Dickens Criticism of the 1834 Poor Law in Oliver Twist Essay -- Charl

Dickens Criticism of the 1834 Poor Law in Oliver TwistDickens criticised the 1834 poor law in many contrasting ways within thefirst five chapters. He does this firstly by cleverly portraying theVictorians attitudes towards the poor. He does this in chapter 1 byreferring to Oliver as the dot of mortality suggesting how lowlyhis position in society is. Also the difficulty of Olivers birth andthe fact his mother dies, gives us some idea of the dangers of childbirth in Victorian society and the amount of negligence his motherreceives from the surgeon. Another way he shows the attitudes towardsthe poor is by describing the unfeeling and clearly drunk nurse whowas tasting in the corner instead of taking care of Oliver and hisdying mother.Dickens characterisation is another form of criticism he gives thepoor law. He gives the characters names which reflect the sheath ofperson they are and the lives they lead. He does this very well inchapters two and three where he describes Mrs Mann. He describes heras nothing but a plebeian thief that steels money from...