Oliver Twist, a groundbreaking novel by Charles Dickens, tells the poignant story of a young orphan named Oliver, who escapes the harsh and dehumanizing conditions of the workhouse only to find himself in the clutches of the criminal underworld. The novel exposes the squalid conditions of Victorian England’s poorhouses and the brutal treatment orphans and the poor often endured. Through the character of Fagin, the mastermind behind a gang of child pickpockets, and Bill Sikes, the violent criminal, Dickens paints a grim portrait of crime and exploitation. However, Oliver’s innocence and eventual escape from this world provide a powerful message of hope and redemption, while also urging social reform and a more compassionate treatment of the disadvantaged.