BEST: International Journal of Humanities, Arts,
Medicine and Sciences (BEST: IJHAMS)
ISSN (P): 2348-0521, ISSN (E): 2454-4728
Vol. 5, Issue 02, Feb 2017, 189-202
© BEST Journals
SOCIAL EVILS AND DICKENS’S REFORMS THROUGH OLIVER TWIST, HARD TIMES,
AND GREAT EXPECTATIONS: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS
MARCELLIN ABADAME & TAOFIKI O.KOUMAKPAI
Université d’Abomey-Calavi, République du Bénin
ABSTRACT
The present study is a critical examination of social problems of the Victorian period which have hindered the real
development of the society. Thus, once they are identified, on the basis of realism and new historicism, they are submitted
to a critical analysis throughout Dickens’s works, the strategies to cope with them will highlight the purpose of this paper
The study has revealed that, the social evils in question, are related to a higher class division, injustice, criminalities,
prostitution, children abuse, pollution, insanity, poverty, unemployment, epidemies, filthiness, corruption, to mention but
only a few. Moreover, the work has generated that, Dickens has suggested approaches of virtue, humanism, kindness as
well as philanthropy to cope with the above social flaws displayed, which are insufficient as measures. Thus, the paper also
aims at setting up a new approach dealing with public sectors reforms for a sustainable development in an area of
globalization, climate change, and terrorism, by promoting moral values, Democracy and good governance. This way will
probably reshape the society of tomorrow by suggesting corrective strategies to build a society in which people will live in
peace, and that of a sustainable development.
KEYWORDS: Evils, Reforms, Victorian Society, Realism, New- Historicism
INTRODUCTION
In the 19th century, the Victorian era has been characterized by a progressive development of new technologies of
production and in industries, which has impacted the living conditions of the working classes, especially women and
children .It therefore causes tremendous changes in different fields including society, religion, economy, politics, and
literature to mention but only a few. To draw the public attention on the issue, and make them be aware of it, the Victorian
social reformers have displayed the different social illnesses to which the population has been confronted with in their
daily works. One of the most famous among them is Charles Dickens who, having himself been victim of the so –called
social illnesses, he has devoted his energy and life to reveal them through his novels and to draw people’s attention on
them. That is why in many of his works, and in particular in Oliver Twist, Hard Times and in Great Expectations, he is
concerned with social problems, and especially the welfare of the destitute or the underprivileged. This paper aims at
identifying the real problems of the nineteenth century England and through a critical analysis, an attempt to find some
solutions to the social development of our modern society will allow us to display our approach about the issue. The point
is that, what Dickens has revealed in his novels as social troubles still exist in our day–to-day life. In this respect, we
regard him as a precursor of modernism. On the basis of two literary theories, which include realism and New historicism,
Dickens’s selected woks will be critically analyzed to see how relevant the issues are and to what extent we can cope with
them and promote a sustainable development in our societies. To reach this goal, some reforms are necessary and the
present paper deals with our approach to handle social illnesses.
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CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATION
The Concept of Social Evils
According to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, an evil is: something that is very bad or harmful.
The term also means ‘a cruel or morally bad behavior in general.’ So, we can infer from this that a social evil
accounts for any action which has a negative effect on human being, or harmful for the welfare or well-being of the
population. In the context of Victorian period, social evils have to do with social unrests, which can hinder the welfare of
the population as well as the sustainable development of the area. In its effect, among the social abuses denounced by
Dickens during his time, we have focused our analysis on some major ones, which include: child labour, Education,
poverty, criminality and the penitentiary system, the administration and the system of governance, elections, Parliament,
wickness, money and its corruption as well as other bad qualities of some Victorian upper classes. Having clarified this, we
can explore what social reform stands for in the context of the Victorian period and today’s social development.
The Concept of Social Reforms
First of all, to reform is to restore or to renew. It is to restore to a former good state, to bring from bad to good. To
reform has also to do with to amend or to improve by change of reform or by removing faults or abuses. Then, it is to put
an end to evil by enforcing or introducing a better method of cause of action and behavior. As for a reformer, it is a person
who affects or tries to affect a reformation or amendmen. The one who works for reforms as the moralist, the regionalist or
the puritan. He is also an advocator or a promoter of political reforms. The next term to explain is Globalization.
The Concept of Globalization
According to the Dictionary of Contemporary English, globalisation is the processes of making something such as
a business operate in a lot of countries all around the world. Thus, in the field of economy, kwanashie defines
Globalisation as a process of integrating economic decision-making, a process of creating a global market place in which,
increasingly, all nations are forced to participate. In this respect, most of social problems prevailing in the nineteenth
century England can find solutions in this era of Globalisation.
