Oliver Twist, o
Le Avventure di Oliver Twist, è un romanzo di Charles Dickens (1812-1870) scritto nel 1837. Si tratta di una delle opere più celebri e influenti dell'autore britannico e fu il primo romanzo inglese ad avere come protagonista un bambino e uno dei primi esempi di romanzo sociale. L'autore, grazie al suo umorismo nero e l’ironia, fa un ritratto realistico dell’epoca vittoriana, analizzando i mali della società, quali la povertà, il lavoro minorile, la criminalità urbana e l’ipocrisia della cultura ottocentesca inglese. Se a scuola i professori vi hanno assegnato il riassunto in inglese di Oliver Twist da fare e voi non sapete da dove iniziare, non preoccupatevi: qui trovate uno svolgimento già pronto.
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Oliver Twist: riassunto dei primi capitoli
The novel is initially set in the English countryside in 1830, where a woman dies in a parish workhouse after giving birth to a baby (Oliver). Mrs. Sally, a nurse who attended Oliver’s birth, takes a ring and a locket after the death of the parturient. Mr Bumble, a beadle in the parish workhouse, baptises the baby and names him Oliver Twist. Oliver spends his first nine years living at a baby farm in the care of Mrs Mann and then he is "transferred" to the hospice for the poor where orphans are continuously mistreated and suffer hunger. After three months of fasting, Oliver Twist and his friends decide to draw lots; the loser must ask for another portion of gruel. Oliver is in charge of asking for more food and at the next meal tremblingly comes up forward, bowl in hand, and begs Mr Bumble for gruel saying: “Please, sir, I want some more”.
Because of his behaviour, Oliver Twist is scolded and expelled from the workhouse. Mr Sowerberry, an undertaker employed by the parish, takes Oliver into his service.
Riassunto breve Oliver Twist: la vita con Sowerberry e la fuga
Mr Sowerberry’s wife doesn’t like the child, so she underfeeds and mistreats him. He also suffers torment at the hand of Noah Claypole, a bullying fellow apprentice. After a clash with Noah, who provokes him, Oliver flees to London.
There, he soon meets a young boy, Jack Dawkins, who includes him in a gang of juvenile pickpockets whose leader is a Jewish criminal known as Fagin. Oliver realises that their mission is to pick pockets when Dawkins steals the handkerchief of an old gentleman named Mr Brownlow and flees. Meanwhile, Jack escapes and Oliver is unjustly accused of the theft. Mr Brownlow understands the truth and decides to take him home and cares for him with the assistance of his housekeeper Mrs Bedwin. Mr Brownlow is kind to him and provides him with education.
For a short time, Oliver's life improves but a bad day he is kidnapped by Bill Sikes, Fagin's criminal partner, and his girlfriend: the young prostitute Nancy.
Riassunto in capitoli: la verità su Oliver Twist
During the robbery of a house, Oliver cries out to warn the people living there; shots are fired and he is wounded. The owner of the house, Mrs Maykie, and her adopted daughter Rose Maylie are moved to pity and take care of him. Meanwhile, a mysterious man named Monks appears. Monks is another criminal who has just discovered that Oliver Twist is his half-brother and the illegitimate child of one of Mrs Maylie’s sisters, so he could inherit a good fortune. Fagin and Monks wants to rob his fortune (Oliver knows nothing about the inheritance) and plot against him. Nancy cares about Oliver and listens to Monks and Fagin’s plan. She reveals it to Rose Maylie hoping to save the boy. Rose asks Mr Brownlow and Doctor Losberne for help. Bill Sikes kills Nancy because the gang is afraid she can report them to the police.
Meanwhile, Mr Bumble has married Mrs Mann Corney, the wealthy matron of the workhouse where the story began, only to find himself in an unhappy marriage. Mr Bumble walks over to a pub where he meets Monks, who questions him about Oliver. Mr Bumble brings Monks to his wife, who now owns Oliver Twist’s mother's locket and ring. After Mrs Bumble told Monks all she knows, the three arrange to take the locket and the ring and toss them into a nearby river. Yet, Mr Brownlow, who was following Monks thanks to Nancy’s advice, succeeds in catching the criminal and their plan is discovered. Fagin is arrested and condemned to the gallows, while Sikes dies while running on the roofs. The Bumbles, instead, lose their jobs and falls into poverty.
Come finisce Oliver Twist: epilogo
Eventually, Oliver finds out the truth about his real identity: he is Agnes Fleming and Edwin Leeford’s son. Monks was his half-brother and Mrs Maylie is Oliver’s aunt. Monks, whose real name is Edward Leeford, was born of a loveless marriage between Edwin Leeford and his first wife. Edward Leeford’s last wish before dying was that Oliver Twist inherits his fortune. Yet, if his son had committed a crime while underage, his inheritance would have gone to Monks. This is the reason why Monks wanted to destroy Oliver’s reputation. Oliver is adopted by Mr Brownlow and receives his inheritance. Mr Brownlow, however, asks Oliver to give half his inheritance to Monks because he wants to give him a second chance and the boy is more than happy to comply. Monks later moves to America, where he squanders his money, reverts to crime and ultimately dies in prison.
(Credits foto: Feltrinelli - Wikipedia)
