sent to a coffin-maker’s shop by the officers. Oliver even did not have a chance to accept any education. At that time, education is a dream for the people who likes Oliver, but is only for the upper class’s children. Oliver could only study some “work-skill” to work for the workhouse and worked in the coffin-maker’s shop as an apprentice. It was actually terrible for a child to survive in that time without any knowledge.

3.2 The Influence of Life in the Slums on Oliver

With the tremendous progress of production mode and capacity, the growth of population presented a terrific speed. Amidst the industrialization and urbanization, a lot of people swarmed into the city, bringing enormous pressure to the city housing. Large increase of city population caused a sharp rise in land price of city. The city population began to migrate to the suburbs. The middle and upper classes migrated to the west and the working class was concentrated in the east. The formation of the living pattern since the middle ages had been broken in the city. The rich areas and the slum areas formed. What’s more, the land agent built a large construction of “back-to-back house” to seek high profits. In the slums, people lived in very dirty and crowded places where violence and crime happened frequently. Since no sewer, the rain water got together and the environment where they lived was bad, but rich people lived in a wonderful environment. Many orphans there could only sustain life by stealing things. Stealing, lying and even murdering were the main melody there. Many slums became the dens because of the lack of management.

In the novel, Oliver was trapped into the dens as soon as his arrival to London. The thief Fagin made every attempt to train Oliver to become a thief. Although Oliver escaped the den with the help of Mr. Brownlow, he was caught back later. He was beat by Fagin and almost lost his life. Although Oliver eventually escaped the den with the help of Nancy, Nancy was killed by the thieves. Experiencing the miserable life in the den, Oliver knew the truth that people committed all sorts before money. Does Oliver lose his innocence as he progresses? No, we really don’t think he does. His bright, shiny goodness just doesn’t seem to tarnish, and all the bad stuff he’s been through just makes his virtue seem shinier. He’s just as squeaky clean at the end of the novel as he was at the beginning.

3.3 Good People’s Influence on Oliver

Nancy is a psychological complex of young women, grew up in the thieves, and no one knows her life. In this novel, Oliver Twist main concern is whether a bad environment can irreversibly poison the person"s character and soul. With the development of the novel, the characters grow best illustrates the contradictory problem, the problem is Nancy. As a child of the streets, Nancy is a thief, excessive alcohol consumption and a prostitute, she is represents the ugly fact of the society. When she is faced with the trouble with corruption and starvation choice, society does not provide the environment to survive them, but put them helplessly thrown Abyss. She immersed in the vices condemned by society, but she is also possible in the novel noblest acts, she sacrificed her life to protect Oliver. Because her nature is kind and justice, so when Nancy entered the den of thieves, she did not counter any kind people, ultimately she met Mr. Brownlow and Mrs. Maylie, but it was too late. Finally, she died at the hands of robber named Bill Sikes. Her fate is tragic, just like real society after the orphans came into the gangland. Oliver clearly knows that Nancy is dead because of saving him, he feels so sorry and very sad, which affects him a lot. Because the situation of Nancy and Oliver is the same, they all are poor people in the bottom of the dark society, but Nancy is so kind and justice to scarify her life to save him, which gives much encourage for Oliver to go on in the miserable society with kindness and hope.

Nancy saw through the rogue group, she hated the kind of treacherous, vicious, heartless cruelty, inhuman things, meanwhile she also had some nice feelings, and reluctant to leave. She has sympathy for Oliver, treated him like her brother. In times of crisis, she would disregard her own safety to rescue him, but he had to push Oliver on the road of being thieves. She envied other cultural, educational woman, but because of her humble status, she did not expect such a happy life. There was a feeling of contradiction in her heart. As Miss Maylie and Mr. Brownlow advised her to leave the thieves group life, she refused their kindness. Her inner conflict was real, which was consistent with normal general psychology. There were many young women offenders, if misguided Nancy may have a similar a contradictory thought, that was they wanted to leave but didn"t have encourage. Although Nancy hated Bill Sikes"s behavior, she could not do without him. Maybe her conduct was not reasonable, but all she did was true and influenced Oliver.

As most of the author’s characters, Mr. Brownlow too, is brought out with an indirect presentation but it is not long after introducing him that his wholesome goodness is revealed to us. Though at first he accuses Oliver of the thief, his concern over Oliver’s welfare on the street is a direct hint of his innocence which successfully helps him convince Oliver to board at his house. A generous and trusting man he was, perhaps too good a man to be true; but with all the malicious characters in the story, a heroic and pure persona was needed to ensure a happy ending, with honesty and great wealth as his prime qualities, he assists Oliver in his times of need and demonstrates to society with an exemplary touch, the attributes of a perfect citizen. As the positive extreme in both social status and benevolence, Mr. Brownlow is a definite aid in the development of the theme throughout the novel.

