Analysis of Social and Inner Conflicts in Charles Dicken's 'Oliver Twist' and Linda Holeman's 'Search of The Moon King's Daughter' Through Sociological Approach.

(1)

i

CHAPTER TWO: ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL AND INNER CONFLICTS IN OLIVER TWIST THROUGH SOCIOLOGICAL

APPROACH………

CHAPTER THREE: ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL AND INNER CONFLICTS IN SEARCH OF THE MOON KING’S

(2)

ii

Maranatha Christian University

ABSTRACT

Dalam penulisan skripsi ini saya akan menganalisis konflik-konflik dalam dua

novel yang berjudul Oliver Twist yang dikarang oleh Charles Dickens dan Search of

the Moon King’s Daughter yang dikarang oleh Linda Holeman.

Oliver Twist adalah sebuah cerita khayalan tentang seorang anak laki-laki di

masa Ratu Viktoria yang mengalami manis pahitnya pengalaman di London. Search

of the Moon King's Daughter menceritakan seorang anak perempuan yg harus pindah

ke kota besar untuk kehidupan yg lebih baik pada masa Ratu Viktoria.

Kedua novel tersebut menceritakan tentang kebudayaan bangsa Inggris pada

masa Ratu Viktoria, salah satu jaman yang penting dalam sejarah Inggris, karena

sepanjang jaman tersebut Inggris mengalami banyak perubahan. Dua novel ini

(3)

37

APPENDICES

Synopsis of Oliver Twist

Oliver Twist was born in a workhouse. His mother has already died. When

he is in the workhouse, he asks for more gruel. Because of this, Mr. Bumble tries to sell him. He is then apprenticed to a local undertaker, Mr. Sowerberry. Because

one of his mates bullies him, he runs away to London.

In London, he meets Jack Dawkins. He is introduced to his benefactor, Fagin and his gang. Fagin is a criminal and he teaches Oliver how to pickpocket.

One day when Oliver is out, he sees his friends take a handkerchief from a gentleman. He is horrified and runs off, but then he is caught. After being saved

from the trial, Mr. Brownlow takes him to his house and nurses him. While Oliver is on an errand, he is caught by Bill Sikes and Nancy. He is back to where Fagin resides.

Fagin sends Oliver to help Sikes in burglary. Oliver is shot by a servant of the house, and is taken in by the women who live there, Mrs. Maylie and her niece

Rose. They like Oliver and he begins to spend his summer with them in the countryside. Fagin and Monks are trying to recapture Oliver. It is told that Oliver’s mother leaves behind a gold locket when she dies, but it has been

destroyed by Monks.

Nancy meets secretly with Rose. A young man, who is sent by Fagin to

(4)

38

hung for his crimes. Mr. Brownlow adopts Oliver, and with the Maylies, they live a happy life in the countryside.

Synopsis of Search of the Moon King’s Daughter

Emmaline lives a happy life when her father is still alive. Her mother, Cat, is an ignorant woman who spends most of the nights going out with men. Cat

gives birth to a son, Tommy. Her aunt, Aunt Phoebe, thinks that the baby is not her brother-in-law’s. Cat and Aunt Phoebe dislike each other, and when Aunt Phoebe asks Emmaline to live with her in Tibbing, Cat objects to the idea

strongly. Later, Emmaline, Cat and Tommy are obliged to move to Tibbing. There, Cat works in the mill, while Emmaline works in Aunt Phoebe’s room. One

day, Cat gets hurt while she is in the mill and she keeps taking drug to ease the pain. As they do not have money at all, Emmaline tells her to stop taking drug. Cat then requests her son to steal the drug from the chemist’s, but on the second

time he gets caught. Cat then sells Tommy to a sweep master.

Emmaline decides to go to London to search for Tommy, leaving Cat to Aunt Phoebe. When she has reached London, she meets Sukey and Thomas, who

shares her work place with. While she is working there, she tries to search for Tommy. The place is resided by the old Master Thorn and Master Eugene. Master

Thorn enjoys Emmaline reading to him. Soon, he dies. Emmaline flees from the house because Master Eugene accuses her of being a thief. She finds Tommy at last and runs away from the sweep master. They are helped by Thomas. Emmaline

(5)

39

precious books. Finally, she sells those two books and with that money, she buys a new place.

