I am going to compare two famous novels with each other. The first of the two books is ‘Oliver Twist’ by Charles Dickens, a heart-warming story of a boy whose mother dies at birth and his adventures around London. The second book is ‘A Kestrel for a Knave’ by Barry Hines, a story of a poor boy who is bullied and ignored by everyone except a loving Kestrel. The book ‘Oliver Twist’ is dated as a pre 20th novel as it was written around 1914, ‘A Kestrel for a Knave’ is a more recent 20th century novel as it was written around 1970.
A tired young woman who is heavily pregnant staggers into a poor boys workhouse in the middle of the night, then gives birth and then dies. No one new who the woman was or where she was from or the name of her new born son. With little discussion he is named Oliver Twist by the parish beadle Mr Bumble. Oliver is adopted by the workhouse and left under the care of Mrs Mann who is usually drunk and Mrs Corney who has a short temper. This is where he stays till he is about nine years old.
When he reaches the age of he is transferred to a proper workhouse and is set to work. Once when he is eating his friend needs more food as he is not well and Oliver gives up his meal for him forcing him to have to go and ask for some more gruel, which was the main work house diet. From this he is put up for trade: after a lucky escape from becoming a chimney sweep he is sold to Mr and Mrs Sowerberry. The couple run an undertaking business in the near town with the aid of Noah Claypole and a young maid called Charlotte. One evening Noah, being the bully he is, insults Oliver’s mother. In an outrage of grief Oliver launches an attack on Noah, which is unusual as Oliver is half the size of Noah and much weaker. Following this event Oliver is punished and beaten so he flees under the cover of darkness.
A queer looking fellow, according to the thoughts of Oliver, finds Oliver on the out skirts of London. His name was Jack Hawking, known to his friends as ‘The Artful Dodger’. The Dodger decides to take him under his wing and takes him to a friend of his called Fagin. Fagin is an old Jewish fellow who is a poor dirty man, not that he has any riches or gold, he’s just too greedy to part with it. Fagin decides to apprentice Oliver as a pickpocket just like the others street boys that he takes care of.
After learning the basic essentials for the trade he is sent out with The Dodger and another young boy called Charley Bates on a days pick pocketing. As the two professionals work on their target, an elderly gentleman at the bookstall, Oliver stands in horror. Once the work is done the two run leaving Oliver who tries to pursue the two but is pursued him-self by the crowd as the culprit. Once caught and beaten he is put before a magistrate. Luckily for Oliver Mr Brownlow witnessed the actions of The Dodger and Bates and his evidence clears Oliver of the charges. Taking pity on the young the boy he decides to take him. During his stay in the company of Mr Brownlow Oliver catches a fever but is well cared for and is nursed by his maid Mrs Bedwin. Through this type of kindness and generosity Oliver is happy for his first time. In Bedwin’s sitting room there is a hanging portrait of a woman of which Oliver is a living copy. The look in its eyes the head the mouth everything is identical, this startles Mr Brownlow but nothing is thought of this at the time.
Fagin meanwhile is desperate for Oliver’s return, as he knows too much about the goings on in this small group of bandits. He decides to recruit the mission of finding Oliver to a vicious fellow known as Bill Sikes and his poor wife Nancy. They both quickly find the location of Oliver and they kidnap him whilst he’s running an errand for Mr Brownlow. Back under the watchful eyes of Fagin, Oliver is sent with Sikes to rob a rich country manor house. Whilst under going the long procedure of breaking in Oliver is caught and shot, Sikes runs and escapes. The house owner, Mrs Maylie, listens to Oliver’s story and decides to take him in, he is cared for by her and her young niece, Rose.
When rose develops a serious illness, Mrs Maylie’s son arrives and proposes to marry Rose when she recovers. She refuses to marry him, as she is ignorant of her attendants, as she was adopted from a workhouse like Oliver. With the help of one of Mrs Maylie’s friends, Dr Losberne, Mr Brownlow is traced. During Oliver’s stay with the Maylie family, Oliver seems to spot a strange looking man spying on him from the window; this turns out to be a shady character known as Monks, who is working for Fagin, who is also observed spying on Oliver but disappears without trace. Back at Fagin’s lair, Nancy overhears Fagin and Monks plotting to kidnap Oliver again and deliver him back into the grip of Fagin. Taking pity on Oliver after all he’s been through Nancy secretly meets with Rose and tells of their plan of kidnapping him. Nancy asks for their word that nothing will be done to her man, Sikes but they can do what they pleased with Monks. Rose and Losberne promise Nancy that nothing will be done to Fagin and Sikes as long as Monks is arrested.
In Oliver’s absence, Fagin has a new recruit: Noah Claypole, who along with Charlotte, ran from the Sowerberry’s with as much of their money as they could carry. On his first assignment, Noah is told to follow Nancy as she has roused suspicion in Fagin, and he comes back with the news that she has secretly met with Rose and has given them information on the abduction of Oliver. Fagin tells Sikes, and in a frantic rage engineered by Nancy’s treachery, he clubs her violently to death. Sikes quickly runs to the countryside and tries to kill his trusty dog Bullseye. When Sikes returns, he heads to the gangs headquarters where he is not welcomed and is resented for the murder he committed.
Fagin is nowhere to be seen as there was a recent police raid and he and Noah Claypole were arrested. Charley Bates raises the alarm that Sikes had arrived and the few remaining boys chase him across the roofs as he tries to escape. He slips and ends up being hanged; his dog Bullseye falls to his death trying to follow his master. Fagin is found guilty after a sensational trial for unspecified crimes, The Dodger is transported and Noah escapes charges as he testifies for the prosecution.