Mr. Brownlow also brings a direct influence on Oliver. Mr. Brownlow is a very kind old man. He likes to help other people, especially the helpless children. Although at first he accused thief Oliver, Oliver worried about the welfare of his street directly imply that he is innocent, has successfully persuaded Oliver to help him in his house. During the period of Oliver is sick in Mr. Brownlow’s house, Mr. Brownlow treats Oliver just like he was his grandson, teach Oliver how to read, send Oliver to a school and take look after Oliver when he is sick. Oliver is so grateful and he never feels so happy in his life. Then, he decides to reward Mr. Brownlow and he would like to be a good man just like him. Mr. Brownlow shows his generosity and trust in Oliver, maybe too good for a man to be true, but all the malicious character story, heroes and role of the need to ensure a pure happy ending, honesty and quality as his great wealth, he assisted when needed Oliver and presentations a model of social contact, and improve the properties of citizens. As an active social status and extreme kindness, Mr. Brownlow is a clear theme throughout the novel aid development.

4. The Critique to Capitalism in the Novel

The novel profoundly and unreservedly exposed the evil crimes and brutal cruelty committed against orphans in British poorhouse with vivid description. The author described a den of thieves and the underworld of capitalism in London then. Although the protagonist Oliver grew up in a foul environment, not being contaminated by the capitalist society, yet his purity and honesty defeated the evil at last. His miserable life makes people see clearly the brutal city life under capitalism. Dickens depicted Oliver’s brother as a greedy, ruthless, and shameless person, which on the one hand brought the plot to the climax, on the other hand fully showed the reality that some people aimed at achieving what he /she wanted regardless of family affections. With a trenchant pen, the author satirized the prevailing society and hoped to wake up those pathetic people by awakening their conscience and consciousness. Although Oliver had a hard life, in the end he found out where he was from and inherited his father’s legacy, which totally changed his whole life. All of this reveals the author’s critical realism that he wanted to reform the society by his novels and demonstrated his hope to capitalism then through the change he made about Oliver’s life. Dickens portrayed a picture that displayed capitalist culture by those thought-provoking and realistic novels. Through the miserable lives of poor children in the capitalist society, the author clearly showed poor people’s tragic lives in the London slums. Thus, he revealed the darkness and hypocrisy on the poorhouses and schools. Dickens, embracing with his protest against social injustice, aroused public opinion and promoted reform so that the poor in dire straits can be saved. The author’s living background has exerted a great impact on his literary creation. The prevailing sense of hierarchy at that time contributed a lot to the poor fate of Oliver. And the author used the way of description to profoundly reflects the poverty and hardship people living at the bottom of the society suffered under the influence of the dark social reality. Dickens truly showed the readers the popular class differentiation and the brutality and darkness in the capitalist society then.

5. Conclusion

Dickens was a great critical realism in the history of English literature. Oliver Twist is his most satisfying work. It is a favorite one of Dickens novels. Oliver Twist is a very moving story, it is the first novel that the reader is led to a very sad world, and Oliver is a character with brave, kind, pure, and so on. They are showing something from his attitude toward the people around him. No matter whom they are, Oliver always expresses his kindness, no matter what difficulties are, he also shows courage. In this novel, Oliver had met with all kinds of people, good or bad people, and all kinds of matter, which all influenced Oliver. The relief system has great defects. Oliver suffers hungry from it. The workhouse can not provide orphans a good living condition and education. The suffering life makes Oliver emaciated. No good education makes Oliver can not be judged rightly, and easily deceived into the dens. The relief system is a failure as a charity system. The bottom of society represents the darkest place of British capitalism, where dark days especially severely devastate the physical and mental development of children. From Oliver Twist, thousands of seats workhouse poor prison can be seen and the dead in the streets for fear of starving. This novel exposes how the charity destroyed poor children to the London slums. Under the control of the den, how the children with goodness, even witty lovely children go into the wrong way. Here children are mentally and physically ravaged and distorted, because they can not be given the care. So that, we also know that although the Oliver in Oliver Twist was born in a rich family, but a lack of proper parental love, and his situation is very bad and live with a hard life. Luckily some good people help little Oliver and let him get away from the den. They guide Oliver to the correct way of life. They have positive effects on the growth of Oliver. Dickens" thought of human life should be spent in the gentle joy and love, he called for society should give the child a warm, human family, and children need a complete and healthy home through the depiction of the image of the society. It also has great enlightenment to our contemporary society. The environment children live has an important impact on children’s growth. The contemporary society should give the children enough attention, let the children have a good living environment and receive formal education. Let them grow up healthily and happily.

Works Cited

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