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1. Title : The picture of Dorian Gray

Author : Oscar Wilde

Setting : London, England

Theme : hedonism, influence

Level : Original

Character :

· Dorian Gray

A Handsome man who was corrupted by Evil and commit evils deeds.

· Sybil Vane

The girl who loved by Dorian Gray, but at the end she commit suicide after left by Dorian.

· Basil Hallward

The artist who wants Dorian to stay youthful and beautiful and act as his muse.

· Lord Henry Wotton

The high-society intellectual who Influence Dorian Gray to be Corrupted and doing evil deeds.

Conflict : The conflict begins when Dorian Gray met with Lord Henry Wotton. Lord Henry Wotton Influence Dorian Gray with evil Deeds, and finally corrupted his heart. Dorian Murders His Friend, Basil Hallward after showing His portrait which is turn into so old, and ugly.

Summary :

The novel opens in Basil Hallward’s studio. He is discussing his recent portrait of Dorian Gray with his friend Lord Henry Wotton. He tells Lord Henry that he has begun a new mode of painting after his contact with Dorian Gray, a handsome young man. He doesn’t want to introduce Lord Henry to Dorian because he doesn’t want Lord Henry to influence Dorian. He says he is so taken with Dorian Gray that he feels Dorian dominates all his thoughts. When Lord Henry meets Dorian Gray, he finds him to be don’t realized about his beauty. Lord Henry talks to Dorian Gray of his philosophy of life. Lord Henry finds all of society’s conventions from fidelity in marriage to charity toward the poor to be hypocritical covers for people’s selfish motives. Dorian Gray feels the weight of Lord Henry’s influence on his character. When they see the finished portrait of Dorian that Basil has painted, they are enthralled by the beauty that Basil has captured. Dorian is afraid the inevitable loss of his youth. He wishes that he could change places with the painting that it could grow old and he could stay the same.

They have dinner at Lord Gray’s Aunt Agatha’s house. She is a philanthropist and Dorian has been working with her. Lord Gray wittily ridicules the goals of philanthropy and Dorian is swept away by his logic.

Weeks later, Dorian tells Basil Hallward and Lord Henry that he has fallen in love with a young actress named Sibyl Vane, who acts in a run-down theater. He tells them he is engaged to Sibyl Vane. At the Vanes’ house, Sibyl tells her mother of how much she is in love with her young admirer, whose name she doesn’t know, but whom she calls Prince Charming. Mrs. Vane thinks her daughter might be able to get money out of the aristocratic young man. Sibyl’s brother James, on the other hand, hates the idea of a rich man using and then leaving his sister. It is James’s last night on shore before he ships off as a sailor. Before he goes, he vows to kill the man if he ever hurts Sibyl. He learns from his mother that his and Sibyl’s father was an aristocrat who vowed to take care of the family financially, but died before he could.

Dorian arranges a dinner with Basil and Lord Henry, after which they will go to the theater to see Sibyl Vane act. He tells the other men how amazed he has been by Sibyl’s acting talent. When they arrive at the theater and the play begins, they are all appalled at Sibyl’s horrible acting. The two other men try to console Dorian Gray, telling him it doesn’t matter if a wife is a good actor or not. He tells them to leave and he stays on in torment through the rest of the play. When the play is over, he goes back stage to talk to Sibyl. She tells him she doesn’t care that her acting was so bad. She says she realizes that she cans no longer act because she is in love with him. Before, she could act because she had no other world besides the created world of the stage. Dorian tells her he is ashamed of her and disappointed in her. He tells her he only fell in love with her because of her artful acting. Now he feels nothing for her. Sibyl begs him not to leave her, but he refuses to listen and walks away.

When Dorian gets home, he looks at the portrait that Basil had painted of him. He notices that the look of the figure in it has changed. It looks cruel and scornful. He feels horrible remorse for what he has done to Sibyl and writes a letter begging her forgiveness. The writing acts as a purgative for his emotions. When he’s finished, he is no longer eager to go see Sibyl. He lays the letter aside and lounges about. Lord Henry comes to visit him and tells him Sibyl Vane was suicide the previous evening. Dorian is horrified at first and then decides that her suicide is a return to what happened. That night, he goes out to the theater with Lord Henry and impresses Lord Henry’s sister greatly.

