It is in Chapter 8 that we are first introduced to Fagin,
as Oliver enters the lair of the criminals. In a sense, Dickens has created a caricature
of the criminal Jew in Fagin. Note how he is first
described:
In
a frying pan, which was one the fire and which was secured to the mantel shelf by a
string, some sausages were cooking, and standing over them, with a toasting fork in his
hand, was a very old shrivelled Jew, whose villainous looking and repulsive face was
obscured by a quantity of matted red hair. He was dressed in a greasy flannel gown, with
his throat bare, and seemed to be dividing his attention between the frying pan and a
clotheshorse, over which a great number of silk handkerchiefs were
hanging.
Note the way this
first introduction emphasises the comparison between Fagin and the Devil - he is holding
a toasting fork and standing next to the fire, and has "matted red
hair."
Fagin in the novel then is clearly a master
criminal, having set up a gang of child thieves and operating as their head, taking what
they gain. It is clear in the novel that he is depicted as a character that has no
loyalty except to himself. He exploits and manipulates others to suit his purposes,
turning on Bill Sikes as it suits him and even going as far as trying to get Nancy to
kill him. When he is eventually caught and sentenced to death, we are told that he goes
mad when he realises that nobody at all cares about him and he will die giving pleasure
to the audience who will watch him being hanged. He dies, alone and unloved, which we
are meant to see as justice for his evil crimes throughout the novel and his deliberate
plotting of Oliver's hanging.
No comments:
Post a Comment