![]() Understanding, interpreting and responding to texts:ĭodger is described as “one of the queerest looking boys that Oliver had ever seen”. However, when Oliver sees them picking the pocket of an old gentleman while his back is turned he suddenly understands the significance of the earlier 'game'.Īll three boys make a run for it but Oliver is felled by a bystander and is dragged off to appear before the magistrate, Mr Fang. Oliver grows eager to go outside and does so with the Dodger and Charley. And on another he watches a 'game' played in which the Dodger and another boy called Charley Bates try to remove items from Fagin's pockets without him becoming aware. On one occasion he awakes to find Fagin admiring some jewels and other valuables in his possession. ![]() Over the next few days Oliver stays with Fagin and the other boys. In a decaying old building he is introduced to Fagin and various other boys who live there. Oliver is alarmed by the sight of Saffron Hill - the neighbourhood that he is taken to - close to present-day Clerkenwell. The Dodger quickly establishes that Oliver needs a place to stay and recommends a 'respectable gentleman' that he knows in London. When Oliver meets The Artful Dodger, 10th December 2017, accessed on 9th December 2018.Oliver reaches Barnet on the outskirts of London where he is approached by another boy calling himself the Artful Dodger. ‘Walk Charles Dickens’ London’, accessed on 10th December 2018. Without this technique, criminals would find it increasingly difficult to find their acquaintances and could actually risk being reported and found out, consequently facing punishments that may have been fatal! ![]() Oliver Twist and The Artful Dodger meet for the first time Overall, this Flash criminal language used in Oliver Twist is a key part of the narrative, as it is a device used to establish the difference between criminals and non-criminals. Dodger views this as a triumph because he now has the opportunity to inform Fagin, who will be able to groom Oliver to become a pickpocket, as he is an impressionable young boy. Dodger soon realises that Oliver is not an ‘established’ criminal and he exclaims, “My eyes, how green!” The use of “green” suggests the naivety and innocence of Oliver. This was significant to figure out whether they were communicating with a fellow criminal or not, ultimately gaging if they can trust them. The first sentence The Artful Dodger says to Oliver is “Hullo, my covey! What’s the row?” Dodger misjudges the situation when he sees Oliver is begging on the street, assuming he will understand the criminal language and adopts him as a fellow “covey”. Oliver’s first encounter with The Artful Dodger is the most poignant example of Flash language adopted by the criminals of London. This Flash language is a sort of code, whereby only these ‘criminals’ can understand what is being said, meaning they can find their own kind more quickly and effectively. ![]() Before doing so, they use a certain type of criminal language, called Flash language, to gage whether Oliver is ‘one of them’. Like in Oliver Twist, Oliver is taken in by the characters of Fagin and The Artful Dodger, as they plan to ‘train’ him to become an effective pickpocket. This was an art indeed and it needed to be mastered perfectly in order to avoid jail or even a hanging!Īs these young criminals needed to be deceptive and manipulative, they had to pick (no pun intended!) their acquaintances carefully and wisely. Oliver Twist’s London workhouse, or they were employed by older men in the art of pickpocketing (as reflected by Dickens in his classic). Life was extremely difficult for the poor many orphans were left no choice but to be sent to the Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist expresses the struggles of many people in the Victorian period, especially in the major cities such as London.
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