Dickens and Thackeray: Punishment and ForgivenessAttitudes toward punishment and forgiveness in English society of the nineteenth century came, for the most part, out of Christianity. In actual experience the ideal was not often met, but in the literature of the time the model was important. For novelists attempting to tell exciting and dramatic stories, violent and criminal activities played an important role, and, according to convention, had to be corrected through poetic justice or human punishment. Both Dickens' and Thackeray's novels subscribed to the ideal, but dealt with the dilemma it presented in slightly different ways. At a time when a great deal of attention has been directed toward economic production and consumption as the bases for value, Reed's well-documented study reviving moral belief as a legitimate concern for the analysis of nineteenth-century English texts is particularly illuminating. |
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... Oliver , a trust that , as Mr. Grimwig has suggested , seems mis- placed when Oliver fails to return from an errand . Rose's sympathy also satisfies a sense of poetic justice . Although Brownlow does not know if Oliver has be- trayed ...
... Oliver's help in escaping , that marvellous Christian boy exclaims , " Oh ! God forgive this wretched man ! ' " ( 411 ) . Vain as that prayer might be , it signifies that Oliver , at least , forgives Fagin . Being genuinely good , Oliver ...
... Oliver . Clearly the good characters assembled together in this scene might justifiably feel some rage against this viper , might entertain some craving for revenge , at least some small impulse to punch him in the nose , if he still ...
Contents
Attitudes Toward Punishment and Forgiveness | 3 |
Some of the contents of this study appeared elsewhere in different form Mate | 28 |
Education | 30 |
Copyright | |
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