Page 1 of 4 Problem of Evil in OT Bumbling Figures, Blundering Society: Fagin, Bumble, and the Problem of Evil in Dickens' Oliver Twist 1 or Oliver Twist as a Dark ovel Dickens' Oliver Twist , which ultimately celebrates a protagonist who ourneys from ininnonocence to e!e!peperiencnce wiwiththouout cacapipitutulatlatining to ththe evevil foforcrces ththat hihin"n"er hihiss progress, a""resses the pervasive problem of evil in society an" human nature# Dickens presents two "imensions of evil in Oliver's worl" through the characters of $agin, ththe ool" %ew, an" &r# umble, the parish bea"le# y transferring $agin'in'ss criminality to the selfish, hyhypocritical umble, an authority figure who shoul" promote or"er an" ustice, he intensifies his satire on life an" society un"er the Poor (aws of 1)*4# umble an" $agin cackle with "elight as they e!ploit others namely the vulnerable Oliver in search of their self+serving goals# oth charactersrs "glide stealthily along, creeping beneath the shelter of the walls and doorways...seem[ing] like some loathsome reptile[s], engendered in the slime and darkness through which [they] move." 1)-. The novel's satire emerges as the rea"er connects $agin's criminal un"erworl" with umble's hypocrisy an" selfish plau"its, both of which comprise the malaise of /i/ictorian society e!pose" through Dickens' irony, sarcasm,, an" biting language# $agin an" umble, who fester in their cages of evil motives, illustrate the omnipresence of evil in the novel, especially as it relates to the treatment of the poor, the e!ploitation of the innocent, an" the corruption of society# 0fter successfully luring Oliver back into the chasms of his "rea"ful crimes, the monstrous $agin creeps out into "a maze of the mean and dirty streets 1)-. to fin" 2i2ikekes, who wiwill atattempt to mentntor ththe yyououng ououtctcast in a lilife of crime# $a$agiginn personifies humanity's evil, a satanic un"ersi"e of the humble compassion e!hibite" in the novel's most virtuous characters, namely &r# rownlow an" the &aylies# 3hile rownlow uellslls "the noise and turbulence in the midst of which [Oliver] had always lived," 114*4*. $a$agigin'n's bebestistial nanatuture ththrereatatenens ththe enenclclosure of E"enenicic innocence foun" in rownlow's country home with his evil temptations# $agin'in'ss serpentine ualities e!ten" to the character of umble, who embo"ies an institutional an" societal evil that complements $agin's criminal schemes# The evil framework erecte" by umble an" $agin forms the path of e!perience by which Oliver matures to un"erstan" his i"entity# The way in which $agin ensnares youths like the 0rtful Do"ger, 5harley ates, an" Oliver TTwiwist for his own monetary benefits parallallels the way in which umble e!ploits the rights of poor chil"ren who live in his workhouse in an attempt to increase his power# Dickens employs images of confinement an" hopelessness inin "escribing the %ew's o"ious hea"uarters of evil6 t was a very dirty place. [...] n all the rooms, the mouldering shutters were fast closed! the bars which held them were screwed tight into the wood the only light which was admitted, stealing its way through round holes at the top! which made the rooms more gloomy and filled them with strange shadows. 178. The "arkness of $agin's lair e!ten"s the image of the harsh prison of umble's workhkhouse from which Oliver escape"# 33ithin the novel's "iscourse on evil lieliess Dickens' satire on the situation of the poor cause" by the Poor (aws, which umble uphol"s stringently until they ultimately ren"er him a pauper in a scene of oyous irirononyy# DiDickckenens' lalangnguauagege, nanamely wor"r"s lilikeke "dirty," "mouldering," "closed," 11 by %ason 9ysk# www#gra"esaver#com Page : of 4 Problem of Evil in OT "gloomy," and "strange shadows" create a scene of festering unwholesomeness that transfers from the criminal un"erworl" to the situation of society at large# The fact that the workhouse in which Oliver an" other orphans fin" their only refuge resembles the stark nihilism of $agin's un"erworl" e!poses the brutal mistreatment of society's poor at the han"s of self+serving men like umble# 3hile $agin reects moral an" legal laws by in"octrinating a"olescents in a life of thievery, umble violates the basic co"e of love an" compassion upon which, in a moral sense, human nature rests# Oliver's famous plea, "#lease sir, want some more" ;-. illustrates not only his starvation resulting from umble's sa"istic practices, but also his "esire for the love an" compassion that he fin"s only outsi"e of society's ina"euate provisions for the poor# <ronically, the "eviants in $agan's fraternity of thieves make Oliver feel more welcome than "o the authority figures in his society, which satiri=es the "ecline in society's ability to effectively correct, or at least recogni=e, the problem of poverty# umble's acerbic rigi"ity in "ealing with the orphans parallels $agin's animalistic "ominion over the subor"inate members of his pack# umble lea"s Oliver from "the wretched home where one kind word or look had never lighted the gloom of his infant years" ;*. to a renewe" agony that causes him "to burst into an agony of childish grief." ;*. Dickens captures umble's sa"ism in a pitiful summation of his "care" for Oliver6 $s for e%ercise, it was nice cold weather, and [Oliver] was allowed to perform his ablutions, every morning under the pump, in a stone yard, in the presence of &r. 