Thursday, May 31, 2012

Chapters VII/VIII/IX recap

Sorry for the delays, we've gotten really really really behind, except for ArmyReserveSoldier, who has finished the book. But I am here to give you a recap on Chapters VII through IX, followed by ArmyReserveWife following up on Chapters X through XII.  So, let's begin.
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Chapter VII: Oliver Continues Refractory




This chapter immediately takes off from Noah's departure in Chapter VI (read the IV/V/VI recap for my thoughts on VI) and focuses on Noah on his way to get Mr. Bumble. Noah reaches Mr. Bumble and relates to him the fight between Oliver and himself. Add to the point that the gentleman in the white waistcoat (Remember him from Chapter II? "That boy will be hung. I know that boy will be hung.") is there, can change it, where the man says, "I knew it! I felt a strange presentiment from the very first, that that audacious young savage would come to be hung!" All in all, depressing... 


So, Mr. Bumble, and Noah took off to the undertaker's shop with haste. When they arrived, conditions hadn't improved. Oliver was still kicking at the door, "with undiminished vigour." Mr. Bumble and Oliver begin talking, to which when Oliver is asked "Ain't you afraid of it, sir? Ain't you a-trembling while I speak, sir?", Oliver replies boldly, "No!" Easily the best of the chapter. Unfortunately, it gets worse. Oliver is shut up into the back kitchen, in the company of a pump and a slice of bread. Mrs. Sowerberry keeps making hateful remarks about Oliver's mother, and  sent him up to bed, while Noah and Charlotte were jeering at him. 


The next morning, Oliver rises, quietly unbars the door, and runs away. While he is on his way, he runs into his friend, Dick, with whom he had been beaten, starved, and shut up together. They end up talking with each other, and Dick, whom is said to be dying, kisses Oliver (as a blessing) and they part, Olver heading away to London, where Chapter VIII continues off. 
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Chapter VIII: Oliver Walks To London. He Encounters On The Road A Strange Sort of Young Gentleman


Well, VIII takes place right after VIII, where Oliver has walked nearly 5 miles away from town, although he hides behind hedges in fear that he could be "pursued and overtaken." He decides to go to London, where he assumes that not even Mr. Bumble would be able to find him. He had already diminished the distance between himself and London by 4 miles. So, he continues his walk. Along the way, he thought about what he currently had on him: 1 clean shirt, 2 pairs of darned stockings, and a penny. But he thought to himself that none of it would help him go 65 miles to get to London. After walking seven days and 32 miles, he finally arrives in the town of Barnet. He was observing his surroundings when he was approached by a young gentleman, who greets him and is surprised when Oliver says he has been walking for seven days. Oliver is then informed that the gentleman is heading to London and that he knows a friend who will give him room for no charge, and the gentleman and Oliver go to get Oliver's room. This friend is Jack Dawkins, who doesn't object to the room, and the gentleman is revealed to go by the name "The Artful Dodger."


Dawkins objects Oliver and the Dodger going to London before nightfall, so it was 11 when they reached a turnpike to Islington. (My favorite character so far is the Dodger. :D) We then end up meeting Fagin, in Saffron Hill the Great. Oliver then ends up being taken care of and eventually falls into a deep sleep. (Not my favorite chapter. Too slow...)
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Chapter IX: Containing Further Particulars Concerning the Pleasant Old Gentleman, and His Hopeful Pupils


Chapter IX starts with Oliver awakening (half-asleep) from his sound sleep, with only Fagin in the room, stirring coffee, and checking his jewelry. Fagin then notices Oliver fully awake, then goes to ask him if he was awake a hour ago, even having a knife in his hands, but Oliver says truthfully that he wasn't awake anything. Fagin then starts back doing what he was doing, putting the knife down and talking to Oliver, (attempting to induce the idea that he had picked up the knife with sport.) He then asks if Oliver had seen anything, to which he says, "Yes, sir." Fagin then says that they are his, and that people call him a miser. Oliver then asks if he can get up, to which he is allowed to and even gets to wash himself up. 


When Oliver is finished, he notices that the Dodger has returned, and brought a man named Charley Bates. They then end up eating breakfast, where a conversation goes on, then after breakfast, Fagin, the Dodger, and Bates play a game. involving pickpocketing. After it, two girls, Bet and Nancy, come in, in which spirits (drinks) are shared. Soon, the girls, the Dodger, and Bates leave together, having been supplied with money from Fagin. 


Fagin then ends up asking Oliver to pickpocket his handkerchief without Fagin feeling it. Oliver does it, and the chapter ends with Fagin teaching Oliver how to remove marks on the handkerchief. 
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Well, that's my recaps! Thanks for reading.


Nathaniel