Fagin is a master criminal whose specialty is fencing (selling stolen
property). He employs a gang of thieves--some of them ignorant
children--and is always looking for new recruits. That's why he is
glad when the Dodger brings Oliver home. He finds out later from
Monks that he can make a profit from turning Oliver into a criminal,
and he's even more pleased.
Dickens describes in detail Fagin's unwashed body, his matted red
hair, filthy clothing, broken teeth, and black fingernails. His
actions aren't very pleasant either. When he meets stronger men, he
fawns over them. Most readers find that behavior repulsive and
cowardly, as they do his habit of calling people "my dear." They also
agree that when Fagin plots against the weak he is ruthless and
greedy.
To other readers Fagin seems like a villain straight out of
melodrama--skulking through the dark London alleys and called "the
old gentleman" (a common nickname for Satan). Even his red hair
links him to descriptions of Judas, the betrayer of Jesus. To
Victorian readers, the fact that he's a Jew would have indicated that
he was greedy, alienated, and unsympathetic. To modern readers,
however, Fagin's Jewishness may mean something else--that he's been a
victim of prejudice.
Readers who feel some sympathy for Fagin argue that he's just making
a living the best way he can. Others say that he behaves as he does
because he's been discriminated against, or because the slum
environment bred him to crime. They make the point that Dickens' own
feelings were mixed--he named Fagin after a boy who had befriended
him years earlier, but who was associated with Dickens' most unhappy
memories.
Fagin is a man of considerable intelligence, though corrupted by his
self-interest. He feels a fleeting moment of pity for Oliver before
he sends him off to be Sikes' accomplice. His conscience bothers him
after he is condemned to hang. He does have a wry sense of humor and
an uncanny ability to understand people. Measure these traits
against the evil he does. Is he a villain or a tragic figure?
OLIVER TWIST: MR. BROWNLOW
Brownlow is a generous man, concerned for other people. Not only
does he withdraw his accusation of Oliver, he takes the boy home with
him and nurses him out of his fever. True, he is intrigued by the
boy's resemblance to a long-forgotten face--Agnes Fleming--but he
also develops a fatherly love for the boy.
Brownlow is quick to feel pity for Oliver, yet when he believes he is
right he does not hesitate to enforce his will. He insists that
