One of the main themes in Oliver Twist is good vs. evil. Even though
Oliver is the main character in this novel, three other secondary but
significant characters in the novel, Nancy, Fagin, and Mr. Brownlow, express
good vs. evil and are important to how the story progresses. Throughout the
story we are introduced to each of these characters from an indirect point of
view, and are able to categorize them, good or bad, according to their
personalities, thoughts and actions. With each of their different levels of
honesty and social status, each of them play a crucial role in the
Mr. Brownlow represents purity, honesty and goodness. He, also, is
brought out from an indirect point of view but soon after we meet him we
see why he represents good. Though at first he accuses Oliver of robbing,
his concern over Oliver's welfare on the street is a direct hint of his
innocence which successfully helps him convince Oliver to stay at his house.
Mr. Brownlow is a generous and trusting man, very different than the
majority of malicious characters in the story. With honesty and great wealth
as his main qualities, he helps Oliver in his times of need and demonstrates
to Oliver and the rest of society the attributes of a perfect citizen.
As the positive force in both social status and honesty, Mr. Brownlow
helps in the development of the god vs. evil theme throughout the novel.
Nancy is partially good and partially evil. Nancy is trapped between
wanting to help Oliver stop from falling into fagin's business and her
dedicated love for Sikes. She doesn't survive to the end as she is ironically
murdered by her own husband, Sikes. There is a great need for Nancy in
the story because she was the only real hope of salvation for Oliver. Without
her, Oliver may have never had the chance to grow up in a loving home and
learn to be proper and good in his actions . Even though h
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