130 pages • 4 hours read
Charles DickensOliver Twist
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1838A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Chapters 16-20Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 16 Summary: “RELATES WHAT BECAME OF OLIVER TWIST, AFTER HE HAD BEEN CLAIMED BY NANCY”
Chapter 16 begins with Sikes on one side of Oliver and Nancy on the other, both ensuring that the young boy is unable to escape. Sikes orders his dog to attack Oliver, should the young boy continue to call out for help. Oliver decides to stay quiet lest he be mauled. Sikes drags Olive through the dark night. As the clock strikes eight, Nancy begins to listen to the loud tolling. She soon begins thinking about all the people she might know in the Newgate prison and their horrible fates. Sikes is far less sympathetic, saying, “[w]ell, they’re as good as dead, so it doesn’t much matter” (176). Nancy wishes to take a moment for the people about to be hanged, telling Bill that she’d never leave the Newgate prison if Bill were to be hanged inside it. Instead of being swayed by her devotion to him, Bill says that if he were arrested, he would prefer her to smuggle him rope and help him escape instead.
A while later, Sikes, Nancy, and Oliver arrive to a narrow street, at a house that looks abandoned on the outside. The Artful Dodger leads them into the house, where Fagin and Charley Bates are waiting. Bates finds the entire situation hilarious and continues to laugh at Oliver. Fagin and Bill argue over who will get the £5 and Bill threatens to return Oliver if he and Nancy are not given the money. Sikes takes the money but allows Fagin to keep the books. Oliver desperately tries to plead with them to give the books back to Mr. Brownlow, worried that the elderly gentleman will think he stole them. This pleases Fagin; he could not have planned for Oliver’s return to turn out any better.
Oliver begins screaming, desperately trying to flee the room. Bates, the Dodger, and Fagin attempt to chase after him. Nancy, on the other hand, clings to Sikes, pleading with him to keep his dog under control and refrain from letting it bite Oliver. Fagin, Bates, and the Dodger return with Oliver. Fagin attempts to beat Oliver with a club but Nancy rushes forward to steal the club and throw it into the fire. Fagin initially believes that Nancy is simply acting like the concerned sister she previously pretended to be but soon enough he realizes that she is genuine. Fagin shares a look with Sikes, begging the latter to calm her down. Sikes threatens and curses at Nancy but it does not sway her. He then asks Nancy angrily, “[d]o you know who you are, and what you are?” (184). This question sends Nancy into hysterics and Sikes threatens to kill her, the same way he often threatens his dog.
Nancy begins to shout, blaming Fagin for her life on the streets and for having to steal and cheat to live. Nancy attempts to attack the older man but Sikes grabs her by her arms and she faints. Charley Bates brings Oliver to bed and orders him to change out of the nice clothes Mr. Brownlow gave him. To his surprise, Oliver sees his old set of clothes waiting for him on the makeshift bed. Oliver falls asleep to the noises of Charley’s laughter and Miss Betsy desperately trying to rouse Nancy.
Chapter 17 Summary: “OLIVER'S DESTINY CONTINUING UNPROPITIOUS, BRINGS A GREAT MAN TO LONDON TO INJURE HIS REPUTATION”
Chapter 17 begins with a short aside from Dickens, who explains that tragedy and the mundane come in waves, both in literature and in real life. As such, Dickens describes a day in the life of the parochial beadle, Mr. Bumble. Mr. Bumble arrives at the child-labor farm run by Mrs. Mann. There, they discuss his well-being. Mr. Bumble is neither humble nor modest and begins speaking about the trials and tribulations of being the parochial beadle. Mrs. Mann dreads Mr. Bumble’s arrival but plays the part in order to get into Mr. Bumble’s good graces. Mr. Bumble tells Mrs. Mann that he is headed to London to deal with a “settlement” and “legal action” to do with two paupers (191). It appears that the two parishes are pushing the responsibility of caring for two poor people onto each other.
The beadle will be travelling with the paupers by coach, rather than the usual open-air carts. This surprises Mrs. Mann. Mr. Bumble explains that the church has calculated that it will be cheaper to move the paupers than to actually bury them. After discussing this with Mrs. Mann, Mr. Bumble gives her the monthly stipend for the children. They then begin discussing Dick’s ill health and the boy himself appears. Dick is described as being near to death, “pale and thin; his cheeks were sunken; and his eyes large and bright” (193). Dick asks that a note be left to Oliver Twist upon his death, to tell Oliver that he is happy to die young so that he might be a child with his sister in heaven. Both Mr. Bumble and Mrs. Mann appear offended by the mere suggestion that the boy could be sorrowful and want for anything. Mr. Bumble believes that the “out-dacious Oliver had demogalized them all” (194). Dick is taken away and locked in the coal cellar as punishment for his insolence.
