Plot & Events
What crime is Oliver forced to participate in with Sikes?
a burglary
Who is Nancy, and what role does she play in Oliver’s story in these chapters?
A member of Fagin’s gang who shows kindness to Oliver and later risks herself to protect him.
This recurring theme shows how the poor are often mistreated by society.
Fagin’s lair symbolizes what aspect of London life?
The dark underworld of crime and poverty.
“Yer a fine young lad, ain’t yer, to get me into trouble like this!”
Bill Sikes
What happens to Oliver during the attempted robbery?
he is shot and left behind by the thieves
Who forces Oliver to participate in the robbery? (2 people)
Fagin and Sikes
Oliver’s goodness despite his surroundings shows this key theme.
The triumph of innate goodness over corruption.
Light and darkness often represent what in this section of the novel?
Good and evil
“He’ll be a clever one if he escapes me!”
Fagin
What does Mr. Bumble overhear Charlotte say to Noah, and how does he react?
He hears Noah say he is going to kiss Charlotte; he gets very angry and says it is a sin and wickedness
Who else participates in the robbery besides Sikes and Oliver?
Toby Crackit
Why does Fagin send Oliver on the burglary despite knowing the risk? What does this reveal about his control over the boys and his motives?
The conflict between morality and survival.
The countryside, where Oliver heals, symbolizes what?
Peace, innocence, and recovery.
“I’ll not stand by and see the child led deeper into sin!”
Nancy
It represents her small comforts and pride; her desire to seem refined and important; her coldness and selfishness
She is the "head" of the baby farm/workhouse and she is significant because Mr. Bumble and her have a relationship
This theme is shown through characters like Mrs. Corney and Mr. Bumble, who abuse their power instead of helping others.
Corruption of authority
What does Sikes's dog symbolize about Sikes himself?
His brutality, guilt, and doomed nature
“He must be destroyed—mind, destroyed!”
Monks
Where does Fagin hide out after the failed burglary, and who visits him?
In his den; Monks visits him there.
Who is Monks, and what is his goal?
A mysterious man who wants to destroy Oliver’s reputation to keep him from inheriting.
Bill Sikes’s violence represents this major theme about the consequences of moral corruption.
Destructive nature of evil
Sikes’s dog is a symbol of what?
His own brutality and guilt.
“People who are poor don’t know nothing at all. And people who have servants to wait upon them are the only folks as is worth considering.”
Mrs. Corney