The next night, Basil Hallward visits Dorian and is shocked to find out that Dorian is not upset over Sibyl’s death. He tells Dorian that he has idolized him from the moment he first met him. He wants to show the portrait he painted of Dorian in an art show in Paris. Dorian refuses to let him see the portrait. When he leaves, Dorian decides to put the portrait away so no one can see it. He manages to get the portrait upstairs and place it in a room he lived in as a child. He becomes paranoid that his servant, Victor, is interested in the portrait.

Dorian finds a certain joy, over the next years, in committing sinful or pleasurable deeds and watching the painting change; he loses none of his beauty or youth, but the painting grows old and ugly.

When Dorian is thirty-eight, he runs into Basil, having not seen him for a long time, and finally shows him what has happened to his portrait. Basil is horrified and tries to make Dorian repent, but Dorian kills him, and asks his friend to burn the body and gets rid of the evidence.

Dorian becomes increasingly anxious and fearful that someone might discover his secret, and goes to an opium den to try to erase his bad feelings. Sibyl's brother, James, who has been searching for him for eighteen years, knowing only that his sister called him Prince Charming finds Dorian and threatens his life. He lets him go when Dorian tells him to look closely at his face; he could not have been more than twenty years old. While at a hunting party a few days later, a man is accidentally shot and killed, and Dorian finds out that this man was James. He decides that from this time on, he will be good; and to do this, he must get rid of the constant anxiety and fear he has been feeling-he must destroy the portrait. He stabs it, with the same knife he used to kill Basil, and when the servants enter they see the portrait as it was when it was new, and a horrible, old, ugly man lying dead on the floor.

Comment : the story line is so interesting, and it makes me curious what will happen on the next phrase. But the dialog between the characters was a little bit hard to be understood, because there are so many words I never recognized before.

2. Title : THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE

Author : Robert Louise Stevenson

Year of publish : 1886

Setting : London (England) nineteenth century

Themes : The Duality of human personality, violence, and lack of communication

Level : Original

Character :

· Mr. Utterson

Utterson is a middle-aged lawyer, and an old friend of Jekyll, he recognizes the changes and strange occurrences of Jekyll and Hyde, and resolves to further investigate the relationship between the two men.

· Dr. Henry Jekyll

A prominent middle-aged doctor described as both tall and handsome. He is also extremely wealthy with a fortune well over two million dollars.

· Edward Hyde

A small, deformed, disgusting man somewhat younger than Dr. Jekyll who is apparently devoid of a profession. Lanyon, Utterson and Enfield all describe witnessing something indefinably evil and horrific in Edward Hyde's face. He is often compared to animals, implying that he is not a fully evolved human being. Despite these descriptions, Hyde is generally civilized in his interactions with others, most notably Utterson and Lanyon. Dr. Jekyll describes Hyde as "pure evil," who menaces society at night, trampling a girl in the street and murdering Sir Danvers Carew. We learn at the end of the story that Edward Hyde and Dr. Henry Jekyll are in fact the same person.

· Dr. Lanyon

A former friend and colleague of Dr. Jekyll

· Sir Danvers Carew

A highly respected and prominent member of English society who Edward Hyde brutally murders. Carew is described as "silver haired" and "gentle."

· Richard Poole

Dr. Jekyll's faithful butler.

Conflict : Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are revealed to be one, and Jekyll details his struggle to overcome Hyde's grip on him. In the end, Jekyll can no longer keep himself from turning into Hyde, who kills himself when he realizes he is about to be captured. Jekyll's scientific discovery it is leads to his tragic death.

Summary :

Mr. Utterson, a lawyer, and his cousin, Mr. Enfield, are taking their usual Sunday walk. They stop at an unusual door, and Enfield tells Utterson that sometime back, he had seen a strange and ill-tempered man trample a small girl and then walk away. Enfield and other bystanders had forced the stranger to pay money to the girl's family to avoid trouble. The man then entered the door and emerged with ten pounds in gold and a check signed by Dr. Jekyll. This stranger is none other than Mr. Hyde. Enfield has a hard time describing Hyde, other than to say that everyone present found him strangely repulsive.