Besides, in its contemporary forms, Globalization is driven by a variety of forces. These are financial resources,
economic with particular reference to the flow of goods and services and, to a very limited extent, labour, technology,
especially transport communications and information technology, the spread of culture from one corner of the world to the
other, and the global diffusion of religious ideas as well as ideologies. Other aspects that are unique to the present form of
globalization are the Americanization of the world, the propagation of a universal paradigm for economic and political
development, and the dominance of unilateralism as a way of conducting international relations in terms of Diamond .He
stated further that: The Americanization of the World is the result of the huge and unprecedented gap between the United
States and its nearest rival in each and every sphere, military, economic, technological and cultural, which is in turn
transformed into the unequalled American influence on international issues and decision-making, including those within
the purview of major international institutions such as the United Nations System, the Breton-Woods institutions, and the
World Trade Organization.1
1
-Diamond, L . Democracy, Development and Good Governance: The Inseparable Links. A Paper Delivered at the Maiden
Annual Democracy and Governance, Ghana,2005.P.98
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From this point of view, one can have the feeling that America is leading the world and will impose its supremacy
to all countries in general and to under developed or developing nations in particular. Furthermore, for developing
countries, globalization means nothing more than a re-colonization process of the third world economies. Viewed from this
perspective, Aina regards globalization as a new phase of capitalist expansion and is still about exploitation, accumulation,
inequality and polarization. It is therefore a seeming manifestation of the thesis of imperialism without a major colonial
empire. Globalization is therefore said to be the key governance challenge for the twenty-first century. In this respect, the
forces of globalization, which include the spread of international markets for goods, services, capital, and labour and the
emergence of new institutions and network organizations that operate easily across borders, are said to reduce the capacity
of sovereign nation-states to govern their own affairs. Now that we have a clear insight about some concepts, we can deal
with the issue of Dickens’s depiction of social evils through his selected works.
SOCIAL EVILS IN DICKENS’S SELECTED WORKS
Charles Dickens and the Victorian System of Education
Education is vital for every human being, especially children as they go through the stages of development. Every
minor has a right to receive education as this fosters his mental and psychological development. Thus, it becomes a great
concern for Dickens since; he himself has been victim of the weakness noticed in the system of education that has been in
force during his time. So, Dickens is aware of the role and the importance of the concept of education. As such, we can
understand the main reason of his concern for education especially, in a speech he has given in Birmingham in 1844 when
he says:"If you would reward honesty, if you would give encouragement to good, if you would stimulate the idle, eradicate
evil, or correct what is bad, education --comprehensive liberal education -- is the one thing needful, and the one effective
end"2
In Oliver Twist for instance, the drawbacks of the system of education are obvious. The first remark is about
Dickens’s characters in the novel. In fact, the majority of his characters are under-educated or illiterate. This can be noticed
in the quality of English they speak whenever they have to express their point of view. The second observation concerns
the hero of the novel. In fact, Dickens reveals his readers that Oliver Twist, the main character has not attended any formal
school therefore, and he is uneducated. Ultimately, in the workhouse, Dickens has denounced vehemently the system of
education implemented there, and especially in Oliver Twist. The inmates of the workhouse, especially children are
submitted to a system of education which does not respond to the needs of the learners. In fact, in the workhouse, children
are bound to pick oakum and render other services to the parish authorities. The only education that the poor child received
is either that of being beaten into submission by the workhouse authorities or employers.
Apart from Oliver Twist, Dickens has also dealt with the issue in hard Times. In this novel, he also denounces the
educational system of the Victorian period through the description of Thomas Gradgrind’s school in Coke town. Here, my
concern in this study is to depict how Dickens has created the students of this school and what kind of education they
receive there. In a simpler word what kind of pedagogy is applied in Gradgrind’s school? Dickens’s novel Hard Times is
set during this time to show his views on education to his readers. To achieve this, he creates different characters, some of
which contrast each other in different ways. Two of such characters are Sissy Jupe and Bitzer. They differ in the ways they
have been taught and the ways they see the educational system. Bitzer is a model student, he has always strictly followed
2
Speeches 63.
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the system and been taught exactly how the system requires him to be taught. He is shown as lifeless and colorless in these
terms: the boy was so light-eyed and sight-haired that the self-same rays appeared to draw out of him what little color he
ever possessed.’3
This gives the effect that he has been drained of life and everything else but facts. When Bitzer is asked to
describe a Horse, he regards it as a ‘Quadruped’ and ‘graminivorous’ and gives endless facts about the animal. Although
this description is very factual and impressive. The use of long complex words and the amount of facts show that he has
simply been taught these facts, and probably has never seen a Horse. Sissy on the other hand, does not understand how to
factually define a Horse when even asked, this is because she has been brought up with Horses all her life and they are too
familiar and important to her just to be described in facts. This is one way that Dickens tries to show his audience that this
type of education is wrong, the teaching of bare facts limits the imagination of students and in a more practical way of
teaching, like Sissy has had, can help children understand the facts that they are being taught, instead of just learning them.
Besides, the repetition of ‘facts’ by Dickens shows clearly Gradgrind’s views on education, that only bare facts
should be taught, anything else can be a waste of time and serve no purpose. Mr. Gradgrind is a very stubborn man with no
self-doubt whatsoever. He addresses Sissy as ‘girl number twenty’. He gives no individuality to the students, and as with
the teachers, Mr. Gradgrind sees the students to have no personality and are all the same. When he talks to Sissy he is not
happy with her name. One of the reproaches is as follows: ‘Sissy is not a name, don’t call yourself Sissy. Call yourself
Cecilia.’4
This is because Sissy is more of a nickname, the fact is that she is called Cecilia, and only facts are acceptable. In
other ways, Dickens introduces the teacher, himself manufactured in much the same way as ‘pianoforte legs (ibid, p.9)’,
showing that he is also part of an industry, like goods produced in a factory. Dickens creates the name ‘Mr. ’Choakumchild
which alone seems to cause a threat to the children. Dickens also uses a long list of complicated subjects like
‘Orthography, etymology, syntax and prosody, to satirise the education system and show that it is ridiculous to teach young
children such things. In effect Dickens says that the teacher has been over taught and maybe if M’ Choakumchild has
‘learnt a little less, how infinitely better he might have taught much more!’ This means that if there is slightly less room for
facts in his brain there can be more room for thought. This is to say that it isn’t always possible to fill students totally with
facts, but to fill them to a point where they have little room for other things such as imagination.
