Charley Bates Character Analysis in Oliver Twist

A young thief of Fagin's who is always joking and laughing, Bates undergoes a moral transformation in the novel: from ironic young criminal to defender of goodness after Bates realizes Sikes has killed Nancy. Bates ends the novel having given up crime and taken on a series of difficult jobs, working in the fields.

Charley Bates Character Timeline in Oliver Twist

The timeline below shows where the character Charley Bates appears in Oliver Twist. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

The Dodger returns to the apartment with a "sprightly" boy he introduces to Oliver as Charley Bates. Fagin asks what the Dodger and Bates have "made" that morning, and the Dodger... (full context)

Fagin then plays a "game" with the Dodger and Bates, wherein he puts on a large coat, filled with trinkets and baubles, and challenges the... (full context)

Poverty, Institutions, and Class Theme Icon

Social Forces, Fate, and Free Will Theme Icon

...plays the "wipes" game with Fagin, but is not allowed to accompany the Dodger and Bates on their work. Finally, Fagin allows Oliver to go out with them, since there has... (full context)

...Dodger steal the old man's handkerchief out of his pocket, and immediately the Dodger and Bates run away. Oliver is horrified and doesn't know what to do. He quickly realizes where... (full context)

Bates and the Dodger, to avoid suspicion, also raise the cry of "Stop, thief!" shouted by... (full context)

...drags Oliver to the police station nearby. The old man follows along. The Dodger and Bates slink merrily away, undetected, knowing they have framed Oliver for their crime. (full context)

...culprit. The bookseller states that he saw two other boys with Oliver, the Dodger and Bates, and that they conspired to steal the handkerchief—Oliver had nothing to do with it. Fang... (full context)

...chair. The narrator takes advantage of Oliver's faint to describe the whereabouts of the Dodger, Bates, and Fagin. (full context)

The Dodger and Bates have slipped away from the scene of the crime, and once they are clear of... (full context)

Fagin yells at the Dodger and Bates, asking what has become of Oliver; the Dodger finally replies that Oliver has been taken... (full context)

...Pentonville. Nancy takes this information back to Fagin, who dispatches Sikes, Nancy, the Dodger, and Bates to find Oliver and Brownlow, before Oliver tells the gentleman any information about Fagin and... (full context)

...and Sikes eventually lead Oliver to a new safehouse, where Fagin is now hiding with Bates, the Dodger, and the other boys. The Dodger and Bates see Oliver from out the... (full context)

Oliver leaps up and tries to escape the apartment. Fagin, the Dodger, and Bates run after him. Sikes tries to send his dog after them, but Nancy blocks the... (full context)

Bates and the Dodger take Oliver's nice clothes and switch him into shabbier ones. Bet arrives... (full context)

Slowly, the Dodger and Bates begin visiting Oliver in the locked room, and Oliver shines the Dodger boots and does... (full context)

The Dodger and Bates ask Oliver why he doesn't simply apprentice in the trade of thievery with Fagin, but... (full context)

Bates and the Dodger sing the praises of the criminal lifestyle, and the Dodger tells Oliver... (full context)

For the next several weeks, Fagin surrounds Oliver with Bates and the Dodger, hoping they can convince Oliver to give in to a life of... (full context)

Back at Fagin's apartment, Bates, the Dodger, and Chitling are playing hands of whist, a card game, with one another.... (full context)

The Dodger and Bates continue teasing Chitling about Bet, as they believe Chitling has taken a liking to her.... (full context)

...into a fight, for which neither is strong enough, and Nancy faints just as Fagin, Bates, and the Dodger enter—they help Nancy and get her water, while Sikes inquires as to... (full context)

As Fagin begins his explanation, Bates and the Dodger empty food for Sikes and Nancy out of their sacks. Sikes is... (full context)

...to Fagin; Monks saw Oliver on the street on the day when the Dodger and Bates robbed Brownlow (by coincidence), and from this time on Monks promised Fagin money if Fagin... (full context)

Charley Bates comes to Fagin to inform him that the police have additional evidence against the... (full context)

Fagin's description of the Dodger's fame seems to assuage Charley a bit, and they realize they need someone to witness the Dodger's trial. No one... (full context)

...management of the Cripples have also been arrested (along with Noah and Charlotte), and that Bates, still free for now, is on his way to the safehouse. (full context)

...bounding into the safehouse, followed some hours later by Sikes, who now resembles a "ghost." Bates, who has arrived at the safehouse in the interim (between the dog and Sikes), will... (full context)

Bates attempts to grapple with Sikes and turn him over to the authorities himself. He cannot... (full context)

...can barely sleep. He begins hallucinating that he is still commanding the group of boys, Bates and Oliver included. Then Brownlow arrives with Oliver, and Fagin wonders why they have come... (full context)

...once managed. Giles and Brittles stay on to help in the Maylies' new home, and Bates, having repented for a life of crime, takes on a series of difficult jobs, mostly... (full context)