雾都孤儿 赏析[优质严选]

1、Inner Conflict of Nancy in Oliver TwistIntroductionCharles Dickens is a famous novelist in nineteenth century, and he is of great influence and importance in English literature. Oliver Twist is one of the most famous representative novels written by him, which characterized by critical realism. It r

2、eveals the darkness of the capitalistic society.Nancy, a figure in Oliver Twist, is filled with conflicts and complexities. She has a rich inner world. Nancy was forced to steal since twelve years ago, and later become the mistress of Bill Sikes, the second head of the gang. It was Nancy who brings

3、little Oliver back to the gang with tricks. But out of the goodness and sympathy in her deep heart, she tried her best to protect Oliver from beating of Fagin. And it was also Nancy who helped Oliver get rid of the gang and find his family. Disappointingly, giving up the chance to begin a new life,

4、Nancy chose to come back to the dirty place out of love for Sikes and loyalty to the gang. The essay analyzes the inner conflicts of Nancy when she came across one after another event.I.Inner conflicts of NancyPeople who read Oliver Twists would always be impressed by Nancy in her struggle between h

5、er humble birth and noble sprints and between the inner goodness and outer darkness. The contradictoriness of Nancy makes her much close to life and true to life. A. Conflicts between good and evilNo doubt Nancy has an evil aspect, as she lives with gang for twelve years. She must have committed a n

6、umber of crimes and have gotten used to theft life. Nevertheless, the good aspect of Nancy showed when she saves Oliver, commands attention. Nancy is one of the conspirators who kidnap Oliver and keep him in gang. Her evil aspect is obviously showed in her professional conspiracy. Under the threat a

7、nd coaxing of Fagin and Sikes, Nancy accepted the mission of bringing Oliver back. She dressed as a gentlewoman who was worriedly looking for little brother, and easily get the information about Oliver from a police. Again, when Oliver was walking on the street, Nancy seized him and took Oliver back

8、 to gang as the identity of his sister in front of the crowd. Her performance is natural, and makes no one suspicious. To some extent, Nancy is exactly the one that sends Oliver to hell. From then on, Olivers miserable life begins.“They were not exactly pretty, perhaps; but they had a great deal of

9、color in their faces, and looked quite stout and hearty. Being remarkably free and agreeable in their manners, Oliver thought them very nice girls indeed.” (Dickens 94) It is the first impression of Nancy in Olivers mind, which determines her positive influence in the story.Nancy sees the shadow of

10、herself in Oliver. In order to prevent Oliver from a tragic life like her, she does her best, even at the cost of her life. When Fagin inflicted blows on Oliver with the club, Nancy stopped Fagin without considering herself. When Bill Sikes sent out dogs to catch Oliver, Nancy again came out boldly.

11、 She said: “the child shant be torn down by the dog, unless you kill me first.” (Dickens 165) Besides, Nancy took great risks in tapping the conversation of Fagin with Monks, and in delivering information to Rose. She died for the happiness of Oliver, the poor little boy. Though the most part of Nan

12、cys life is evil and sinful, her action to save Oliver is respectful. Her death also symbolizes the fall of gang. She has atoned for her crimes through her life and bloods. Nancy has a pure soul.B. Conflicts between humble birth and noble virtuesNancy has no choice about her birth. Since a very youn

13、g age, she begins a theft life with Fagin, and lives in dirty and messy environments. As she grows up, Nancy becomes a prostitute and mistress of Sikes. The tragic life is forced on her, which makes self-esteem and self-abased coexists in her heart. And the conflict continues to influent her in deci

14、sion time. Dickens doesnt tell the story of Nancy particularly, but it still leaks out. When she protected Oliver from good beating of Fagin, Nancy cried, pointing to Oliver: “I thieved for you when I was a child not half as old as this!” She shouted at Fagin with anger: “I have been in the same tra

15、de, and in the same service, for twelve years since.” Nancy poured out the words in one continuous and vehement scream: “It is my living; and the cold, wet, dirty streets are my home; and youre the wretch that drove me to them long ago, and thatll keep me there, day and night, day and night, till I

16、die!”（Dickens 169）Nancy has a more miserable life than Oliver. It can be indicated that she must have been beat and abused by Fagin since a young age. Forcibly occupying by Sikes increases her sense of resignation.However, different from other members in the gang, Nancy is not manipulated by sheer e

17、vil. From the remarks, it is clear that Nancy hates the dirty surroundings and wrenched way of life. Nancy has no alternative about her life, but she makes effort to change the life of Oliver. Even though she has a humble birth as thieve, outcast and ruffian, Nancy still has a feeling of pride and s

18、elf-assured.When she meets Rose, who has a noble birth, Nancy tossed her head with affected carelessness as she said: “Its a hard matter to get to see you, lady. If I had taken offence, and gone away, as many would have done, youd have been sorry for it one day and not without reason either.” (Dicke

