Charles Dickens and the Mistreatment of the Poor

Oliver Twist, Hard Times, and Great Expectations are three great books by Charles Dickens. Dickens often wrote about the poor because he himself was poor. There are a few differences between the poor of London in the 1800’s and the poor of current day America. The poor of America are expected to get better, whereas the poor of London are not. Also, there are more poor people in London than America because in London there are lower wages, and also there are not as many ways to get back into the middle classes if you lose your job. In America, there are more choices of where to work at because there are a lot of jobs that do not require a lot of skill. Overall, the poor in London in the 1800’s are worse off than the poor of America. Oliver Twist is about a young orphan who unintentionally joins a gang of pickpockets in the streets of London. He meets thieves, pickpockets, and murderers, but manages to struggle through it all and reclaims some property that is rightfully his and lives...