In early 19th century England, where people were starving in the streets and chimney sweeps bought new children from aristocrats whenever their old child apprentices suffocated to death in tight chimneys, it's no surprise that almost everyone with a pocket to store a book in had a bible to turn to for guidance. The work house that Oliver is born in prays together at every meal, without fail. In the 2005 movie version of Oliver Twist, the dining hall where all of the gruel is consumed by emaciated children has "GOD IS HOLY - GOD IS TRUTH" painted on the back wall. The 2008 adaptation has "GOD SEEST THOU" in the same place, for everyone to see. Even in the book, which lacks these specific visual details, it is clear that religious practice is being drilled into the poor. Perhaps this is the rich overseers' way of making the poor dependent and submissive, leading them to believe that they owe God every ounce of physical labor they can give, which goes directly to the benefit of the rich men running the work house.
Now if we step away from specific references to Christianity, we can see the biblical influence that Foster points out in How to Read Literature Like a Professor. The Bible is so old that it has served as a base for many stories since then. Even those that aren't replicas of the original stories often contain allusions to the Bible or ideas that readers might associate with a classic biblical story. I drew a few connections between Oliver Twist and the Bible that are mostly conceptual and most likely accidental on Dickens' part. The concept of the loss of innocence is linked to the famous story of Adam and Eve in Genesis and can be found in Oliver's story. Oliver is only 10 years old when the majority of the book takes place, and he has not been well-traveled or well-educated in those ten years. Therefore, Oliver is clearly quite naive and unaware of the full extent of the evils constantly going on around him. He spends a lot of his time living with Fagin and his band of thieving adolescents before he even realizes what they do for a living. He finds their ability to snatch things from each others' pockets rather funny until he witnesses them pick-pocketing strangers in the same fashion. There's a scene where Oliver falls to his knees in private and prays that God will let him die before he becomes a thief like the boys who took him in. It's an incredibly sad scene, as you see him clinging onto his innocence for dear life, as if he were resisting the deadly fruit from the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden. See the correlation. Oliver is a bit like Adam, tempted by the fruit being handed to him by the young boys around him, who resemble Eve's character. Fagin is perhaps the serpent, handicapped by his age but manipulative nevertheless. The fruit is a life of crime and boy, does it taste sweet to a band of starving vagrant boys being lured off the street by an old caregiver.
The story of Cain and Abel also came to mind as I was recalling bible stories that have stuck with me since bible school. My mother read East of Eden to me when I was younger, in which Steinbeck tells the story of the two brothers. I'm not positive on this, but I think Steinbeck says in his version that the brothers are twins, and that Abel exits their mother's womb with Cain holding onto his ankle, or the other way around. I didn't see this in Genesis but Steinbeck's adaptation of the story is incredibly well known. Either way, the story is one of great jealousy. Abel was the first human to die, according to Genesis, and Cain was the first to commit murder. Nice job, humanity. Couldn't have 4 humans in existence without one of them killing another. Typical. ANYWAY, we can see this envy in the band of thieves Oliver lives with. When Oliver is kidnapped from his route to the book store and taken back to Sykes' home, he is stripped of his belongings. The fighting that goes on between Bill Sykes and Fagin over a five pound note has one man at the other's throat. The younger boys circle Oliver like a cackle of hyenas and stuff their fists into his suit pockets. As they see Oliver taken under the wing of Mr. Brownlow and enter a privileged home, they hold onto his ankle and refuse to let go without receiving a portion of the wealth. While the concept of bitter jealousy might not root from one story, the story of Cain and Abel is the perfect example of a well-known relationship that can enhance the meaning behind an envious relationship in newer texts.
Really interesting post, Hannah! You always seem to make the most spot-on connections between the books you're reading and analysis of the rest of the world (kudos to you, kid). As I've never read *Oliver Twist* before, it's difficult for me to really discuss the points you're theorizing about Dickens' religious connections in his story, but with the great emphasis that 19th century Englishmen put on the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, it's all too likely that these points you're making are exactly what were running through Dickens' mind when he was writing - or, equally likely, that these religious tendencies were so engrained in him that he subconsciously wrote a highly intertextual novel! I was curious to see if there were many religious allusions in Jane Austen's *Pride and Prejudice,* but as (I'll admit) I'm not all that familiar with specific Biblical stories, it's been hard for me to pinpoint exact references that perhaps a more learned and experienced reader of literature would pick up on. However, as *Pride and Prejudice* was published within 30 years of *Oliver Twist,* it's also been very apparent to me of the great prevalence that 19th century society put on their religious beliefs. Sometimes I find these beliefs quite ironic; a good half of Austen's characters are fraught with tactless vulgarity at the same time that they are harping on practicing politeness and kindness to one's neighbor. I suppose it's the same in these novels as it is in real life, and that's why we as readers find these characters so interesting. After all, it's difficult to practice what you preach.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Hannah! It is interesting to see all the religious allusions in a novel like Oliver Twist, which is not a story that is affiliated with any religion. It is also very interesting to see the story of Cain and Abel reiterated in many novels, as this tale was alluded to in one of the books I read over the summer, Friday by Michael Tournier. Friday is an adaptation of Robinson Crusoe, and in Friday, Robinson saves a tribe member named Friday from a nearby island. He then becomes jealous of how Friday can live in peace with the island and contemplates murdering Friday as Cain killed Abel. Obviously the Bible has had a huge impact on literature.
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