Biography of Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth, England on February 7, 1812. He was the son of John and Elizabeth Dickens. John Dickens was in debt. The

twelve-year-old Dickens, who was badly shaken psychologically by his experience, was put to work at a factory. However, his father released him from that fate between 1824 and 1827, and Dickens became a day pupil at a school in

London. When he was 15, he became an office boy at an attorney’s, and he studied at nights. His brief stint at the Blacking Factory haunted him all of his life,

and this became the source of his creativity and the preoccupation of his themes of alienation and betrayal that would come out in David Copperfield and Great Expectations. He became a reporter of Parliamentary debates in the House of

Commons, and worked as a reporter for a newspaper. In 1833, he published his first story with a number of other stories and sketches. Dickens then became a full-time novelist, and still he continued his journalistic and editorial activities. He

wrote Oliver Twist in 1837 and continued in monthly parts until April 1839. In the year 1858, in London, Charles Dickens had his first public readings for pay. In

1861, Dickens had another series of public readings in London, and the readings continued through the next year. Dicken’s final public readings were in London in 1870. He suffered from stroke on June 8 at Gad’s Hill, and died the next day. He

(6)

40

Source: Cody

Biography of Linda Holeman

Linda Holeman was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She began writing in the

early 1990s. She writes short stories, historic and also contemporary novels for adults and young adults. Through her love of travelling, the experience becomes

her main source of research, and her stories have strongly recognizable settings. In many of the books she has written, there is the knowledge and acceptance of loss, as well as a search for identity. While some of her works are being published in

many journals and periodicals, some have often been anthologized in Canada, such as The Journey Prize Anthology and also abroad. She has also acted as a

guest editor for a Young Adult issue of Prairie Fire. And she was awarded the Vicky Metcalf Short Story Editor Award. Linda is very active in writing community in Canada. She has been a member of Manitoba Artists in the Schools

Program and has toured with the Canadian Children’s Book Centre. She served as a mentor for the Manitoba Writers’ Guild, and taught creative writing through the University of Winnipeg’s Continuing Education program. She created and

facilitated a lot of writing workshops on many aspects of the writing process to students and also adults. Linda received her BA in Psychology/Sociology from the

University of Winnipeg, and a BEd in Early Childhood Education and MEd in Education Psychology from the University of Manitoba. She taught for ten years before starting her writing career. Now she lives in Toronto.

(7)

41

(8)

1

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Known as the most prominent English author in the Victorian Era, Charles

John Huffman Dickens has contributed to the world his thoughts on “social evils,

injustice, and hypocrisy” (Liukkonen). A lot of people claim that he has written

for the people and he is also considered to be a representative of the lower and

middle class of England during the Industrial Revolution. With his clever wits and

unforgettable characters, Charles Dickens has left us memorable moments of

those who have lived in suffering and pain (“Charles Dickens” ).

One of the many world famous Dickens’ books that I will analyse, Oliver

Twist was written in 1838 to illustrate the life of the child labor during the

Industrial Revolution. Child labor is a shamefully significant history in England.

Dickens himself is also one of those who take part in that dark history. The life of

(9)

2

Maranatha Christian University The children of the poor were forced by economic conditions to work, as

Dickens, with his family in debtor's prison, worked at age 12 in the Blacking

Factory. In 1840 perhaps only twenty percent of the children of London had

any schooling, a number which had risen by 1860, when perhaps half of the

children between 5 and 15 were in some sort of school, if only a day

school (of the sort in which Dickens's Pip finds himself in Great

Expectations) or a Sunday school; the others were working. (Cody).

Linda Holeman, the author of the second book that I will analyse, is a

contemporary Canadian author who has “a grim fascination for the dark times of

the world's history, and most especially when it involves the exploitation of

children and young people.” (Heller). She also has a deep respect to continue

Charles Dickens’ footpath of describing the dark life of children and lower social

class in England in the Victorian Era. Therefore, similar to Charles Dickens, she

puts her dedication into writing fictions that take place in Victorian England,

describing the dark life of the society at that time and the conflicts that

unsurprisingly occur in their everyday life. One of her publications, Search of the

Moon King’s Daughter (2002) is the book that I am going to study as my second

novel.