From the pedagogical point of view, we realize that, the students in Hard Times are the main concerned with this
system of education, and ‘Facts’ reveals to be the curriculum to be taught to them. So, student’s heads will be full of
‘Facts’ due to this approach of Gradgrind. We are therefore aware of how passive they will be regarding certain day-to-day
life. Surprisingly, the character Bounder by, the banker and the merchant refuses to be accompanied by the young Tom
Gradgrind simply because his head is full of Facts. In the classroom, Dickens's criticism is shown through the exchange
among Gradgrind, Bitzer and Sissy Jupe over the proper definition of a horse. Bitzer, who has learned a definition by rote,
classifies it as a "Quadruped" and "Gramnivorous," whereas Sissy, the horse-breaker's daughter dubbed "Girl number
twenty," is reprimanded for acquiring "no facts, in reference to one of the commonest of animals". This system of teaching
does not suit best to the demands of learners’ own development and the one of their society, as the emphasis is laid on
3
4
Dickens, C. Hard Times, New York, A Harper Classic,1965.P.6
Ibid.p.5
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learning by heart instead of insisting on creative thinking. In so doing, no matter of training brain nor intelligence is
achieved. They only memories their lessons. This teaching process is outdated today, and I am sure it may not be profitable
to Victorian children.
A critical analysis of Sissy and Gragrind’s interaction in the classroom shows that the system is upside-down and
the only victims are learners. Apart from Sissy who reveals us to be an intelligent learner, we wonder what kind of product
will result in this educational system. This allows me to ponder the level of English spoken by some of the characters,
especially Stephen Blackpool.
Furthermore, through M’ Choakumchild, Dickens expresses some of the popular criticism against training schools
of the time. Dickens wants training schools to instruct teachers in teaching methodology and develop their intellect, not just
impart pseudo-scholarship. Educators feel that Dickens’ account of M’ Choakumchild and the object lesson at Gradgrind
School are only partially correct. Such a presentation can be just Dickens’s own middle class emotional reaction to an
educational system that he dislikes.
In brief, Dickens has denounced the educational system of the Victorian period in Hard Times, and has
recommended public schools as educational institutions that seem plausible to train efficiently learners. To use Dickens’s
own words, let us quote Fielding’s passage from Koussouhon’s thesis (1981):
I believe there is not in England any institution as socially as a Public School (…) As far as I know; nowhere in
this country is there so complete an absence of servility to mere rank, to mere position, to mere riches as in a Public
School. A boy there is always what his abilities or his personal qualities make Him. We may differ about the curriculum
and other matters, but of the frank, free, mainly independent spirit preserved in our Public Schools. I apprehend there can
be no kind of questions.4
In Dickens’s opinion, State or Public Schools are better than the Private ones. This conception can be
controversial since nowadays, people prefer Private Schools to the State ones. Dickens fails to know that the weaknesses
he makes us notice in private institutions outnumber what we see in Public Schools. At any rate, the ideal system of
education needs thinking out at all levels. It is in this context Dickens‘s reforms in education are welcomed. Now that we
have explored Dickens’s attacks on the educational system of the nineteenth century in Oliver Twist and in Hard Times,
the next step is to analyze how he deals with the issue in Great Expectations. In this novel, Dickens uses the hero’s
schooling to demonstrate the failure of the Victorian system of education. Indeed, as a child, Pip receives almost no formal
education neither does Dickens himself. It is only when he has grown up a little bit when he attends Mr. Wopsle’s great
aunt’s school which is almost useless, and where he acquires some basic literary and a few random facts, an experience
which puts him well beyond the almost Joe. Just after he receives new expectations, his education has been improved. In
the course of this education, Herbert Pocket teaches him social manners suitable to his new status. Therefore, he can ‘read’
with Matthew Pocket and with his other students. As he has grown adult, he appears to pursue a regular course of reading.
This is to mean that Pip has attended no formal education. So, once more, Dickens shows us that the Victorian system of
education and especially the one offered to the poor has been quite inefficient. The question to put is how inappropriate
and informal the system of education that Dickens depicts in Great Expectations is. To show this, Dickens uses Mr.
Wopsle’s great aunt’s school to depict some weaknesses that prevent learners from being impacted knowledge
appropriately. Here, Dickens himself provides us with vivid description of the so-called Miss Wopsle’s school in these
words: “Mr. Wopsle’s great aunt kept an evening school in the village; that is to say, she was a ridiculous old woman of
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Marcellin Abadame & Taofiki O. Koumakpai
limited means and unlimited infirmity, who used to go to sleep from six to seven, in the society of youth who paid two pence
per week each and Mr. Wopsle had the room upstairs, where we students used to overhear him reading aloud in a most
dignified and terrific manner. 5
This passage explains clearly that the parody of Mr. Wopsle’s great aunt’s evening school is a satire of the
education provided for the lower class. Pip also comments that he has learnt the alphabet from Biddy and neither from Mr.