Utterson returns home, and disturbed by Jekyll's will, which is in his possession, decided that in the event of his death or disappearance, his entire estate should go to Edward Hyde. Utterson begins searching for Hyde. One evening, he meets him at the door, but Hyde, suspicious of Utterson's intentions, becomes angry and runs into the house. Like Enfield, Utterson, too, is repulsed by Hyde and cannot say exactly why. He goes to Jekyll's house and meets with Poole, Jekyll's butler. At this point it is revealed that the mysterious door is the back entrance to Jekyll's house. Poole tells Utterson that Hyde has access to the house and that the servants have orders to obey him.

After a dinner party a few weeks later, Utterson tries to persuade Jekyll to change his will, but Jekyll insists that he cannot and asks that Utterson please comply with his wishes regarding Hyde. Utterson is convinced that Hyde is blackmailing Jekyll for some youthful indiscretion.

a year later, Hyde murders Sir Danvers Carew, a respectable gentleman. Knowing of Jekyll's and Hyde's association, Utterson visits Jekyll and is surprised to find him looking ill. Jekyll presents to Utterson a letter which he says is from Hyde. It states that Hyde is making good his escape and that Dr. Jekyll need not take any further trouble regarding his safety.

Hyde is gone and Jekyll regains his health and spirits. He even reconciles with Lanyon. after a dinner party, he refuses to see Utterson.confused, Utterson visits Lanyon again and is shocked to find him almost death. Lanyon does not wish to talk about Jekyll. A few weeks later, Lanyon dies. Among his papers is an envelope addressed to Utterson, with the instructions that it not be opened except on the death or disappearance of Jekyll. Utterson, feeling that Hyde must somehow be involved, is both curious and suspicious, but he does not open the envelope.

Jekyll continues to remain in seclusion, and eventually Utterson stops attempting to see him. One Sunday, Utterson and Enfield go for their usual walk and happen by the back of Jekyll's house. They see Jekyll sitting near the window, looking sad and ill. They speak to him, and he brightens moment, before being struck with a look of terror and pain and closing the window. Enfield and Utterson are terrified and walk away in silence. Although they do not realize it, they have witnessed the beginning of the transformation process from Jekyll to Hyde.

One evening, Poole comes to Utterson and asks for a help, and they return to Jekyll's house. Jekyll has recently been acting very strangely, having locked himself in his laboratory and sending Poole to find a various chemist drug. Poole has not heard his master's voice in over a week, and he fears that Jekyll has been murdered and that someone or something is hiding in Jekyll's laboratory. When the two men break into the laboratory, they discover the body of Edward Hyde. It appears that Hyde has committed suicide. Searching in vain for Dr. Jekyll's body, they find an enclosure from Jekyll addressed to Utterson, instructing him to read Dr. Lanyon's note and then, if he so wishes, his own, enclosed confession.

The last two chapters consist of these documents. Dr. Lanyon, in his note, reveals that he has discovered that Jekyll and Hyde are one. Dr. Jekyll confesses through his written statement that he had wanted to separate the good and the bad aspects of himself and had discovered a drug, which would allow him to do so. By turning into Mr. Hyde, his evil aspect, he could commit various sins and escape punishment or censure for them. Although he was ashamed of himself, he could not help his actions. Over time, Hyde became stronger, and eventually he was becoming Hyde without the aid of the drug. He managed to keep Hyde in check by taking the drug which transformed himself back into Jekyll, but eventually his supply began to be exhausted, and, due to an unknown impurity in his original batch, he could not make any more of it. He writes his confession as Jekyll, under the influence of the last of the drug, knowing that soon thereafter; he will turn into Hyde for the very last time. He does not care what happens to Hyde after that, for at that moment, his own life, as Jekyll, will be over.

Comment :

The story is so complicated, but with a hard effort I finally understood the story. We can not guess what is happen to Jekyll and who is Mr. Hyde really is up to the end of the novel.

3. Title : The Great Gatsby

Author : Scott Fitzgerald

Setting : New York, 1920’s.

Themes : Relationship.

Characters : Nick Carraway, Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan, Tom Buchanan, Jordan Baker, George Wilson, Myrtle Wilson.

Level : Simplified

Conflict : Nick Carraway, the proper young man with roots in the Midwest,. He tries to escape his limited, small town experience in the Midwest and to find himself in New York.

