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Chapter 29
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Oliver Twist, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Thievery and Crime
Poverty, Institutions, and Class
Individualism and Social Bonds
Social Forces, Fate, and Free Will
City and Country
Summary
Analysis
The doctor leads both Rose and Mrs. Maylie upstairs to see Oliver. On revealing that Oliver is only a young boy, Losborne sees Rose and her aunt's looks of total shock—they had expected a more "hardened" criminal. When Rose asks Losborne whether he believes that Oliver, though so young, is actually a thief, Losborne says no—his inclination is, at this point, that Oliver had been somehow forced to participate in the robbery. Losborne appears to have gleaned this from the sweetness of Oliver's temperament while injured.
Again, Losborne realizes, and encourages the Maylies also to believe, that Oliver is simply a young boy who has lost his way. Losborne and the Maylies are the first characters to see Oliver and assume he is good, other than Brownlow—Bumble, the members of the board, and Mr. Fang the judge all presumed Oliver to be a criminal, just because he was poor, and poorly-clothed.
Themes
Literary Devices
Quiz
Test Yourself
Lorsborne swears that he will get the truth out of Giles and Brittles, but before doing so, he waits, with Rose and her aunt, for Oliver to wake and tell of his life, and how he came to associate with criminals. Oliver does so, pausing in between to take breaks (because he is still in a great deal of pain), and after the conversation is concluded, Rose, Mrs. Maylie, and Losborne are convinced that Oliver is a good boy who has been taken in by scoundrels. Losborne goes downstairs to hear how Giles came to shoot Oliver.
Unlike the previous scene in Brownlow's study, where Oliver is not permitted to tell the full story of his life (as he knows it; of course, Oliver is missing a good deal of detail), Oliver here is able to finish his story, thus convincing the Maylies and Losborne, further, that he really is a good boy, far away from his home, and on the run from evil forces who hope to control him.
Themes
Literary Devices
When Losborne goes downstairs, he sees that the village constable has joined Giles and Brittles. Losborne, attempting to protect Oliver, cunningly persuades Giles and Brittles into thinking that, perhaps, Oliver is not the same "robber" they shot just that morning, although Giles at first seemed convinced that Oliver was the very same. Just before Losborne is able fully to convince them that Oliver is a different boy from the robber, two investigators arrive at the house from London.
Giles and Brittles are not too bright, and Losborne seems acquainted with a small bit of police psychology—that eye-witness testimony can easily be manipulated, so long as a different idea is planted in the "eyewitness's" head. Giles, here, is convinced quickly that he is not certain the boy he shot was Oliver—this is all the doubt Losborne needs.
Themes
Quiz
Test Yourself