Wopsle nor his aunt which indicates that neither of them are doing their duty of educating the keen learners.
Thus, once more, we understand clearly Dickens’s commitment to exert reform in the field of education, because
what has prevailed during his times as far as this system is concerned is unbearable. We cannot accept in our schools
people like Mr. Wopsle’s great aunt who reveals to be an example of teachers who train victims as Charles Dickens
himself. In other words, judging from her physical appearance and her intellectual background or competency, she is far
from coping with the teaching job. In a simpler word, she does not deserve being recruited as a teacher. We can infer from
that, not anybody who carries out the job of teaching. The teaching task requires some qualities and pedagogical tools for
the teaching process. Through the class that is being observed, we realize that, nothing of these techniques is respected. So,
the class is not worth visiting. As we mention above, Pip’s little education he receives is achieved thanks to Biddy.
To summaries this part of the work, I would like to say that, Charles Dickens has criticized and denounced the
Victorian system of education in most of his works, because he has been victim of it, and in doing so, he wants to cope
with it at all cost. In fact, he is aware of its importance that is why he exposes its abuses and shortcomings in a variety of
his novels. As such, Dickens becomes a pioneer in introducing the theme of education into prose fiction, and has proved in
his correspondence, journalism, speeches, works and his public readings that he has greater familiarity with the subject
than most of his rivals. Fortunately, in the year of his death, Parliament has passed the Elementary Education Act, which
has further raised the standard of teachers training and has effectively inaugurated compulsory schooling. Therefore, to
some extent, Dickens has contributed to this great achievement by reinforcing the public's sense of moral feeling, and
providing additional momentum for change. But, much remains to be developed as far as the educational system is
concerned not only in Dickens’s selected novels, but also in his other works. Nevertheless, for the vividness of the paper, I
think it is wise to examine how the writer deals with the problem of child labour as another social evil.
Charles Dickens and the Victorian Child Labour
The term "child labour" is often defined as a work that deprives children under the age of eighteen of their
childhood, their potential and their dignity that is harmful to physical and mental development. In other words, not all work
done by children should be classified as child labour that is to be targeted for elimination. So, children’s or adolescents’
participation in work that does not affect their health and personal development, or interfere with their schooling, is
generally regarded as being something positive. This includes activities such as helping their parents at home or around
home, assisting in a family business, or earning pocket money outside school hours, and during school holidays. These
kinds of activities contribute to children‘s development and to the welfare of their families. They provide them with skills
and experiences, and help them to be productive members of society during their adult life.
For having undergone child labour, Dickens is deeply committed to end it up through his works. In Oliver Twist
for instance, the issue of child labour and children abuse has been displayed in many regards, especially in the workhouse,
5
Dickens, C. Great Expectations. The EMC Master-piece Series Access Editions, United States of America, 1998.P.43-44.
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the Sowerberry’s and in Fagin’s where its different implications including absconding, passivity, “stupidity”, depression,
poor-self-image, and a vulnerability to corruption by anyone who seems to show them some love or attention, are well
illustrated.
In fact, in Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens describes the life in the workhouses as an unbearable one. The little
Oliver is born there in terrible circumstances. His mother is found in the street and brought in the workhouse and then she
gives birth to Oliver before diying. Nobody either knows her name or where about she is from. After his birth, he spends
the first nine years of his life in a badly run home for young orphans and then is transferred to a workhouse for adults.
Here, Oliver and other children are employed in factories and ill-treated.
Consequently, child labour becomes an important issue in Oliver Twist. The reason of this lies in the fact that, the
novel has been written in Victorian era when children are mostly employed in factories as man- power. Therefore, child
labour has played an important role in the Industrial Revolution. Thus, children are forced to work in factories because
families are very poor and they don’t have enough money to live on. They also work for eight or twelve hours a day, six
days a week. No insurance is guaranteed for them in case of an accident. The striking point is that children laborers are
cheaper than the adult’s, and employers prefer orphans from workhouse to others since they are encouraged to do so, and
because they are innocent. To illustrate this, Makati quotes Styal Mill in the following terms: “To encourage factory
owners to take workhouse children, people like Greg were paid between two pounds and four pounds by the workhouse for
each child they employed6
We infer from this that Oliver twist and his mates in the workhouse are used in business in order to save money.
This clearly displays children’s life in the workhouse. By purposely underfeeding Oliver and the workhouse laborers, the
wealthy are able to extract more labour for at lower cost. The government, we mean the workhouse board’s harsh treatment
towards Oliver indicates how his labour is depicted as a commodity to be sold. This is obvious when Oliver commits the
crime to ask for some more, and we understand how astonished the board has been at this point, and the punishment which
has been sentenced through this passage: “The master aimed a blow at Oliver’s head with the ladle, pinioned him in this
arms and stricked a lound for the beatle”.7
As this punishment is not sufficient, for a week after that Oliver has remained a close prisoner in the dark room
without food. On the action he is presided over the case and offers five pounds to any person wishing to take on, but a
kindly old magistrate refuses to sign the indentures. Finally a death house entrepreneur named Mr. Sowerberry takes and
employs Oliver.