19、ns 425) Nancy feels self-abased in front of such a beautiful lady, and she says the words just to maintain her self-esteem. In order to see Rose, Nancy suffers humiliation from waiters and housemaids. With all she has done, Olive gets saved. The love of parents and positive environment is significan

20、t to the form of ones wholesome personality and psychology. Nancy doesnt have the luck. She is made to associate with evil person and break the law, but the noble virtues of Nancy as goodness, brave, proud and upright make people feel sympathy and pity for her. Dickens expresses his criticism to the

21、 dark society through the tragic life of Nancy, which also arouse readers resonance. C. Conflicts about love The names of Nancy and Sikes brim with implications endowed by Dickens. The abbreviations for their names are “N” and “S”, signifying the two poles of magnetic needle. It indicates that Nancy

22、 and Sikes is a contradictory and unified entity. They are interdependent and inseparable. Constitutionally, Nancy is the emblem of mercy, but Sikes is the emblem of tyranny. Nancy prefers to be killed by Sikes than abandon him. Sikes also cannot live without Nancy. He almost lost his mind after kil

23、ling Nancy, and finally fell from the roof and strangled by the string he tied for escape. As one may know from the novel, Sikes regards Nancy only as a servant and slave. Every time he has a bad mood, he will beat and scold Nancy to vent anger. Even when he fell ill, he would keep cursing on Nancy

24、without a little thank. “Come! Dont stand sniveling there. If you cant do anything better than that, cut off altogether. Dye hear me?” (Dickens 405) is what he said to Nancy who looked after him carefully during the illness. Regardless how bad Sikes treats Nancy, Nancy still loves him as a long-term

25、 habit. She knows Sikes is evil and violent, but she cannot abandon and betray him. When Rose offered her a better life, she still wanted to go back because of Sikes. “I must go back, becausehow can I tell such things to an innocent lady like you?because among the men I have told you of, there is on

26、ethe most desperate among them allthat I cant leave; no, not even to be saved from the life I am leading now.”(Dickens 428) is what Nancy replied Rose. Nancy is persistent, firm but blind about love. Sikes cannot feel and understand the love of her. Her love finally ruins her opportunity of new life

27、 and future happiness.II.Influence of inner conflicts on Nancys fateNancys life can be commented as a tragedy. She is never able to get rid of Fagin and the gang. Her death is also pathetic and pitifulkilled by Sikes, the man she loves. To a certain degree, Nancys inner conflicts are closely linked

28、to her tragic fate. A. Inability to get rid of the gangNancy has a wish to have a decent job and reputation in society in her deep heart. Having committed so many crimes, she gets her conscience smitten. She is shamed of his humble birth as a thief, the people at the bottom of society. She holds a n

29、egative attitude towards her own life. Self-abased is deeply rooted in her mind. The inner conflicts of Nancy is clearly showed in the following sentence, when Rose and the gentleman advice her to leave the gang. “I am chained to my old life. I loathe and hate it now, but I cannot leave it. I must h

30、ave gone too far to turn backand yet I dont know, for if you had spoken to me so, some time ago, I should have laughed it off.”(Dickens 479)Nancy keeps absolute loyalty to the gang in spite that she hates Fagin so much. She goes against the gang to help Oliver and rejects to betray them is a strong

31、contrast. When Nancy was asked to deliver up Fagin, her answer was decisive. “I will not do it! I will never do it!” replied the girl. “Devil that h e is, and worse than devil as he has been to me, I will never do that.”(Dickens 493) She regards herself as an inseparable part of the gang, and has af

32、fections with them.The love for Sikes is another bond for Nancy. She cares for the safety of Sikes at any time. For him, Nancy resigned the hope and rescue to a different life. “I cannot leave him now! I could not be his death!” is Nancy is claim.Nancy and Oliver were all from a humble birth and liv

33、ed a miserable life, but they had totally different life. The three points mentioned above can account for Nancys inability to get rid of the gang. B. Inevitable deathNancys death is indicated several times in the novel. Nancy anticipated that she will die in the midst of cold and hunger, and riot a

34、nd drunkenness like her birth. In addition, on the day of meeting with Rose before her death, she always had horrible thoughts about death, and shrouds with blood. The images are both symbols of her death.Nancys contradictory vision of love is the main reason that leads to her destruction. She regar

35、ds love as more important than reputation, future, and even love. Nancy once said: “Whether it is Gods wrath for the wrong I have done, I do not know; but I am drawn back to him through every suffering and ill-usage; and I should be, I believe, if I know that I was to die by his hand at last.”(Dicke

36、ns 429) Nancy never obtained love in her whole life, but she dedicated her true love to Sikes. She would rather be killed by Sikes than abandon him.Nancy knows that Sikes is the boldest and cruelest among the gang. Her blind love for Sikes makes her believe that there is still love in Sikes heart. When Sikes was going to kil