Literature review

Oliver Twist is a novel reflecting the tragic fact of the life in 19th century. In the English literature of 19th century, the theme of caring the destiny of ”little folks” and life of petty bourgeoisie is the most extensive and successful one, which we can easily see from the works of Sister Bronte or Thackeray. Both the social reality and the trend of literary creation had an imponderable influence on the Dickens#8217; works. Therefore, we can see that almost every novel is set in a broad social background, focuses on one family (mainly middle and small bourgeoisie family). Dickens spares no efforts to mould a great many unforgettable female characters that have the same important status with the heroes. He has created hundreds of female characters of various characters and natures. They are linked, contrasted and set off among themselves, becoming the indispensible landscapes in his novels. Nancy has been considered the most attractive and successful character in Oliver Twist because of her typical double character which is fully manifested in this novel by Charles Dickens. As a young prostitute and one of Fagin#8217;s former child pickpockets as well as Bill Sikes#8217;s lover, Nancy is unable to get out of this criminal association. However, when the young and innocent Oliver comes into her eyes, her sense of moral decency comes into conflict because she sees a young and innocent herself in the eyes of Oliver Twist and that#8217;s part of the reason why she sacrifices her own life in the end. The following paragraphs exemplify Nancy#8217;s vicious and virtuous aspects and analyze her double character from the perspective of ideological and artistic features of critical realism.
In the process of writing the paper, many famous scholars#8217; masterpieces have been read. Many people describe Nancy#8217;s kindness and show favor to it. They think she is lily-white and kind. For example, Wang Yan mentioned in Analysis of Nancy#8217;s side of kindness in Oliver Twist(2011): ”She is only an ordinary people o f social underclass. A female thief, but this status shows her kindness. The character Nancy makes people see the great strength of trueness and conscience in the dreggy society. Darkness and evil can#8217;t influence and control people#8217;s soul forever. Nancy#8217;s forgetting her life to save Oliver and her unswerving loyalty to love reflect her trueness and kindness”. Hu Xiaohua in Oliver Twist#8217;s kindheartedness and tyrannicalness(2003) said: ”Nancy in the novel is the victim of tragedy. She did many bad things, but she has the essence of kindness and virtue. She loves the young and shows sympathy to Oliver and protect him.” So we can find that Nancy is really kind, though she does many bad things, but some are for earning her life.
Some scholars research into Nancy#8217;s dual character. For example Zhang Wei in Analysis of Nancy#8217;s dual character in Oliver Twist(2010) said: ”Nancy has contradictory view on life and values, so from the beginning to end it is difficult for her to escape inner conflict and struggle.” ”She is dissatisfied with Sikes#8217; action but lacks the courage to leave him.” Zhao Shifen mentioned: ”The writer profoundly exposes Nancy#8217;s inner world. On one hand, she is naturally kind; on the other hand she mires down in mud and can#8217;t extricate herself. Her inner strong contradiction marks out for her final tragedy.” There are many people also think that Nancy#8217;s character is the result of capitalism#8217;s exploitation.