In Great Expectations, in expounding the phenomenon of children abuse, Dickens focuses our attention on two of
his characters; we mean Pip and Estella who have gone through physical, verbal and emotional abuses. Pip, the main
character has suffered different abuses for having lost both his parents, and has been brought up by hand by his sister, Mrs
Joe. So, Pip is an orphan who has been most of the time ill-treated by his sister. Dickens has described one aspect of the
abuses Pip is subject to in these terms:“ I soon found myself getting heavily bumped from behind in the nape of the neck
and the small of the back, and having my face ignominiously shoved against the kitchen wall, because I did not answer
those questions at sufficient length”.
6
7
Pamela, Makati. A Critical Study of Charles Dickens’s Representation of the Socially Disadvantage.Op.Cit.p.90.
Dickens, C. The Adventure of Oliver Twist with introduction Notes. Op. Cit. p. 25
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Besides, Pip informs us that his sister, not only ill-treats him, but also her own husband, and both are brought up
by hands in Dickens’s own words we read this:“Having at that time to find out for myself what the expression meant, and
knowing her to have a hard and heavy hand, and to be much in the habit of laying it upon her husband as well as upon me,
I supposed that Joe Gargery and I were both brought up by hand”.8
The two passages show us that both Pip and Joe are physically abused. The emphasis is that we are not concerned
with Joe’s abuse in this work, but only with the child one. And Pip’s sister has gone as far as to wish him in a grave, which
means that he may be unbearable, and Dickens through Pip expresses it in the following words:“Trouble?” echoed my
sister, “trouble?” And then entered on a fearful catalogue of all the illnesses I had been guilty of, and all the acts of
sleeplessness I had committed, and all the high places I had tumbled from, and all the low places I had tumbled into, and
all the injuries I had done myself, and all the times she had wished me in my grave, and I had contumaciously refused to go
there.”9
Besides, Dickens makes us for see in Great Expectations emotional abuse which accounts for the injustice that
children are victim of. He tells us himself, from his adult-narrator analysis: “My sister's bringing up had made me
sensitive. In the little world in which children have their existence whosoever brings them up, there is nothing so finely
perceived and so finely felt, as injustice. It may be only small injustice that the child can be exposed to; but the child is
small, and its world is small, and its rocking-horse stands as many hands high, according to scale, as a big-boned Irish
hunter10.
Here, he puts emphasis on the injustice children go through from whoever brings them up. Like all children, Pip
shows us how fearful child, and afraid he is. But mostly we hear that he's afraid. He seems to spend his entire life being
frightened and terrified by his sister, the convict, or by the convict's supposed friend, and even of himself, "from whom an
awful promise had been extract. Not only does Pip undergo abuses from Mrs. Joe, but Estella has also abused him in many
regards. The young girl he loves, Estella, verbally abuses Pip. So, for the sake of love, Pip has been severely abused by his
supposed lover. She calls him boy, makes fun of his language and his boots and coarse hands
These sorts of abuses make Pip think out and confuse him then; he is so worried that he does not feel well at ease.
In addition, Pip has also been subject to Magwitch’s abuse in the grave yard when he reminds us the story in these terms:
‘’The man, after looking at me for a moment, turned me upside down, and emptied my pockets. There was nothing in them
but a piece of bread. When the church came to itself— for he was so sudden and strong that he made it go head over heels
before me, and I saw the steeple under my feet—when the church came to itself, I say, I was seated on a high tomb- stone,
trembling, while he ate the bread ravenously. “You young dog,” said the man, licking his lips, “what fat cheeks you ha’7
got.”11
Analyzing this conversation, we notice the different abuses the little boy has undergone in the grave yard with
Abel Magwitch: they have to do with physical abuse (‘turned me upside down’), verbal and emotional abuses:“You get me
a file.” He tilted me again. “And you get me wittles.” He tilted me again. “You bring” em both to me.” He tilted me again.
“Or I’ll have your heart and liver out.” He tilted me again. In other words, it is difficult for a child as Pip is to support these
8
Charles Dickens, Great Expectations. Op. cit p.6.
Ibid.p.26
10
Ibid.,p.63.
11
Ibid.,p.2
9
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abuses. The convict Abel Magwitch has threatened the boy in many regards. So, obviously, Dickens has portrayed various
instances of children abuses in Great Expectations. Ultimately, Child labour has been a brutal and gruesome system which
endangers juveniles‘s childhood health and even their lives. Reports of the unpleasant encounters of accidents, physical
abuses and exploitation leave the reader sympathetic towards children who have lived in nineteenth century Britain. Now
that this is achieved, what about criminality?
Charles Dickens and the Victorian Criminality
In the context of Victorian period, insecurity accounts for criminalities, thefts, burglary, murder, and other social
plagues Likewise, Dickens‘s Oliver Twist has also displayed the realities regarding London and criminality. In fact, the
new industrialism with the growth of sprawling towns and their overpopulation, as one of the immediate consequences, has
created all sorts of crimes in the nineteenth century in England. It is obvious that London is the capital city of England,
because of the particular concentration of its population. As a result, London becomes notorious for criminal activities.
Therefore, criminality reveals to be one of the social problems of the nineteenth century. In Oliver Twist, Dickens points
out the “twin’s evils of crimes and poverty in much more accurate forms”. in the novel, he chooses his characters from the
most criminal and degraded London population, and has painted them in all their deformity, wretchedness and in all the
squalid poverty of their life.
