An Analysis of Analogy used in Oliver Twist

【Abstract】Charles Dickens is was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the worlds best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. Charles Dickens achieved a recognizable place among English writers through the use of the stylistic features in his fictional language. Oliver Twist is one of his best known novels which is famous for its unromantic portrayal by Dickens of criminals and their sordid lives， as well as for exposing the cruel treatment of the many orphans in London in the mid-19th century. This thesis mainly analyzes analogy used in Oliver Twist.

【Key Words】Oliver Twist； Analogy； Charles Dickens

【作者簡介】陈璇，辽宁大学外国语学院。

1. Analogy

Analogy is a form of comparison which draws a parallel between two different things that have several common qualities or points of resemblance， so as to convince the listener of reader. Because of many similar aspects between two things being alike in so many aspects， a conclusion drawn from one suggests a similar conclusion from the other.

2. Analogy in Oliver Twist

Dickens uses analogy in Oliver Twist. For example， in Chapter 2， here is an evidence.

“Everybody knows the story of another experimental philosopher who had a great theory about a horse being able to live without eating…Unfortunately for the experimental philosophy of the female to whose protecting care Oliver Twist delivered over， a similar result usually attended the operation of her system； for at the very moment when a child had contrived to exist upon the smallest possible portion of the weakest possible food， it did perversely happen in eight and a half cases out of ten， either that it sickened from want and cold， or fell into the fire from neglect， or got half-smothered by accident； in any one of which cases， the miserable little being was usually summoned into another world， and there gathered to the fathers it had never known in this.”

Reading through this paragraph， it shows that Mrs. Mann compares homeless and poor children to the livestock or the horse. According to this absurd theory， she offers children the smallest possible portion of the weakest possible food to make them just alive. Terrible living condition of the workhouse and extreme starvation always make children be sick or die but Mrs. Mann does not care about that and she sticks to her own theory and treats the orphan and the poor as prisoner just like the horse behind barriers. The reason for why Mrs. Mann does so is that she wants to save money. The less money she spends for those orphans， the more money she can get for herself. So readers can know that Mrs. Mann is a selfish woman and cold-hearted. Also， although she wants to save money for her own use， she couldnt show her purpose plainly. So she comes up with a ridiculous theory that a horse being able to live without eating and she practices this theory in those orphans. Thus readers can understand that Mrs. Mann is not only selfish and cold-hearted， but also hypocritical. Her image becomes vivid and obvious to readers because of this paragraph. And it is no doubt that analogy in this paragraph helps to vivify and highlight Mrs. Manns characteristics.

Mrs. Mann is not a particular one who is selfish and hypocritical. By depicting Mrs. Mann， Charles Dickens criticizes the selfish and egocentric people of 18th Britain society who care nothing but money and benefit. The general collapse of moral and belief in society makes people lost conscience and humanity and despise life and dignity.

3. Conclusion

In conclusion， Dickens uses analogy in Oliver Twist. Analogy is a very useful instrument for writers to use. First， it can help to make characters more vivid. Second， it can help authors to clarify their themes and ideas. For example， Dickens， by using analogy in Oliver Twist， makes readers know his purpose of criticizing bourgeoisies corruption and give sympathy to the lower people. Thus， his theme is obvious. This remind readers that in the future， they should pay more attention to semantic deviation in literary works and this will help them understand themes better.

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