O is for Oliver Twist

About the Book

Oliver Twist is the second novel written by the infamous author, Charles Dickens. Published in 1838, the story is about an orphan who endures a miserable experience and circumstances. When he travels to London he meet Artful Dodger, leader of a gang of young pickpockets. Oliver is naive and doesn't realize their criminal activities, he is then led to the lair of their matriarch, Fagin. The novel is notable for Dickens's unromantic portrayal of criminals, it also exposes the cruel treatment of the many orphans in London during the Dickensian era. Dickens also brings to light to many evils including child labor, early recruitment into gang activity, and the presence of street children. It is likely that Dickens's own early youth as a child laborer helped with the novels development, serious themes, and dark humor (Wiki, 2014).

About the Movie

Barney Clark stars as Oliver Twist, in this 2005 adaption of the classic Dickens Tale, where an orphan meets a pickpocket on the streets of London. From there, he joins a household of boys who are trained to steal for their master, Fagin (Ben Kingsley). On IMDb.com this rendition achieved 6.9 stars out of 10. Directed by Roman Polanski, as suggested by his wife, while he searching for a movie that their children would find interesting. His children have parts in the movie as well. Another interesting factoid; to keep the children actors in character, Ben Kingsley (Fagin) stays in character and kept his mannerisms and his physical appearance as his character even off-set (IMDb, 2014).