For instance, the criminal gang comprising Fagin, the villainous receiver of goods, Sikes, the brutal thief; and the
boys namely Charley Bates and Jack Dawkins, the Artful Dodger and the pickpockets and Nancy the prostitute are all
living in dirty and squalid dens. During the Victorian period, the criminal law has punished this illegal activity as theft,
pocket-picking and murder to list only a few. Nevertheless, London becomes notorious in all these social evils.
In Hard Times, the aspect of insecurity depicted is about the bank robbery, and especially the bank of Mr.
Bounder by, where robbers have made use of gun-power to attain their goal. In fact, this robbery occurs in Chapter 7
"Gunpowder," in Book II "The Reaping." And the immediate suspect is Stephen Blackpool, who has been observed
hanging around the bank. But Stephen has been set up. In fact, the bank robbery gives slack bridge, and others, an
opportunity to punish Stephen and to exclude him. The robbery itself is plotted against him to encourage the corruption of
Bounder by, Hart house and all like them: those who are ready to accuse without proof, to exploit the common man, and to
line their own pockets. Though it seems counter-intuitive, Dickens himself distrusts Unions and orators intensely. He has
an unwavering belief in the power of the individual, corporations like banks, and unions as in the one depicted here in
Coke town, are, for Dickens, pure evils. Not only is criminality a social evil, but also the Victorian’s system of justice.
Dickens’s Attacks against the Victorian System of Justice
The crime rates during the Victorian era have been very high as many people have no other choice than turning to
crime. When work is in short supply or a person is unemployed because they are sick or pregnant and unmarried there is
nowhere to go except workhouses. But the conditions in the workhouses are so harsh that children often die within weeks.
As crime spiraled, property owners start to panic and judicial penalties are made harsher in a desperate attempt to reduce
the crime rate. However, these harsh punishments have no great effect upon crime as those who are breaking the law only
do it because they have no other choice. Prisons are constantly overcrowded, and are not expected to reform criminals, but
simply holding them. The prisons are never cleaned and many prisoners die before they can be judged. All these aspects
denote the weaknesses we can notice in authorities in charge of the Victorian system of justice. The point is that, Dickens
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is criticizing them in order to advocate his reforms, we can no longer continue with such a situation otherwise, no
improvement in social development. In the same context, Dickens precises that punishment of death has failed in many
countries where it has been applied. This indicates that we should not resort to the capital Punishment to solve the problem
of crimes in societies. Dickens has stated that the root of criminality is poverty. How does he deal with it?
Dickens and the Issue of Poverty during the Victorian Period
In Oliver Twist, Dickens attacks the Poor Law of 1834 that institutes the workhouse. He denounces the system of
relief that takes place. In the novel, he tries to portray the new relief system’s treatment of a child innocent of fault born
and raised in the workhouse system. Dickens, immediately adopts both a satirical tone and stance towards the workhouse
when he refers to be born in one, Dickens essentially paints Oliver as a “child of the workhouse” with no consolation or
nourishment available to him, much like the empty system in place that sets out to operate efficiently and charitably.
However, In this opening scene, both Oliver and his mother are emblematic figures of those affected by the poor laws of
19th century England as, they are strangers to a world where any hope or comfort resides, further underscoring Dickens’s
emphasis towards the newly and enviable circumstance that can possibly befall a human being. The doctor who has helped
Oliver’s mother (Agnes) through labour just before she passes away “talk[s] of hope and comfort,”. Given the description
of the circumstances surrounding Oliver’s recounting who, “had been strangers for too long,” So, the laws set up at that
moment lack efficiency and charity. Furthermore, with his mother now dead and no “female in the ‘house’ who is in a
situation to impart to Oliver twist the consolation and nourishment of which he is in need not only is hope and consolation
inaccessible to him, but what is to be his sole source of nourishment too. As a pale and thin child of the workhouse,
“diminutive in stature, and decidedly small in circumference, such a description illustrates the fact that this ‘system’ does
not provide the appropriate climate through which anyone brought up in it can thrive and flourish .Oliver being a patent
example of this, as both a literally and figuratively undernourished child of the English workhouse.
As far as Great Expectations is concerned, Dickens is also interested in social class which is divided into two
worlds: the poor and the wealthy. The rich embody the upper class represented by Miss Havisham who enjoys lives of
luxury. As for the poor, they embody the working class family who live in extreme poverty as illustrated in the novel like
Joe Gargery. As a member of the poor family, Pip in search of his own identity, has experienced tremendous aspects of
poverty in various domains. In its effect, the Victorian period represents a moment when there has been a deep gap
between the rich and the poor. As such, the upper class has strict behaviour towards the poor and all the ladies and
gentlemen require the traditional education before being accepted as gentlemen. Pip has gone through all this that is the
reason why he suddenly rises from blacksmith to an educated gentleman, and has been compelled to climb the social class
ladder, thanks to his devotion and determination he has achieved his personal growth and development. Likewise, the issue
of poverty has been depicted through extreme imagery which accounts for poverty, prison, ships and chains, as well as
fights to death.
As for Hard Times, Dickens also deals with the issue of poverty in this novel, but here, Dickens depicts the
poverty that is ridden factory towns of the nineteenth century. Dickens is interested in the societal problem of the period.
