A Study of Dickens’ Psychoanalytical Approach in Oliver Twist

Abstract
This paper mainly discusses the psychological approach used by Dickens in Oliver Twist. There are many methods to expose the character’s inner world. In this paper, I will make a short discussion about it. According to the psychology of the characters, this paper will discuss it from three perspectives. Firstly, direct psychological description. It’s often expressed by people’s inner monologue. Secondly, indirect psychological description. Thirdly, showing characters’ psychology features by artistic means. The paper takesOliver’s experience in the workhouse as an example to analyze Dickens’s psychological description. From that we can draw the features of Dickens’ psychological description and the personality of the character. This paper will make it convenient for people to appreciate Dickens’ novels and make readers have a deeper understanding of literature of Victorian period.
Key words:
psychological description, personality of the characters, Victorian period

Contents
Abstract……………………………………………………………i
Contents……………………………………………………………ii
Introduction ………………………………………………………1
1. Charles Dickens………………………………………1
2. Oliver Twist……………………………………………2
3. The using of the psychological description in Oliver Twist ………………………………………………………………2
3.1 Directly psychological description…………………………2
3.2 Indirectly psychological description…………………………4
3.3 To show the people’s psychology by other artist means………5
4. The features of the psychology approach employed by
Dickens ………………………………………………………6
Conclusion……………………………………………7
References…………………………………………………………8


