Oliver Twist · Chapter
Oliver Mingles with New Associates. Going to a Funeral for the First Time, He Forms an Unfavourable Notion of His Master’s Business explained
Oliver begins his apprenticeship with Mr.
What happens
Oliver begins his apprenticeship with Mr. Sowerberry the undertaker, feeling isolated and fearful in the gloomy shop. He meets Noah Claypole, a charity-boy who bullies him mercilessly. Oliver endures poor treatment from the Sowerberry household and accompanies his master to a funeral in a squalid tenement, where he witnesses the grief of a man whose wife died of starvation.
Themes in this chapter
Social Injustice and Poverty
The squalid tenement and the starving family illustrate the brutal poverty that leads to death, while Oliver's mistreatment reflects systemic neglect of the poor.
Innocence and Corruption
Oliver's innocent fear of the coffin shop contrasts with Noah's corrupt delight in bullying a weaker orphan, showing how innocence is corrupted by a harsh environment.
Class and Hypocrisy
Noah, himself a charity-boy, scorns Oliver to elevate his own status, revealing the hypocritical class hierarchies even among the poor.
Characters to notice
- Oliver Twist
Oliver feels terrified and desolate in the undertaker's shop, wishes for death, and is bullied by Noah Claypole.
- Noah Claypole
Noah, a charity-boy, asserts dominance over Oliver with kicks and insults, relishing his newfound superiority.
- Mr. Sowerberry
Mr. Sowerberry takes Oliver on his first funeral job, showing a pragmatic attitude toward death and poverty.
- Mrs. Sowerberry
Mrs. Sowerberry treats Oliver harshly, giving him stale scraps and a cold corner for breakfast.
- Charlotte
Charlotte, the servant, joins Noah in mocking Oliver and gives him meager food.
Key passages
“An unfinished coffin on black tressels, which stood in the middle of the shop, looked so gloomy and deathlike that a cold tremble came over him, every time his eyes wandered in the direction of the dismal object”
An incomplete coffin on black supports in the center of the shop appeared so dark and deathly that Oliver shivered each time he looked at it.
Highlights Oliver's initial terror in the undertaker's environment.
“I'm Mister Noah Claypole, said the charity-boy, and you're under me. Take down the shutters, yer idle young ruffian!”
Noah Claypole introduced himself as Oliver's superior and ordered him to take down the shutters, calling him a lazy young troublemaker.
Establishes Noah's bullying authority over Oliver.
“I say she was starved to death. I never knew how bad she was, till the fever came upon her; and then her bones”
The man insisted his wife died of starvation, realizing only when fever struck how emaciated she had become.
Reveals the tragic consequences of extreme poverty.