earticle

영어

“Influence of the Motif of Fear Upon Readers in Oliver Twist.” Studies in English Language & Literature. 37.2 (2011): 43-60. Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist is sometimes treated, or downgraded, as a Newgate novel. It is true in a sense that Dickens relies heavily on the motif of fear; however, he does not just use the motif for its own sake. He uses it to achieve a more serious intention as a social critic. When the novel was published, a lot of upper-and middle-class people complained about the grotesque scenes in which the poor and criminals of London appear. To them, those scenes seemed unrealistic and misleading, and therefore, should be avoided, or concealed. Oliver Twist, I would argue, is a novel that Dickens wrote for them, and it is his critique aimed toward them, asking them to recognize the reality as it really was, rather than something that should be avoided or ignored. The motif of fear is the narrative technique that aims to make the reader recognize the reality, and it works most effectively. Characters, including Oliver, experience fear and horror throughout the novel, but Dickens intentionally makes the impact of fear or horror remain profoundly in the consciousness of the reader. Through the motif of fear, therefore, Dickens demands the reader to achieve a new understanding of reality and thereby a more fundamental approach to the social issues of the poor, instead of simply thinking of another inhumane social system which he believes would aggravate the conditions of the poor. (Chungnam National University)