On the face of it Oliver is arguably one of the least interesting or engaging characters in his own novel. He’s pushed around by the other characters, does as he’s told and generally never seems to grasp his own fate in his hands. Additionally he never really changes as a result of his experiences like, say, Pip or David Copperfield (although we admittedly have the advantage of seeing the latter two characters grow up).
Oliver starts the novel a pure innocent and ends it pretty much the same. In fact (problematically considering Dickens spends a good deal of the book portraying the upper crust of Victorian Society as hypocrites) Oliver’s essentially noble nature shines through throughout.
What did you think of Oliver? He did stand up for himself against Noah but does he stand out against the mischief of the Dodger, or the terror of Sykes?
Sheffield Reads 
I think he’s rather naive for someone brought up in the workhouse, but I think it’s a bit harsh to judge him as being spineless. He never really developes as a character, and it’s a bit like a fairy story where the (good)main character is buffeted about by good and bad people and events, and good triumphs. He responds to things, but doesn’t instigate them – do you need to have power to do that? I think Dickens is using Oliver as a vehicle to portray child poverty, inhumane systems, crime and punishment, and nature v. nurture. That’s probably enough to be getting on with, except to say that Oliver is very young and very lonely.
Oliver is a conduit through which the rest of the story flows. He is, I’m afraid, a rather irritating character in my eyes, the weak link in a book of more well developed characters and well developed plotlines. But, as Di says above, he is somewhat buffeted about by people and events. He is, ultimately, a tool for Dickens to get his plot and his important sociological points across to the reader. It’s just irksome that he spent the majority of an otherwise wonderful book crying for either despair or joy! That said, the extremes of sorrow and happiness he went through in his infancy were more than most have to bear in a lifetime. And, I think it’s important to note that how he is viewed by the reading public now is perhaps very different from the less cynical public of late 19th Century England – they would likely, on the whole, be a lot less irritated with his tears than I was!
The description of his time in the workhouse, and of his life in London, are sociologically extremely important, as it was one of the first times that this side of British life had been described in popular literature.
I’m extremely grateful to Sheffield Library for my free copy of Oliver Twist, which I got through in just a few days. A fantastic read, and a very important book. Thank you very much!