Both of the novels have the same setting of time and place, which is

England in the Industrial Revolution period. The significant difference between

the two novels is that in Oliver Twist the conflicts deal more with male physical

acts, whereas in Search of the Moon King’s Daughter, the conflicts are mostly

issues around women at that time. The purpose of choosing these two novels is to

(10)

3

Maranatha Christian University Besides, I also have a personal interest in society in England at that time. The

social problems arising at that period, especially which involve child labor, really

play a very big role in England’s history. A huge number of children, especially

from the orphanages and workhouses, “were bought by factory owners,” thus the

children “became known as pauper apprentices” (“Workhouse Children”). After

reading these novels, I feel compassionate on innocent children like the

protagonist of each novel. In addition, the novels I am going to discuss in my

thesis illustrate stories related to this situation, hence I am more compelled to

further investigate and comprehend these important parts of the history.

The literary element that I am going to analyse here is conflicts through

sociological approach. A conflict is an open clash between two opposing groups

(or individuals). There are three types of conflicts, which are man versus himself,

man versus society, and man versus nature (“Conflict”). The most distinguished

conflicts found in these novels are struggles between man and society, how one

individual’s life is determined by the society, and also conflicts between man and

himself, how a new point of life has changed someone’s perspectives and action.

I am going to use sociological approach in my thesis, because I strongly

believe that the connection between the conflicts found in the novels and the

situation of the society at that time is very tight. Oliver Twist and Search of the

Moon King’s Daughter are two novels with the same setting of time and place,

which is Victorian England. By using sociological approach, I will study how the

society at that time has influenced the minds and thoughts of the citizens, how

(11)

4

Statement of the Problem

The problems that I am going to analyse are:

1. What kind of conflicts happen in the novels?

2. What is the cause of each conflict?

3. Is the conflict resolved?

Purpose of the Study

The purposes of the study in my major thesis are:

1. To show what kind of conflicts happen in the novels.

2. To show what the cause of each conflict is.

3. To show whether the conflict is resolved.

Method of Research

I apply the library research, in which I first read the primary texts, Charles

Dickens’ Oliver Twist and Linda Holeman’s Search of the Moon King’s

Daughter. In addition, I get some data from the Internet. In analysing the novels, I

use the extrinsic approach, which is sociological approach. The extrinsic approach

is used to analyse the conflicts. Finally, I draw some conclusions from my

(12)

5

Organization of the Thesis

My thesis consists of four chapters. Chapter One is the Introduction, which

consists of the Background of the Study, the Statement of the Problem, the

Purpose of the Study, the Method of Research, and the Organization of the Thesis.

In Chapter Two, there will be the analysis of social and inner conflicts through

sociological approach in Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist. Chapter Three deals with

the analysis of social and inner conflicts through sociological approach in Linda

Holeman’s Search of the Moon King’s Daughter. Chapter Four contains the

Conclusion, followed by the Bibliography and the Appendices, which include the

synopsis of Oliver Twist and Search of the Moon King’s Daughter, and the

(13)

6

(14)

29

CHAPTER FOUR

CONCLUSION

Having analysed the conflicts in Oliver Twist and Search of the Moon King’s

Daughter in the previous chapters, I would like to draw some conclusion. In my

opinion, both Oliver Twist and Search of the Moon King’s Daughters are two

excellent books that are worth analysing. After connecting the conflicts with the

sociological approach, I have discovered a great deal of knowledge of the history of

Victorian England. Each conflict provides me with different findings about the

lifestyle and culture of the period.

In Oliver Twist, I find some social conflicts between Oliver and the master

when Oliver asks for more food; between Oliver and Sikes when Sikes forces him to

break into people’s house; between Mr. Fang and Mr. Brownlow when Oliver is put

on trial whether he is guilty or not; between Nancy and Fagin to show Nancy’s

disagreement towards Fagin’s treatment to Oliver; and between Mr. Brownlow and

Mr. Grimwig who are trying to judge Oliver if he is a good boy or not.

There are two inner conflicts in this novel, which are the inner conflict of Mr.