Summary :

Nick Carraway grew up in the Midwestern United States and went to school at Yale University. After this, he was stationed in France during World War I. Returning home after travelling a great deal; he is discontent and decides to move to the East at the beginning of the summer of 1922, renting a ramshackle house in Long Island's West Egg section. He begins working in nearby New York City as abondsman and it is here that his story begins.

Jay Gatsby is a wealthy neighbor living next door in a lavish mansion where he holds many extravagant weekend parties. His name is mentioned while Nick isvisiting a relative, Daisy, living in the East Egg section on the other side of Long Island with her millionaire husband, Tom Buchanan. As it turns out, Jay Gatsby had met Daisy five years before while in the military and was rejected by her due to his lack of wealth and because he had been sent so far away in Europe forthe war. Daisy was attracted by Tom's riches and his distinguished family background and married him. Meanwhile Gatsby spent all of his effort after the war to buy his mansion through shady business dealings in order to be nearer to Daisy in the hope that she would leave Tom for him. Nick is chosen to be the "matchmaker" and arranges a reunion for the two at his home. Daisy is impressed by Gatsby's wealth and the two begin spending much time together, raising the suspicions of Tom who had also upset Daisy by carrying on an affair with a gas station owner's wife, Myrtle Wilson. Jay no longer holds his weekend parties since Daisy hadn't liked them and he allows her desires to control his actions. Nick distances himself from this mess by becoming close to Jordan Baker, a long time friend of Daisy.

While in a New York City hotel room one evening late in the summer with Jordan, Nick, Daisy, Tom, and Gatsby, there is a massive confrontation during which Tom exposes Gatsby's corrupt business dealings. Jay and Daisy leave to drive back to Long Island together with her driving Gatsby's car "to calm her down" until she accidentally hits and kills Tom's mistress running out in front of the gas station after her own jealous husband had locked her inside. The car doesn't stop after the accident and speeds on towards Long Island. Gatsby's charm has faded with his exposed corruption while Tom refocuses on Daisy since his mistress has been killed, assuming Gatsby to have been the car's driver. Nick is disgusted by this entire mess of love affairs and even ignores Jordan, worried about Gatsby since he continues to yearn for Daisy even though it is clear that he has failed. While Nick goes off to work in New York City the next day, the dead woman's vengeful husband, assuming Gatsby to have been driving his car that night and told that it had been Gatsby's car by a vengeful Tom Buchanan, shoots Gatsby to death in his own swimming pool and then kills himself.

Gatsby's funeral has few in attendance aside from Carraway and Jay's father who has come all the way from the Midwest where Jay grew up. Disgusted that so few had come, including Tom and Daisy who had abruptly moved away, and the hundreds who had attended Gatsby's parties, Nick distances himself from Jordan for good. Finally, tired of this gross scene of wealth and pettiness , he moves back home to the Midwest. His fond memories of the East remain only of Gatsby, and it is for him that this story is told.

Comment : It is a good story, and also an interesting novel.

4. Title : Time Machine

Author : H. G. Wells

Setting : London

Themes : The danger of Capitalism

Characters :

· The time traveler

The Time Traveler has a sense of humor about almost everything he encounters, and accepts his friends’ skepticism. Witty and somewhat of a joker, this aspect of his personality is part of the reason his friends so quickly dismiss his story and demonstration as a joke.

· Eloi

Peaceful but weak and lethargic people who populate the surface of the earth in the year 802701.

· Morlock

Aggressive, predatory, ape-like “people” who live beneath the earth’s surface in the year 802701

· Weena

Eloi who the Time Traveller saves from drowning.

Conflict : The time traveler is use his time machine to the future, but as he learn about the people on that time he realized that his time machine has been found by Morlock. Without the machine he unable to back to the future, so he tries to retrieve the machine back.

Summary :

The novel begins with the Time Traveler explaining his theories about the fourth dimension to a group of friends and associates gathered at his home for a weekly dinner. Most of the men present follow his explanations, agree in theory to most of his observations. But they are quickly become skeptical when the Time Traveler moves from speaking of the nature of time to the possibility of moving within it. Their disbelief is getting stronger when the Time Traveler offers to supply evidence to support his theories. he bringing a replica of a full sized machine that he has built in his laboratory, and on which he plans to explore time.

