Charles Dickens shows notable amounts of originality and morality in his novels, making him one of the most well-known novelists of the Victorian Era and preserving him through his great novels and short stories. One of the reasons his work has been so popular is because his novels reflect the issues of the Victorian era, such as the great disregard of many Victorians to the situation of the poor.The reformation of the Poor Law in 1834 brings even more unavoidable problems to the poor. The Poor Law of 1834 allowed the poor to receive public assistance only through established workhouses, causing those in debt to be sent to prison. "Workhouses were in existence before 1834, but only the very old, the very sick, or the very young occupied them. The choice was clearly defined: live in a workhouse, find work, or starve to death outside. Many chose death" (Epstein 93) Unable to pay debts, new levels of poverty were created. Dickens recognizes theses issues with a sympathetic yet, somewhat, critical eye, due to his childhood experiences with debt, poverty, and child labor. He notices that England's politicians and people of the upper class try to solve the growing problem of poverty through the Poor Laws and what they presume to be charitable causes, but Dickens knows that these things will not be successful; in fact they are often inhumane. Dickens' view of poverty and the abuse of the poor can be seen in Oliver Twist, the novel about an orphan, brought up in a workhouse and poverty to demonstrate the hypocrisy of the upper class people. Oliver Twist shows Dickens' perspective of society in a realistic, original Comeau - 2manner, which hopes to change society's views by combining a "set" of the actual social scene with fiction, designed to reveal the nature of such a society when exposed to a moral overview. Dickens uses satire in Oliver Twist to protest what the English believe are charitable solutions to the increasing poverty rate...