Brownlow trying to make up his mind if Oliver is an imposter or not, and the inner

conflict of Nancy trying to decide whether to save Oliver or not. Most of the social

(15)

30

people, especially lower class people. The poor class is living in flirty areas and they

have to survive with dirty works. Boys are taught to pick-pocket and girls are taught

to be prostitutes at a very young age. The condition reflects Victorian England, which

was so poor that the government had no more place for them but to put them in a

workhouse where they were required to work a lot with little food.

In Search of the Moon King’s Daughter, I find some social conflicts between

Emmaline and her mother when Emmaline tries to make her mother stop taking

drugs; between Phoebe and Cat when Phoebe offers to help the broken family of

Emmaline; and between Phoebe and Emmaline when Emmaline refuses to stay in a

bigger room and wants to work in the millhouse instead. Besides, I also find an inner

conflict in this novel, which is the inner conflict of Cat when she has to decide

whether to move to Tibbing to work in the millhouse to earn money or not. The

causes of the conflicts in this novel are poverty and different social classes. Phoebe,

who comes from the rich family, looks down on Cat, who comes from a poor family,

thus this causes the social clash between two different classes. Phoebe prides herself

on her wealth and thinks that her poor relatives will need her help. However, the truth

is almost everyone, including the poor like Emmaline, at that time believed in the

term ‘self-help’. They trusted themselves that they could solve their problems without

any help from other people. As a result, they remained poor. Cat, who lives in

poverty, is forced to work in a terrible place that leads to a worst condition to her

family. There is a social clash between the two classes because the rich took

(16)

31

The conflicts in both of the novels have some similarities. Often the conflicts

are between the rich and the poor. Oliver and Emmaline are two protagonists of the

novels that are described as people who come from a low class family background.

Each of them have to deal with people who are not of their kind. For example,

Emmaline has to face Phoebe, who thinks that the poor needs her help and Emmaline

has to turn down Phoebe’s offer to stay with her. In fact, Emmaline is happier staying

with her mother, because the family bond is very strong. Poor children were to help

their families and work. Oliver has to face Mr. Grimwig, who has an opinion that all

street boys, including him, are thieves and imposters.

Another similarity is that both Oliver and Emmaline are two children who

become the victims of the society of Victorian England. Both of them come from a

low class, and were born in the countryside. They each go to a big city in search for

good things, but end up being trapped in a bad condition. They both have to endure

working in a harsh condition. For example, Oliver meets Fagin and his gang to learn

how to do pick-pocketing and burglary. Emmaline, despite her willingness to work

with her mother in the millhouse, ends up working in a sewing room. However, both

of them get fortunes in the end.

Apart from the similarities of the conflicts, I also find differences in the two

novels. In Search of the Moon King’s Daughter, most of the conflicts are related to

family matters. Emmaline has a problem with Cat, her mother, who is taking

Godfreys so much that the money is running out soon. Emmaline and Phoebe have a

(17)

32

most of the conflicts are related to how the government operates in Victorian period,

and the poor who suffer under their management.

Another difference lies in the focus of description. Although Linda Holeman

was inspired by Charles Dickens’ books, her describing the Victorian society at that

time is different from that of Dickens’. Charles Dickens is a social critic, and his

books clearly portray the life of Victorian period, whereas in Search of the Moon

King’s Daughter, Linda Holeman describes more about the individual and her family.

One of the themes in most Holeman’s writing is search of identity. She focuses on

one individual and how she interacts with people around her. It is Holeman’s goal to

create a character that is strong and determined enough to fight what she wants

(Heller).

While reading these two books, I sympathise with both of the protagonists.

They become the victims of the society at that time. They are living in the dark,

beneath the luxury and prosperity of the upper class. In workhouses, they work very

hard with insufficient food and uncomfortable beds. As it was the time when

development was still progressing, the government of England did not seem to

manage its society well so a lot of poor people underwent the injustice of the world.

The number of crime and prostitutes in Victorian London increased due to the high

rate of poor people living jobless at that time. There was a big difference in lifestyle

between the lower and upper classes. The upper class enjoyed their time, while the

lower class had to do a lot of nasty things such as pick-pocketing, burglary or stealing

(18)

33

Last but not least, I would like to say that it is a pleasure to read these two

novels. They have greatly added more knowledge to me about the situations of the

Victorian England. Oliver Twist has always been one of my favourite books as I first

watched the movie, and I am glad to be given the chance to analyse this book in depth

with sociological approach. Search of the Moon King’s Daughter is another good

book to complete my understanding of my analysis. Both of the books give useful

information for my analysis as their stories are related to each other. From analysing

these, I now always remember of the suffering of these children who undergo

suffering at a very young age, and the injustice of the Victorian world that has shaped

(19)

34

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primary Texts

Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist. London: Everyman, 1994.