With his guests watching, he demonstrates the use of the machine, pushing a lever, which causes the model to disappear, into the future, the Time Traveler claims. Most of the men are initially disturbed by the presentation, not quite sure what to think, but most come to believe that the Time Traveler has been playing a trick on them, and easily dismiss his assertion that he plans to explore time within the next week.

The following Thursday, another group of men gather at the Time Traveler’s house, and find that the he is not at home, but has left a note asking them to start without him. They do so, entertaining themselves with guesses as to why the narrator is not present, when their host enters, disheveled, dirty, and limping.

The Time Traveler returns after washing and changing clothes, to tell the story of his morning, in which he traveled eight days. After dinner, the men gather around him to hear the story. The Time Traveler tells them that morning his machine was finally finished, and he soon departed into the future.

He explains that the time machine is throwing him from the machine into the grass. He finds he is in the same location as his laboratory, but in the year 802701.

He first encounters the Eloi (local people), who approach him soon after his arrival, leading him into a large structure in which they eat and sleep. The Time Traveler join a fruit feast with the Eloi, and explores the area around the structure, observing and making judgments about the nature of the future, which quickly are shown to be incorrect. When he is in the field next, he realizes that his machine has been moved; to where, he cannot find out. In the next few days, the Time Traveler continues to explore the area, and in the process befriends one particular Eloi named Weena, who he saves from drowning. The Time Traveler, who normally sleeps outside, eventually meets the Morlocks, the other species who lives in the planet in 802701.

Know that it is the Morlocks who moved his machine, most likely into the base of a large stature near to where he first “landed,” he decides to descend one of the circular wells that connect the world of the Eloi with that of the Morlocks. He escapes being attacked by the Morlocks, getting to the surface before the Morlocks can get a handle on him. Next, he and Weena explore a great green palace, which turns out to be an old, deserted museum. There he finds necessary tools--a metal piece that he uses as a mace, a box of matches and a jar of camphor. In the long journey back to the main building where Weena lives, they pass through a dark forest at night. Starting a fire to protect them from the Morlocks, they continue on, but soon the Time Traveler decides to stop and rest, inadvertently falling asleep for much longer than he had wanted. When he wakes up, he is being attacked by the Morlocks, and Weena is missing. Defending himself as best he can, he soon realizes that the entire forest is burning, due to the fire that he previously started. Confused by the loss of Weena, he manages to escape the raging fire, eventually making it back to the field in which he first arrived in the future.

After resting, he finds that the doors to the base of the statue are open, and he enters, finding his Time Machine inside and intact. Knowing that it is trap, he is unsurprised when the doors suddenly close and Morlocks move in on him, but the escape is not as smooth as he planned. He does get away, meaning to go into the past, but zooming further into the future, because he was unaware of which direction he pulled the lever. Since he is traveling that direction, the Time Traveler decides to see what the earth is like in the year 30 million. He finds the earth and sun dying, and the only life left are crablike creatures and lichen. Disturbed by the haunting imagery and difficulty breathing, he returns to his home to join his guests at dinner.

After finishing his story, he asks for the men’s responses. The editor responds first, totally dismissing the story as a fabrication. The lack of faith of the men, and the fantastic nature of his own story makes the Time Traveler question whether or not he really did experience what he told his guests. He leads the men into his laboratory to see if the machine exists. It is exactly where the Time Traveler left it, showing a bit of wear and tear, and the Time Traveler’s worries are put to rest, as he becomes confident again in the veracity of his experience. His assuredness only affects the narrator, who gives the Time Traveler the benefit of the doubt, admitting the potential of time travel.

The men depart, but the next day, the narrator returns to the Time Traveler’s house, asking him if his story was true. The Time Traveller in return offers further evidence if the narrator is willing to wait half an hour. The narrator agrees; the Time Traveller escapes into his laboratory. The narrator sees a glimpse of a figure, which disappears, and then continues to wait for three years, with no avail. He ends the story with his ponderings as to whether or not the Time Traveler ever will return

Comment : the novel is so interesting to be read.

5. Title : Alice in Wonderland

Author : Lewis Caroll

Setting : Wonderland

Themes : experiences of a child in a world of imagination (dream).

Level : Simplified

Characters : Alice, White Rabbit, The Duchess, Queen and king of heart, Mad Hatter, March Hare, Mock Turtle, Cheshire cat, Lobster.

Conflict : main event, occurs in the last chapter of the novel where Alice is called to give evidence. All the characters descend on her in fury, and she tries to save herself.