A Study of Dickens’ Psychological Approach in Oliver Twist

Introduction
Oliver Twist tells the story of an orphan boy, whose adventures provide a description of the lower depths of London. Oliver Twist is a boy whose parentage is unknown. He is brought up in a workhouse where he and other orphans worked hard and constantly starved. They only eat three times gruel in a day. He is sent to an undertakerto work as an apprentice when he was ten years. He is unable to bear the bullying from another apprentice boy, He runs away to London. There he falls into the thief’s den. Oliver is taught the skills of picking and stealing and is forced to steal. The latter he is known that his half-brother does all this for the purpose of seizing the whole of their father’s property. Finally his half–brother is exiled and dies in prison. Oliver has a happiness life. In this paper, I will take the first part as an example to analysis the features of Dickens’ psychology description and Oliver’s character.
1. About Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens is one of the greatest critical realist writers of the 19th century. He was born in 1812 at Landport, Portsmouth.The 12-year-old Dickens had begun working ten-hour days. He earned sixshillings a week pasting labels on jars of thick shoe polish The mostly unregulated, strenuous—and often cruel—work conditions of the factory employees (especially children), made a deep impression on Dickens（秦秀白146）. His experiences served to influence later fiction and essays, and were the foundation of his interest in the poor persons and children.
In Victorian period, the focus of literary writing has been shifted from mere narration of stories to revelation and study of characters’ inner world .They brought to the Victorian novel some psycho-analytical elemnet.Dickens is one of such famous novelists of the time.
2. Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist, written in 1837-1838, is the first novel about the children’s fate by Charles Dickens. It is one of the best works by Dickens in terms of the descriptions of the children’s inner world. Because he writes the novel from the perspective of children and focuses on the children’s feelings and characteristics, which are often, neglected by most of the writers.
The first part of Oliver Twist is a detailed account of how Oliver is punished for that “impious and profane offence of asking for more ”and how he is to be sold at three pound ten to Mr.Gamfield, the notorious chimney-sweeper（张伯香243）. In this part, Charles Dickens used many directly psychological description, indirectly psychological description and artist means to show Oliver’s characters.
3. The Using of Psychological Description in Oliver Twist
3.1 Directly Psychological Description
The use of directly psychological description shows the people’s psychology according to the features of the people’s inner action. It exposes directly people’s inner world to the readerd by using inner monologue and free association.
In this part, Dickens uses many inner monologue to expose Oliver’s inner world.For example, In the Chapter III of the novel,Oliver is punished for that “impious and profane offence of asking for more .The board of the workhouse decide to sell him at three pound ten to Mr.Gamfield, the notorious chimney-sweeper.The bargain is made. “Mr. Bumble was at once instructed that Oliver Twist and his indentures were to be conveyed before the magistrate,for signature and approval. In pursuance of this determination, Little Oliver is released from bondage, and ordered to put himself into a clean shirt and Mr.Bumble brought him with a basin of gruel and the holiday alllowance of two ounces and a quarter of bread. At this tremendous sight, Oliver began to cry very piteously, thinking, not unnaturally, that the board must have determined to kill him for some useful purpose, or they never would have began to fatten him up in that way”（张伯香249）,from here we can know that Oliver’s sentment has changed . When he was good well, he think that the board must have determined to kill him.
Free association is also a kind of writing way to show pepole’s psychology directly.It is a thought process in which ideas (words or images) suggest other ideas in a sequence.In Oliver Twsit, Dickens borrowed Oliver’s a childish idea to express the child’s spontaneous character.
Oliver lived in workhouse all the time.He never met the boards.So when Oliver faced the two boards with powdered heads, he is wondering.“with his eyes fixed on the magistrstes’ powder, whether all boards were born with that white stuff on their heads, and were boards from thenceforth on that account”（张伯香251）.It shows a child’s common psychological feature. The Children’s inner life is very colourful. Although he knows that there is a disarster waiting for him. When he meets something interesting ,he is so innocent and curious that he even occasionally forgets his misery.
3.2 The Indirect Psychological Description
Indirct psychological description dosen’t show people’s inner world.It analyses people’s psychology by action, utterence, expression and other means.
There are many indirect descriptions on Oliver’s psychology in the novel, I will analyse it from Oliver’s actions with two scenes as example. These actions show Oliver’s inner world with his unconsciousness.
In the novel,Dickens writes,“he only cried bitterly all day, and when the long, dismal night came on, spread his little hands before his eyes to shut out the darkness, and crouching the tremble, and drawing himself closer and closer to the wall, as if to feel even its cold hard surface were a protection in the gloom and loneliness which surrounded him”（张伯香244）.Dickens uses a series of action description . Oliver is so helpless that he only spreads his little hands
before his eyes to shut out the darkness.When I read here,tears are shed unashamedly. Oliver and other poor orphans receive the cruel treatments from all sorts of “philanthropists” in the society. The workhouse is a guise agent in Victorian period.It constantly torement the poor orphans.
Dickens is good at using the subtle instinct to show the character’s inner world. When Oliver meets the old gentlement, “Oliver roused himself, and made his best obeisance”（张伯香251）.This is a short sentence. But it gives the information to reader that Oliver is virtuous and courtesy. Although he lives in workhouse and is treated unequally.He is still respectful to other persons.
3.3 To Show the People’s Psychology by Other Artistic Means
The writers indirectly show people’s psychology by some artist means. They transferred the people’ inner world to the invisible outside world. Therefore he indirectly express the characters’ psychology in reality（赵炎秋301）.
Dickens used many artistic means to show Oliver’s psychological statement by some narrations and descriptions of the events. It aims to make the readers to feel people’s psychology statement .For example, In order to descript the cruel punishment to Oliver when he was in the workhouse. Dickens used many narrations. He writes, “During the period of the solitary incarceration, Oliver was allowed
to perform his ablutions every morning under the pump, in a stone yard, in the presence of Mr. Bumble, who prevented his catching cold, and caused a tingling sensation to pervade his frame, by repeated applications of the cane. As for society, he was carried every other day into the hall where the boys dined, and there sociably flogged as a public warning and example. And so far from being denied the advantages of religious consolation, He was kicked into the same apartment every evening at prayer time, and there permitted to listen to, and console his mind with, a general supplication of the boys, containing a especial clause, therein inserted by the authority of the board, in which they entreated to be guarded from the sins and vices of Oliver Twist”（张伯香244）
In the dark, criminal workhouse life, Oliver was constantly persecuted. The dehumanizing workhouse system torment the poor orphan not only their body but also their mind. It gives the little Oliver an unforgettable misery memory.
Ⅳ The Features of the Psychology Approach Employed by Dickens
Dickens’ psychology approach is unique and powerful, quite different from any other writers’ways. He writes the novel from the perspective of children and focuses on the children’s feelings and characteristics, which are often, neglected by most of the writers. Dickens’ children character portrayals are vivid and living, which leaves unforgettable impression on the reader’s mind. Some times ,I think that Oliver is Dickens himself in the novel .

Conclusion
To make a analyses of the psychology approach used by Dickens is very necessary and significant. The reasons are as follows:the time during which Dickens lived, litterateurs focus their creation on the character’s inner descriptions, which had influenced Dickens’s writing features. Therefore, once we understand his writing features, psychological descriptions in particular, we can understand his novels and characters in a deeper level. Dickens is, can be said, a great figure of using the psychological approach.After Dickens, There are many novelists using psychological approach to make characterization. People often compare Dickens to Shakespear for his creative force and range of invention.Charles Dickens and Shakespeare are alike in being remembeared not only for one masterpiece (as is in the case with Dante, Cervantes, or John Milton) but for a creative world（刘炳善302）.

References
秦秀白 ：《英美文学选读》。北京：高等教育出版社,2001。
张伯香：《英美文学选读》。河北：外语教学与研究出版社,1999。赵炎秋：《狄更斯长篇小说研究》。北京：社会科学文献出版社， 1996。
刘炳善：《新编英国文学简史》。郑州：河南人民出版社,2007。