Holeman, Linda. Search of the Moon King’s Daughter. Toronto: Tundra Books, 2003

References

Barrow, Mandy. “Schools during the Victorian Times.” The Victorians.7 June. 2010.

< http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/victorians/children/ schools.htm>.

Benerjee, Jacqueline. “What kinds of crimes were most prevalent?” How safe was Victorian London? 6 Feb. 2008. The Victorian Web. 1 June. 2010.

< http://www.victorianweb.org/history/crime/banerjee1.html>.

“Charles Dickens.” The Literature Network.2009. 8 June. 2010. <http://www.online-literature.com/dickens/>.

“Child Labour.” Poverty and Families in the Victorian Era. 7 June. 2010. < http://www.hiddenlives.org.uk/articles/poverty.html>.

Cody, David. “Child Labor.” The Victorian Web. 2008. 8 June. 2010 <http://www.victorianweb.org/history/hist8.html>.

“Conflict.” Literary Elements. 8 June. 2010

<http://www.orangeusd.k12.ca.us/yorba/literary_elements.htm>.

“From Country to Town.” Child Labour & The Industrial Revolution. 8 June. 2010.

<http://www.nettlesworth.durham.sch.uk/time/victorian/vindust.html>.

(20)

35

Liukkonen, Petri. “Charles Dickens 1812-1870” books and writers. 2008. 8 June. 2010 <http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/dickens.htm>.

“London’s children in the 19th_{century.” MUSEUM OF LONDON. 1 June. 2010.}

< http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/Learning/Learningonline/ features/wc/world_city_6.htm>.

Majewski, John. “Untenable Arguments.” The Industrial Revolution: Working Class Poverty or Prosperity? 2007. 1 June. 2010.

<http://www.thefreemanonline.org/columns/the-industrial-revolution-working- class-poverty-or-prosperity/>.

Moss, Josephine. “The Victorian Woman.” Victorian London - Orphans, Prostitutes and the Poor in Queen Victoria's London. 1 June. 2010.

< http://www.articlesbase.com/art-and-entertainment-articles/victorian-london- orphans-prostitutes-and-the-poor-in-queen-victorias-london-569671.html>.

O’Daniel, W. “Ins and Outs of London, 1859.” Victorian London - Crime – Prostitution - numbers of prostitutes. 1 June. 2010.

< http://www.victorianlondon.org/crime/numbersofprostitutes.htm>.

“Poverty in the 19th Century.” Life in the 19th Century. 2009. 7 June. 2010. < http://www.localhistories.org/19thcent.html>.

Rose, Tudor. “The Lower Class.” Victorian Society. 1 June. 2010. < http://www.aboutbritain.com/articles/victorian-society.asp>.

Shore, Heather. “The juvenile criminal experience.”The Idea of Juvenile Crime in

19th-century England. 1 June. 2010.

< http://www.orange.k12.oh.us/teachers/ohs/tshreve/apwebpage/readings/ juvcrime19.cbr.html>.

“The Children.” Victorian Family Life. 7 June. 2010.

< http://www.nettlesworth.durham.sch.uk/time/victorian/vfam.html>.

Ward, Peter. “Cotton Mill Workers.” The Cotton Trade & The Mill Workers. 2010. 7 June. 2010. < http://ourwardfamily.com/cotton_trade.htm>.

Wolfe, James. “The Charactersitics Pertaining to Each Social Class During the Victorian Age of England.” Difference in Victorian Age Social Classes. 23 March. 2006. 7 June. 2010.

(21)

36

“Women.” Time traveller’s guide to Victorian Britain. 1 June. 2010.

< http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/guide19/part10.html>.

“Workhouse – a fact of life in the Industrial Revolution.” Cotton Times. 8 June. 2010. <http://www.cottontimes.co.uk/poorlawo.htm>.

“Workhouse Children” Spartacus Educational. 8 June. 2010.