ot only are the boys seriously hurt and malnutritioned, but they are also stunted in growth, physically and mentally. Dickens wanted to show that many of these children become severely ill and still, they have to work; numerous children often die because of this. Ill paupers are not cared for; instead, Mr. Bumble sends them away in open carts during rainy weather because it is cheaper to move them Lee 4then it is to bury them. Mr. Bumble is always seeking new ways to cut costs in caring for the paupers. Because of his stingy, heartless actions, through Mr. Bumble, “all selfish dispensers of public charity stand condemned” (Neill 170). Because of the biting satire, Dickens is really able to get to the core of child abuse in the workhouse to eventually open all of society to the inhumane acts of the workhouses.. No other literary device or writing style can explain the horrors of the workhouse as Dickens does with biting satire. Dickens also widely uses pathos in his novels to create a flow of emotions to get into the feeling of the event occurring. Pathos is shown in Oliver to increase the emotion and feelings that this young character has to endure, his unknown identity and harsh childhood. Diane Yancey says, “Dickens never hesitates to exaggerate society’s shortcomings and play on people’s emotions in order to gain sorrow, sympathy and support for his views” (95). Oliver’s most emotional scene, asking for a little more gruel in the workhouse but getting a harsh beating for his courageous act exemplifies the horrors of working in that place. Dickens uses Oliver’s actions to create pity and with this, he is better able to show the reality of workhouses in the Victorian scene. Oliver challenges in his desperation all the inhuman repression and cruelty of a great force. This scene is a symbol of all the poignant cries of the starved and unloved in the cruel world. Dickens use of...