Later in the night, Mr. Bumble sees an advertisement in the paper offering five guineas to anyone who might have information on Oliver Twist. Mr. Bumble hurries to the address and finds Mr. Brownlow. There, Mr. Bumble meets Mr. Brownlow and Mr. Grimwig. Mr. Grimwig asks, “[y]ou don’t happen to know any good of him, do you?” (198). This prompts Mr. Bumble to tell Oliver’s tale in an extremely unflattering light, lying about his parents and lineage. Mr. Brownlow is devastated by the news but he pays Mr. Bumble for the information. Mrs. Bedwin refuses to believe the lies about Oliver and Mr. Brownlow commands them all never to speak Oliver’s name again.
Chapter 18 Summary: “HOW OLIVER PASSED HIS TIME IN THE IMPROVING SOCIETY OF HIS REPUTABLE FRIENDS”
Fagin lectures Oliver about ingratitude: “Fagin laid great stress on the fact of his having taken Oliver in, and cherished him, when, without his timely aid, he might have perished with hunger” (201). Fagin threatens Oliver with stories of other boys who have tried to escape and who have then been falsely accused and hanged as a result. Oliver understands the threats and stays silent, spending that day locked up in the dark room with nothing for company except his thoughts, mice, and spiders.
A week or so later, Charley Bates and the Artful Dodger begin speaking with Oliver. They try and convince him that being a “prig,” a thief, is something to aspire to be but Oliver refuses to be swayed (206). The two boys try and guilt Oliver into becoming a thief, saying that they could never be dependent on their friends. Oliver counters this by saying, “[y]ou can leave your friends, though […] and let them be punished for what you did” (208). The other two boys dismiss Oliver’s comment and seem entirely unbothered by it.
The Dodger is convinced that Oliver will end up a thief anyway and tells Oliver that he might as well begin as soon as possible. Tom Chitling, an 18-year-old who was detained for six weeks, arrives, and Oliver does not seem to understand that the former has been in prison. After this, Oliver begins spending time with the boys and Fagin. They play the pickpocketing game and the chapter ends with Fagin “slowly instilling into [Oliver’s] soul the poison which he hoped would blacken it, and change its hue for ever” (212).
Chapter 19 Summary: “IN WHICH A NOTABLE PLAN IS DISCUSSED AND DETERMINED ON”
Fagin enters a dark house in search of Sikes. When he enters the room, Sikes’s dog growls and Sikes orders him to come in. Fagin notices Nancy and feels both unsure and awkward about their relationship after her previous meltdown over their treatment of the young boy. Mr. Sikes orders Nancy to fetch Fagin a drink but Fagin refuses to drink past an initial sip so that he can keep his wits about himself. Sikes takes eager, long pulls from the drink, and then declares that he is ready for business.
The two men discuss the robbing of a house in Chertsey. Fagin asks Bill when the robbery will be done but Bill says it will not be happening at all. Despite Toby Crackit’s best attempts to get a servant of the house on their side, none of the servants would betray their master. Toby has even attempted to seduce one of the servants but none of their usual tricks have worked. After long moments of sullen silence between the two men, Sikes says there is a way to break in but that he needs the help of a small boy. Fagin wants to suggest Oliver for the job but momentarily hesitates, as Nancy is still in the room. Nancy tries to laugh it off and downs a glass of brandy in an attempt to hide her own discomfort with the plan.
Fagin suggests Oliver for the job and while Sikes is worried that the boy is inexperienced, he admits that Oliver is the right size to sneak into the house. Fagin is ecstatic by this development because he thinks that by getting Oliver to commit a crime, it will make the boy “ours for his life” (222). Sikes and Nancy wonder why Fagin is especially obsessed with keeping Oliver when he has countless homeless boys to choose from. Fagin responds by saying that with Oliver, he “could do what [he] couldn’t with twenty of them” because of Oliver’s aura of innocence and melancholy (223). Fagin also insists that by making Oliver theirs, they would ensure that he would not tell on their illegal activities.
The robbery is to take place the day after next and Nancy is to walk Oliver over to his destination. Sikes is to be singularly responsible for and in charge of Oliver during the robbery, and is allowed to kill Oliver should he prove to be a hindrance. The plan is squared away and Sikes begins drinking in earnest. Fagin does not seem to trust Nancy and stares at her in suspicion as he leaves. When he arrives back at the house, Fagin wishes to speak to Oliver but finding that he is asleep, the old man allows him to rest.