He focuses his attention especially on dehumanizing factories towns that spring up in England during the Industrial
Revolution. Indeed, in the novel, workers are treated as little more than interchangeable parts in the factory’s machinery;
given them just some wages to keep them alive and just enough rest to make it possible for them to continue working the
next day. The next issue is how Parliament can be source of social unrest.
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Dickens and the British Parliament of the Nineteenth Century
Dickens‘s biography reveals us that he has been a reporter in British Parliament. As such, he has gone through
experiences and witnesses regarding how British Parliament functions, how its Members are elected, their weaknesses and
how to improve an institution as the Parliament. So, in some of his works, Dickens‘s social reforms have also accounted
for how Parliament should be reshaped to respond to the demand of the population and to the sustainable development of
societies. In fact, Dickens shows us how members of the aristocracy, the industrialists, banker’s businessmen, in a simpler
word, rich people, make use of money and their position to be elected in Parliament. As their electorate is most of time
composed of poor in general, Dickens reveals us that, those wealthy people who are candidates for legislative elections,
simply distribute money, food, or other material gifts to win their support during elections. In so doing, once they are
elected they become incompetent, and the laws they issue are not relevant and do not respond to the population‘s needs as
well as to the factors of sustainable development. The vote of the Poor Law of 1834 is a vivid example to illustrate the
issue. In his novels, Hard Times for example, Dickens has vehemently criticized the British Parliament through the
character of Gradgring. Dickens depicts Gradgrind as a middle-class businessman and later a Member of Parliament. In
Dickens’s own terms, he is the man of Fact of Coke town. It happens that Mr. Gradgrind has become a member of
Parliament(MP),Dickens informs us in these terms:“Time hustled him into a little noisy and rather dirty machinery, in a
by-owner, and made him Member of Parliament for Coke town: one of the respected members for ounce weights and
measures, one of the representatives of the multiplication table, one of the deaf honorable gentlemen, dumb honorable
gentlemen, blind honorable gentlemen, lame honorable gentlemen, dead honorable gentlemen, to every other
consideration.”12
Through this, we are aware of the fact that Gradgring is an MP in Coke town, and we wonder how he has
managed to win the support of the population, despite all the bad qualities we know in him. The point is that Mr. Gradgrind
may have bribed his electorate so as to be elected, since they may know nothing about politics. This is due to the fact that,
in the field of politics, politicians practise the politics of money to win the elections.
In fact, to refresh the parliament and other institutions requiring elections, much must be done to avoid the politics
of money, which is the tool used by politicians to be elected in institutions. So, to avoid this, it is time the electorate was
educated in free and fair electioneering. Thus, the public should be well instructed on the conduct of elections in order to
avoid MPs like Gradgrind. So, the mass ought to be informed about the importance of their votes. They should also be
informed about how their votes can be instrumental in bringing about changes in Coke town’s parliament for example for
the improvement of the Victorian society. They should ultimately know that their votes are powerful weapons, and as such,
should not be bought with money or gifts, and rather their votes should be used to choose the right person at the right
place. That is what my writer is aiming at in his social reforms.
The writer presents the character of Gradgrind to show us the quality of people we send in Parliament, and we
wonder which kind of laws they are going to initiate and vote. Thus, this raises the problem of qualification of our MPs.
Dickens’s hatred for Parliament puts emphasis on this aspect. For him, things should be refreshed in his new parliament.
There lies his social reforms and especially in Parliaments. In Hard Times for instance, Dickens depicts the character of
James Hart house as one of the corrupted electorate of Mr. Gradgrind. Indeed, In matters of elections or in politics, Hart
house behaves in such a way that he knows nothing in this field. He has no conviction and no precise objective as far as the
12
Dickens, C.. Hard Times, Op. Cit.,P:88
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issue is concerned. He simply acts as he is told to do, which is abnormal.
DICKENS’S APPROACH TO COPE WITH THE ABOVE SOCIAL PROBLEMS
In the domain of education, Dickens is aware of the role an efficient system of education can play in a given
society and having gone through a bad experience of this kind, he is fiercely against what has happened in this field. That
is why; he is advocating reforms in the system of education. But, a critical analysis of the question enables us to find out
that one of the factors that hinder adequate education is poverty. So, for Dickens, as part of his solution to the problem of
poverty, he maintains a keen interest in education throughout most of his life. He believes the only way to fight against
poverty is through education.
Comparing the Victorian system of education to that of today, the gap is very deep, and the flaws are of great
extent. As we have stated above, the issue of poverty has a negative impact on education. Even, apart from poverty that we
cannot eradicate, there are other parameters that constitute an obstacle to the educational system of the twenty-first century.
Among the factors that alter education, we can mention the system of governance which is applied, the curriculum, the
mis-use of the New Technology of Information and Communication, lack of adequate infrastructures, lack of qualified
teachers and their recycling periodically, lack of financial input in the system, to point out only a few. Of course, Dickens’s
reforms in education have taken into account some, but much remains to include, otherwise our society will remain poor
and cannot grow into development. This means that we have to think of reforms that account for our reality, since we are
not in the same context with Dickens. That is why the next step of this work will be concerned with our approach to solve,
to some extent, the social problems this work has highlighted.