Summary :

Alice is very bored and sleepy while sitting with her older sister outside, until she sees a White Rabbit looking at his watch and talking to himself. She follows the Rabbit down a very deep rabbit hole and ends up far beneath the ground in a hall with a tiny locked door that leads to a beautiful garden. She eats and drinks things that make her change in size, but she is still unable to get through the door into the garden.

When she becomes huge, she cries in frustration and when she shrinks, she is small enough to swim around in a pool made of her own tears. In the pool, she encounters many creatures, including a Mouse. The creatures and Alice manage to get out of the pool and dry off, but Alice is soon left alone.

Alice finds the Rabbit's house and grows huge after drinking a strange liquid. She terrifies the rabbit and his neighbors and grows very small again after fanning herself. Alice then comes across a Caterpillar smoking a hookah. He irritates Alice and asks her to recite poetry, which she cannot do properly. The Caterpillar informs Alice that eating one side of the mushroom he is sitting on will make her larger but eating the other side will make her smaller. Alice is still trying to become the right size to get into the garden.

She comes to a house in the woods, where a Duchess, her ugly baby, her hostile Cook, and her Cheshire Cat reside. The kitchen is full of pepper and dishes which were hurled in anger. Alice tries to save the baby from this environment, but the baby soon turns into a pig, so she is forced to let it go. The Cheshire Cat appears, grins at Alice, and recommends that she visit the Mad Hatter or the March Hare. The Cheshire Cat vanishes and reappears suddenly. Finally, he disappears gradually so only his grin remains.

Alice goes to the March Hare's house, where she finds a tea-party going on. Alice sits down at the table with the Hare, the Hatter, and the Dormouse. She finds them rude and quickly becomes annoyed with them, so she leaves. She decides to go through a door in a tree and again finds herself in the room with the tiny door leading to the garden. This time she manages to get into the garden.

In the garden she comes across three gardeners painting white roses red. They are afraid of being executed by the Queen of Hearts. Suddenly the Queen and her entourage of playing cards appear. The Queen invites Alice to play croquet, and Alice joins a very strange game. She soon learns that the Duchess is to be executed. The Cheshire Cat's head appears above the ground and causes quite a stir.

The Duchess is brought from prison to settle matters and begins talking with Alice about the moral of everything. The Queen then decides Alice should go meet the Mock Turtle; she is escorted by the Gryphon. Alice learns the Mock Turtle's history and sees a dance called the Lobster Quadrille. Alice again tries to recite poetry with little success.

The Gryphon whisks Alice back to court when they hear that the trial is beginning. The Knave of Hearts is on trial for stealing the Queen's tarts. Alice is excited to be in court and to hear the testimony of the Hatter and the Cook. Alice herself is called to testify after she has inexplicably grown larger again. Alice is impertinent and the King orders her to leave the court, but she refuses. She is outraged by the unfairness of the court's proceedings and provokes the Queen to order her execution. Alice tells the court that they're nothing but a pack of cards, and they rise up and attack her.

At this point, Alice realizes that she has been asleep for a long time in her sister's lap. She tells her sister about the events of her marvelous dream and then goes in to tea. Her sister is captivated by the dream and imagines Alice as a grown woman who will still have a child-like sense of wonder.

Comment : there are too many characters in the story, so it is a little bit difficult to remember them all. The first chapter is a little bit boring, but the next is interesting.

6. Title : Oliver Twist

Author : Charles Dickens

Setting : London and its surrounding district

Themes : Social, Crime.

Level : Simplified

Characters :

· Oliver

An orphan endowed with a natural goodness, and an instinct to survival.

· Mr. Brownlow

Oliver step father

· Rose

A young maiden who is beautiful, kind and large-hearted is Oliver's well-wisher and showers her affection on him. She lives with Mrs. Maylie as her ward.

· Fagin

A stereotyped portrait of a Jew, he is lord of the underworld, wily and greedy and feels delighted to lure young men into his profession.

· Bill Sikes

A crude and cruel man, he is an accomplice of Fagin and the boyfriend of Nancy.

· Nancy

A desperate fallen woman with a tender heart, serves Sikes with devotion and helps Oliver in establishing his identity.