Chapter 20 Summary: “WHEREIN OLVER IS DELIVERED OVER TO MR. WILLIAM SIKES”
Oliver wakes the next morning and finds a new pair of boots. He initially believes that this might mean that Fagin means to let him go; however, at breakfast, Fagin tells Oliver that he will be sent to Bill Sikes’s home that night, but only temporarily. Fagin stays quiet most of the day until he readies himself to leave for the night. Fagin allows Oliver a candle to burn and a book to read before he leaves. As he makes to leave, Fagin gives Oliver a final warning, telling him not to anger Sikes and to do as Sikes bids.
Oliver thinks that he is being sent to Sikes as an errand boy and thinks nothing more of it as he becomes engrossed in the book. Eventually, Oliver is sickened by all the trials and tribulations of the criminals he is reading about and tosses the book away. Oliver prays that he will never have to commit such horrible atrocities. Nancy enters the room a little while later, clearly shaken and unwell. When Oliver offers to help her, she falls into hysterics. Eventually, Nancy plays her fear off as a passing mood and begins to bring him to Sikes.
Nancy can tell that Oliver wants to ask her to let him go, but she tells him that if he escapes that night, she will be killed. Nancy tells Oliver that no matter what they make him do, it will not be his fault. Oliver is unable to bear the idea of Nancy dying for him and simply takes her hand as they head to Sikes’s. When they arrive, Sikes threatens Oliver with a gun, telling him that if he speaks out of turn or becomes a hindrance, he will shoot him without hesitation.
The next morning, Sikes and Oliver make to leave the house after breakfast. Sikes gives Oliver a cloak and pockets his pistol after showing it to Oliver threateningly. On their way out, Oliver tries to share a glance with Nancy, but she merely sat before the fire “perfectly motionless before it” (238).
Chapters 16-20 Analysis
In these chapters, Dickens plays with the ideas of destiny and fate. Dickens often utilizes the literary technique of deus ex machina, Latin for “God in the Machine,” in order to solve and progress the plot forward. The characters of Mrs. Maylie and Mr. Brownlow, for example, exist almost solely to save and provide a happy ending for Rose and Oliver. Another example of deus ex machina would be Mr. Bumble’s coincidentally coming across Mr. Brownlow’s advertisement in the paper. The frequent use of deus ex machina and interjections from the omniscient narrator establishes a tone and echoes questions of destiny and fate that are presented frequently throughout the novel.
Does free will exist or is it merely an illusion? Are humans born into certain conditions forced to become a product of their environment and to fulfill pre-determined destinies? What is fate and is it possible to overcome it? These are questions that Dickens explores in complicated detail throughout Oliver Twist. Set in a time when social stratification was rigid and class mobility was nearly impossible, fate and destination become even more relevant as Dickens attempts to shed light on the injustices of class stratification.
The most evident example of Dickens’s exploration of destiny can be found in his portrayal of Oliver. Though boys like the Artful Dodger and Charley Bates attempt to seduce him into a life of crime, Oliver stays firm, convinced of what is wrong and right. Despite Fagin “slowly instilling into [Oliver’s] soul the poison which he hoped would blacken it, and change its hue for ever, Oliver’s innate goodness remains untainted (212). Born into the workhouse, Oliver has been condemned by Mr. Bumble, the parochial board, and even by the Sowerberrys; they all say that he will one day hang. Yet Oliver chooses not to be a thief over and over, despite Fagin and his gang’s consistent attempts to convince him otherwise.
Dickens’s portrayal of Nancy is yet another way through which he examines the theme of fate versus free will. “Let him be–let him be–” Dickens writes of Nancy’s reaction to Fagin’s attempt to hurt Oliver, “or I shall put that mark on some of you, that will bring me to the gallows before my time” (183). Nancy, though still under the control of Sikes and Fagin, finally displays some morality and ethics. She risks her own life to protect Oliver from the only life and the only family she knows. Despite this, Sikes’s reminder of her place in the world, of her role, makes her fall back into what she knows.
Sikes asks Nancy angrily, “[d]o you know who you are, and what you are?” (184). Sikes speaks of Nancy’s station in life as an impoverished woman, a thief, a liar, and, some assume, a prostitute. The reminder of her identity breaks Nancy down, and she willingly falls in line temporarily.
It appears thus far that Dickens does support the idea that fate and destiny exist. Through struggling against one’s established role and assigned identity, however, some may be able to overcome their fate.
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