Janice VincentCharacters as Social Aspects in Oliver Twist"The Victorians were avowedly, unashamedly, incorrigibly moralistic. They... engaged in philanthropic endeavors in part to satisfy their own moral needs. And they were pro-poor moralists, seeking not only to assist materially but also to uplift morally, spiritually, culturally, and intellectually (Himmelfarb 48(8)). morality in the Oliver Twist series. His satyr was supposed to draw parallels with the dark side of an era of British progress. One side of progress is wealth, the other side of the same coin is poverty, desperation, misery and criminality. Dickens allegorized evil as opposed to good through characterization and melodrama. "Most of the reader's moral judgments are ready-made for him or her. As a result, the reader objectively absorbs the moral lessons that Dickens expounded" (Stoddard). Gregory Stoddard writes: "in Oliver Twist, there is a clear and defined system of criticism, a rhetoric marked by sarcasm and a language of judgment " (Stoddard). The first words of chapter 2 are an example of this. In it, he describes the situation in which the innocent Oliver finds himself. "Here is a clear example of the sarcasm and careful choice of words in which criticism lies author's social life," writes Stoddard. "Consider the choice of words in this passage, 'betrayal and deception.' The connotations of these words imply intrinsic evil and, consequently, moral judgment. More subtly, the choice of "victim" implies that there is an entity that victimizes, and the word "systematic" reinforces that impression, giving it intentionality. , and consequently, an evil nature" (Stoddard). Stoddard continues: "...when victimizing entities are systematic in their methods, a conflict between good and evil results" (Stoddard). Although the overall message was clear, coming in the wake of the Poor Law of 1834 as the book did, the characters that Dickens created for the purpose of making his social commentary ranged from one-dimensional to multi-dimensional caricatures. He used them as a means of presenting the "other" side of wealth: the dark and evil side. To this end, Oliver acts as a catalyst rather than a hero. His lack of hero status allows us to follow him into the underworld without ever being a participant in it, just as he never wanted to be in it. participant.