When Oliver Twist met the Artful Dodger

Just as Oliver is famous as an innocent boy alone in the city, his nemesis the Artful Dodger, a criminal gang member, is an equally memorable character, although at the opposite end of the moral scale.

The moment they meet in the famous story of life on the streets of London is hugely significant to the plot, as it marks a turning point in Oliver’s life and changes the route of his journey.

Dickens’ Oliver Twist has been lauded as an accurate portrayal of life for the impoverished masses in Victorian times. The author used his position as a leading writer to highlight the plight of the poor and his personal wealth to provide practical support.

Charles Dickens novels

Born in February 1812 in Portsmouth, he experienced hardship himself after his father, John Dickens, a Royal Navy clerk, was locked up in a debtors’ prison. A father of eight children, John fell severely into debt and failed to provide for his family, including his wife Elizabeth. After selling their household possessions, John remained in debt and was locked up.

Charles, who left school aged 12, had to work in a factory to provide for his younger siblings. After working for three years, he was eventually able to return to education, later becoming a journalist and author. Charles’s childhood and experiences of poverty shaped his writing for the rest of his life.

It was said he based the character of Mr Micawber in David Copperfield on his father, whom he described as a “a jovial opportunist with no money sense”. As a result, most of his novels focused on the darker side of London life. For example, A Christmas Carol compared the life of the impoverished Cratchit family with that of the wealthy but mean Ebenezer Scrooge, while Great Expectations featured the struggles of impoverished young man Philip “Pip” Pirrip as he tried to improve his life, while facing a constant battle of class divisions.

Charles Dickens was only 25 when he wrote Oliver Twist, but he had plenty of personal experience of living in poverty, like his title character.

Oliver Twist and the Artful Dodger

Dickens sets the scene for his novel by describing the tragic circumstances of Oliver Twist’s birth. His heavily pregnant mother arrives at a workhouse and is obviously very sick. She dies during labour and the only clue to her identity is her jewellery: a locket and a ring. Oliver is sent to an orphanage until he’s nine years old. With no idea of his identity, he’s then returned to the workhouse.

After being beaten, unable to stand the cruel regime and lack of food, he flees to London, but feels lost in the city, as he knows no-one. This is when his life changes, initially not for the better: his famous meeting with the Artful Dodger takes place.

Friendly and charming, the Dodger offers Oliver a place to stay, taking him to a room he shares with criminal gang leader Fagin and his band of young thieves. Portrayed as a child who behaves as an adult, he wears clothes which are too big, and is calculating and serious for his age. The Artful Dodger in Oliver Twist considers himself a “victim of society”, is inherently dishonest and has few scruples. Oliver is invited to “work” with the gang and has no idea at first that he’s being trained as a pickpocket.

Oliver trusts the Artful Dodger, naively taken in by his charisma and cunning. However, their friendship turns sour after Oliver realises he’s expected to steal from the rich as they go about their business. His life unravels further when one of the gang’s intended victims, the wealthy Mr Brownlow, realises he’s being targeted. Oliver is mistaken for the pickpocket and arrested, and The Dodger makes no attempt to help him.

Later deciding he’s made a mistake, Mr Brownlow doesn’t press charges against Oliver and instead offers him a home, where the boy thrives. However, Fagin and the gang kidnap him and force him into criminal activities again, but Mr Brownlow never gives up hope that Oliver is a good person.

During the story, there are many more twists and turns in Oliver’s life, including finding out his true identity, all prompted by his meeting with the Artful Dodger.

Oliver Twist 1968

One of the most famous musical films of all time, Oliver, based on Dickens’ novel, was released in 1968. Starring Mark Lester as Oliver and Jack Wild as the Artful Dodger, it was far less bleak than the book, with many of the criminal characters becoming more like caricatures.

With catchy songs such as You Gotta Pick a Pocket or Two, sung by the pickpockets, and Food Glorious Food, sung by the orphaned children, it has lost the brooding atmosphere of its predecessor, the 1948 black and white British film written and directed by David Lean.

Oliver has become something of a Christmas film, as despite not being set during the festive period, it’s usually shown during the holidays. Costing £7.8 million to make, it grossed £31 million at the box office, becoming one of Columbia Pictures’ biggest success stories after being watched by more than five million cinema-goers in the UK alone.

In later life, Charles Dickens continued to be a prominent social reformer, supporting charities for impoverished children including the Hospital for Sick Children, the Ragged Schools and the Royal Hospital for the Incurables.

He also campaigned for housing reform and founded the Urania Cottage safe house for young women in need in London.