· Noah Claypole

A charity boy working for Mr. Sowerberry, is responsible for Oliver's Flight to London. Later, he works for Fagin.

· Mr. Bumble

A pompous beadle, who later marries Mrs. Corney, is one of Oliver's oppressors and Dickens' comic characters.

Conflict : Monk Envy to Oliver because he is his half brother and the heir major portion of his father property. To get Oliver’s property, Monk drives him to the underworld and tries to destroy all the trace of evidence about Oliver’s Origin.

Summary :

The novel opens in a workhouse in a small town seventy five miles north of London where Oliver is born to Agnes, an unwed mother who dies soon after his birth. When Oliver is nine years old, he is taken back to the workhouse to learn the business of picking oakum. Like other children, he finds life in the workhouse miserable. One day when Oliver asks for more food, he is beaten up and confined to a solitary cell. Later, he is sold to Mr. Sowerberry, an undertaker, who makes him his apprentice. He is trained to be a mute at children's funerals. Though Mr. Sowerberry likes him, Mrs. Sowerberry and her loyal servant, Noah Claypole, make his life miserable. One day, after he hits Noah for taunting him and insulting his mother, Oliver is beaten up and confined to a dark room. Early the next morning, he makes his escape to London. The first chapter of Oliver's life thus comes to an end.

On the way to London, Oliver meets a young man named John Dawkins who gives him food and promises to provide him shelter in London. Dawkins, also known as Artful Dodger, introduces him to the underworld by taking him to the house of Fagin. Unaware of the nature of the underworld, Oliver lives in the midst of criminals enjoying him more than he has ever done before. However, the day he goes out with Dodger and Bates and watches them pocketing the purse of a gentleman, his suspicions are aroused. He feels revolted and tries to run away from the scene. Unfortunately, the gentleman seeing him running away from the scene, suspects him of being the thief. As Dodger and Bates make their escape, Oliver is led to the office of the magistrate. He is almost charged for the theft, when the book-seller, who was a witness to the crime, enters the scene and declares him innocent. Unable to withstand the strain anymore, Oliver faints. Mr. Brownlow takes pity on the boy and carries him to his home in Pentonville. In the peaceful atmosphere of the house, Oliver recovers. Both Mrs. Bedwin and Brownlow shower him with affection. When Oliver regains his strength, he is sent on an errand to the book-stall by Mr. Brownlow. As he walks down the street, he is captured by Nancy and Sikes who lead him towards Fagin's den.

Oliver is made to abandon the world of goodness to enter the bad world of the criminals once again. Fagin and his associates try to tempt him towards criminal activities but the boy remains unmoved, thus displaying an inner strength and a spirit of confidence. One evening, he is sent to accompany Bill Sikes on a secret mission. Though he suspects the nature of the mission, he becomes aware of the real crime only when they visit the spot. Oliver is forced to help Bill Sikes and Toby Crackit break into a house to rob it of its valuables. Unmindful of his protests, they push the boy in the through the window and order him to open the door. The boy takes the opportunity to alert the inmates of the house but before he can summon courage, he is shot at by a servant of the house. Sikes leaves him wounded in a ditch but Oliver's instinct for survival makes him walk towards the house and seek help. Though he is identified by the servant as an accomplice in the robbery, Mrs. Maylie and Rose take him in and nurse him back to strength. They believe his words and allow to stay with them. One more chapter of Oliver's life comes to an end and a fresh one begins.

Rose and Mrs. Maylie shower him with motherly affection which he has missed in his childhood. They provide him the much needed security and love he had craved all along.

Thus, striking a bond of friendship with them he becomes their companion in joy as well as in grief. With their help he is reunited with Mr. Brownlow. His benefactor catches hold of the man who is partly responsible for Oliver's plight. Through Monks, Mr. Brownlow discovers the identity of Oliver and learns about his share in the property of his father. Oliver, thus, regains his rightful place in society. He goes back to live in a town similar to the one in which he was born.

In order to emphasize the travails of Oliver and trace his journey through life, Dickens deviates from the main plot to dwell on the life of certain other characters in the story. Thus the author introduces the reader to the different worlds of Oliver, Bumbles, Claypole and Sikes by often shifting the scenes in the novel.

Comment : The story is touching, and interesting.

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Crop Circle Discovered in Jogja Indonesia

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YOUR CALL by Second Hand Serenade

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