In fact, we cannot follow blindly Dickens’s reforms and adjust them in our context of globalization, climate
change, and insecurity to list only some. The truth is that, reforms in education in my country Benin, are being carried out,
and my work can contribute to a great extent to the implementation through my new approach in this field. Having
analyzed Dickens’s point of view about reforms in education, what of the issue of poverty. In Dickens’s reforms about
poverty, he focuses our attention on moral responsibilities which, according to him can alleviate and reduce poverty in
Victorian society. For him, through sensitizing and through teaching moral virtues which include charity, good natured and
benevolence, as well as philanthropy, we can reduce poverty in his society. This approach is possible to solve the problem
to some extent. In this respect, he depicts all those moral virtues in his novels through some philanthropic and humanist
characters. These characters concern Mr. Brownlow and the Maylies, Rose, Doctor Osborne and others in Oliver Twist,
who show great compassion and sympathy for Oliver after the latter‘s misfortune with the criminals who wickly force him
to burglary at Chertsey. As for Dickens’s Great Expectations, humanist and philanthropic characters may be Miss
Havisham, despite her vindictive qualities, as well as Joe the blacksmith. Only such examples to illustrate Dickens’s
approach to the problem of poverty. Another strategy to deal with poverty is about the help that wealthy people will
provide to poor to relieve them from their sufferings or starvations. In effect, Dickens advocates that rich should help the
poor; Dickens suggests. Charity among people towards poor and particularly orphans. From Dickens‘s point of view, by
advocating charity among people, he can to some extent, change, not only the psychological behaviors and thoughts of the
nineteenth century England society, but also contributes to social change, and therefore deserves being a social reformer of
his times. In the sphere of criminality, Dickens thinks that capital punishment cannot reduce crimes occurrence, so we
should eradicate it. As for the issue of child labour, he resorts to parental responsibilities and respect to human rights as
strategies to push back the malpractice. Ultimately, in parliament, we should avoid frauds in elections and practice fair
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elections.
COMMENT ON DICKENS’S PATTERN OF CHARACTERIZATION AND REALISM
Charles Dickens, in most of his writings and in particular in the selected ones for the work at stake, has chosen
characters from the city life of London to satirise the society of the nineteenth century England. We have noticed that his
characters have behaved in accordance with the reality of the Victorian period, and this allows us to regard him as a
realistic novelist of the nineteenth century. The analysis has also disclosed that, in his portrayal of some of characters, he
has made us confuse in the way he depicts them. This means that some exaggeration is noticed in their description. What is
more some critics against Dickens have demonstrated that his pattern of characterization is biased and has been altered
regarding some inconsistence’s they have noticed throughout his works. Among his critics, the first one concern Terry
Eagleton who thinks that Dickens is hailed as the first English great novelist of the city, although, ironically, he has mostly
grown in a small town, and this makes him describe his characters in a wrong way.
A NEW APPROACH TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN SOCIETIES
Public Sectors Reforms in an Era of Globalisation
Charles Dickens’s approach to social problems of the nineteenth century has been the one related to charity,
kindness, good natured and benevolence towards humanity, and especially poor people. A critical analysis of this attempt
of solution allows me to mention that his concept is not the most appropriate one to cope with the problems of the
Victorian societies. I think, to relieve the Victorian population, and especially the lower class of the various abuses they
have been victim, the approach of Public Sectors Reforms must be implemented in an era of Globalisation which accounts
for climate change and population involvement. The main principles of my approach concern Democracy, Human Rights,
Gender equality and Peace. It also calls for the required socio-political environment in which Globalisation, and public
sector reforms should be involved so as to attain a sustainable development.
Promoting Good Governance
Through Public Sectors Reforms, Good governance as expressed through factors like reliability, predictability and
accountability is increasingly seen as a key factor in ensuring national prosperity to foster sustainable development in the
21st Century societies. However, many aspects of the relationship between good governance and national prosperity are
still poorly understood and may indeed vary across countries. Recent economic and social developments have increased
attention given to the role that good governance plays in achieving social and economic development.
Strategies to Cope with Poverty in Societies
The Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) states: Poverty is the single biggest burden of South
Africa's people and the direct result of the apartheid system and the skewed nature of business and development which
accompanied it'.13
Thus, in comparison to South Africa, the Industrial Revolution has been the burden of the Victorian society, and
the lack of appropriate policies to fight against this plague, has degenerated in other social crimes that Dickens has
displayed in the selected works. In this respect, a cornerstone of the Government's program should be to tackle poverty
with its root.
13
Reconstruction and Development Programme document.1994,p.14
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Marcellin Abadame & Taofiki O. Koumakpai
CONCLUSIONS
This research work has allowed us to identify the real problems of development that have threatened the Victorian
society and continued to challenge the sustainable development of the twenty-first century societies all over the world. To
cope with them, Dickens has suggested some social reforms which are not appropriate to our context. This study, has
generated that criminality of the Victorian time is meaningless comparing to the one of today characterized by the threat of
terrorists and Boco-Haram. So adequate and prompt measures are required to combat them. In the nineteenth century, as
Dickens has raised public awareness about criminality through his works, we are doing the same thing through this paper,
and all researchers, scholars, thinkers, politicians, social partners, non-governmental organizations dealing with social
issues must collaborate and ponder this question deeply, and otherwise we shall be victim of insecurity. To promote social
stability and sustainable development in an era of globalization, we should think of social reforms that take into account
the natural and today’s social challenges of today , where the promotion of Democracy and fair elections should be the
main concern of the political authorities.
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Kwanashie, M. The concept and process of globalization in NS Okogbule, N.S Globalization, economic
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