'umble, who prevented his catching cold, and caused a tingling sensation to pervade his frame, by repeated applications of the cane. $s for society, he was carried every other day into the hall where the boys dined, and there sociably flogged as a public warning and e%ample. (59) The bea"le's "etermination to maintain his sense of authority at the e!pense of innocent orphans illustrates the shallowness of his character, which is "efine" solely by his ability to e!ert power over "efenseless characters like Oliver an" &rs# 5orney# Dickens' sarcasm elicits umble's harsh, e!cessive cruelty while his realistic ren"ering of these pitiful events connotes their apparent regularity within the workhouse operations# Oliver, whose physical health umble protects with swift "applications of the cane," becomes an emblem of the victimi=e" pauper left helpless by society's villainy# Dickens uses Oliver's physical torment to evoke the rea"er's sympathy an" incite his or her awareness of society's corruption# 3here umble impe"es Oliver's physical an" emotional growth, $agin, at his best, takes an investe" interest in Oliver "riven by potential monetary rewar", while at his worst, e!ploits Oliver an" en"angers his life# >e represents the temptation of evil "angle" before the growing Twist, who must learn to overcome the attractiveness of criminal fraternity# umble, however, represents what happens when one succumbs to a life of gree" an" e!ploitation? he represents what Oliver will never become# Dickens characteri=es Oliver as "a close prisoner in the dark and solitary room to which he had been consigned by the wisdom and mercy of the board." ;8. The "ark enclosures to which Oliver has been confine", especially the coffin in &r# 2owerberry's house an" the "itch outsi"e the home in 5hertsey, become metaphors for his vulnerability, as they "protect" him from "the gloom and loneliness which surround him# ;8. Dickens also critici=es the boar", as the phrase wisdom and mercy "rips with verbal irony that effects his satire on its impru"ent an" selfish Page * of 4 Problem of Evil in OT philosophies# <ronically, Oliver "oes better to remain in the "itch at 5hertsey than to resume a life as the new burden imposed upon the parish. 4). umble an" $agin "elight in their operations as officers of evil# $agin's philosophy unfol"s towar" monetary incentives? umble's operates towar" personal fulfillment gaine" by asserting power over paupers# 0fter 2ikes aban"ons Oliver in a "itch following the unsuccessful burglary at 5hertsey, $agin says, "(hat is it) (hen the boy*s worth hundreds of pounds to me, am to lose what chance threw me in the way of getting safely)" :4@. (ater, when he trains his newest pupil, Aoah 5laypole, $agin e!poses the utter selfishness that un"ergir"s his motives6 +very man*s his own friend. ... n a little community like ours, my dear, we have a general number one that is, you can*t consider yourself as number one, without considering me too as the same, and all the other young people. ... ou can*t take care of yourself , number one, without taking care of me, number one. ... *m of the same importance to you as you are to yourself. (387-8) $agin an" umble rule with an iron han" that "efines the magnitude and extent of [their] operations an" inspires a degree of whoesome fear *)8. within the pupis un"er their tutelage# umble pri"es himself on possessing the authority to e!ercise unwarrante" punishment over the paupers# Dickens captures him "brav[ing] the cold wind of the night! merely pausing, for a few minutes, in the male paupers* ward, to abuse them a little, with the view of satisfying himself that he could fill the office of workhouse-master with needful acerbity." :;@. This biting portrayal of a character so attracte" by his own power satiri=es the obsessive bea"le who neglects his role as a caretaker for the glamour of authority# The phrase merely pausing connotes the pomposity that governs umble's character an" makes him such a misgui"e", self+inflating ruler of his own corrupt un"erworl"# >e personifies the negative connotations of his name, namely, a state of confusion or a person who literally !um!es# umble "wells in a state of bumble"om, "efine" as bea"le"om in its glory, which raises the societal official at the e!pense of the humble pauper un"er his care# Dickens' characteri=ation of the bumbling bea"le as one "efine" by official pomposity an" fussy stupi"ity an" absorbe" in a umble+ centric worl" paints a satiric portrait of society's bumbles, an" illuminates the nee" to improve the situation of the poor# 0fter umble marries &rs# 5orney, he "wells "espon"ently in the reali=ation that because he marrie", "[his] mighty cocked hat was replaced by a modest round one.