Argument of Text Mapping Project

The story of Oliver Twist does not simply focus exclusively on the life of Oliver; instead, it details the existence, activities, and circumstances of numerous characters. In many cases the past and current residences are described for individuals in the novel. Generally these locations themselves are associated with a certain standard of living—good or bad—and thus these places insinuate a set of ethics and behaviors that should be expected of the character who lives there. The purpose of this website is to note the significance of where the characters of Oliver Twist began and ended—meaning the physical location that characters were born in (or were first introduced to the story in) and the location of those same characters at the end of the novel. By studying this information a pattern emerges: when a character remained in close proximity to a treacherous environment, he or she did not end the story in cheerful conditions; conversely, if a character separated themselves from his or her hostile surroundings (preferably by traveling to the countryside) he or she was living blissfully at the novel’s conclusion.

The characters analyzed in this website include: Oliver Twist, Bill Sikes, Nancy, Charlie Bates, Monks, Fagin, Dick, and Rose. Click  here or on the "Character Movement" tab in the upper left corner to view Prezis for each character which show (on maps) each character’s movement from the story’s start to its end. By clicking here or on the "Background Information" tab additional information on the locations referenced in the Prezis is given to provide some insight into why Dickens chose these particular environments for his novel.

This website was created by Andrew English, Anna Tadsen, Gabrielle Esposito,  and Won-Il Chung--students in Dr. Crowther's English 1102 course and students at Georgia Tech. Date of release: 4/21/10