Fagin

* Novel
* 1922
* 1933
* 1948
* 1968
* 1982
* 1985
* 1988
* 1999
* 2005
* 2007

Oliver Twist (Masterpiece Theatre, 2007)

Timothy Spall (2007)

The Old Man

Oliver Twist (opposer)

### Personalities

Old, ugly, greedy, cruel, hideous, repulsive, wise, dark, twisted, simpering, cunning, witty, ruthless, manipulative, loyal, cheerful, sinister, deceitful, selfish, charismatic, reflective, helpful, cowardly, vengeful, conniving

### Allies

The Artful Dodger
Charley Bates
Bill Sikes

Nancy (formerly)

### Likes

Cooking, recruiting new thieves, the precious valuables his thieves retrieved for him, training his boys

### Dislikes

When the missions he assigns go awry, Oliver trying to leave the gang

### Goal

To make Oliver join his gang (failed)
To have Oliver brought back to him when he escapes (temporally succeeded)
To assign Oliver to participate in a robbery with Sikes and Toby Crackit (succeeded, then failed)

To assist Monks in his plan to steal Oliver's fortune (failed)

### Fate

Arrested, tried and sentenced to death for his crime, and subsequently executed afterwards.

> "*What a fine thing capital punishment is! Dead men never repent; dead men never bring awkward stories to light. The prospect of the gallows, too, makes them hardy and bold. Ah, it’s a fine thing for the trade! Five of them strung up in a row, and none left to play booty or turn white-livered!*"
> ― Chapter 9
>
>

Fagin is the secondary antagonist in Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist.

A Jewish criminal who takes in young boys and teaches them to steal, Fagin is determined to corrupt Oliver's innocence and make him a criminal. His name and stereotypes of his religion used by Dickens received controversy, as critics believed Dickens could be anti-semitic.

## Description

Fagin is a criminal who exploits young children, who are seen as vulnerable and helpless in society, and he tricks them into sympathizing with them and offering them a free place to live. He is mostly seen as an embodiment of evil to children from his creepy, unnerving appearance. His presence and appearance alone are nightmarish to children and readers, not just his hideous, shrivelled face but the fact that he is an absolute destroyer of innocence. Very little is known about his background, although it’s believed he grew up in poverty and then turned to a life of crime to survive, making his enigma synonymous with his villainy. He was named after Bob Fagin, an Irish boy Dickens worked with at Warren's Black Factory in London. Unlike his namesake in the book, Bob Fagin was kind to Dickens and taught and supported him during his struggles at the factory. It's never explained why Dickens gave the name from a kindly, real-life person to a fictional character seen as a Satanic figure. His status as a mastermind criminal was also inspired by real-life crime bosses, such as Thomas Duggin and Charles King; like Fagin, Duggin and King also took in orphans and took advantage of them by training them to steal and earn their income.

He is often associated with darkness, as he is mostly active at night and stays indoors throughout the day. The darkness symbolizes his character as shady and sinister, and he stays away from the Light as it brings goodness into the evil and exposes their crimes to light. He insists some of his crimes be taken at night, such as when he arranged for Sikes and Oliver to participate in the house robbery late at night, even though he never participated. The old houses where he sets up his base of operations are often dark, run-down houses where it's always dark and in one of the poorest slums in London. When he is brought to trial towards the end of the story, he is seen in the light for the first time, but it affects his nature, and he longs for light in his cell. As he is about to meet his fate at the gallows, he has lost his humanity and can never be redeemed by Light.

In Victorian London, there was a large Jewish population, but Anti-Semitism was high, meaning many Jews were racially stereotyped or shunned by society. The most common stereotype for the Jewish citizens of London is criminals. For centuries, the Jews were mostly seen as "evil," During the Black Death, there was Jewish persecution after they were accused of spreading the disease with their religion and customs. Dickens used his Anti-Semitism to describe Fagin's character, emphasizing his character aspects like Anti-Semitism in the 19th century. While Fagin is now one of Dickens’s most famous characters, the anti-semantic controversy continues today.

## Storyline

### Meeting Oliver Twist

Fagin is busy cooking sausages for dinner in a dirty backroom in a run-down house near Field Lane in London.Some silk handkerchiefs hang above him, and several boys sit at the table smoking and drinking alcohol.

One of his thieves, the Artful Dodger, comes in along with Oliver Twist, an orphan who had walked for seven days to London, and the Dodger convinced him his master would let him have a free place to stay. The Dodger whispers something to his master, and then everyone turns and smiles at Oliver, even Fagin. The Dodger introduces Oliver to Fagin, and he smiles, bows to him and shakes his hand.

The boys gather around Oliver to greet him. One takes his hat, and another searches his pockets, assuming he must be tired. Fagin tells Oliver they are happy to see him and orders the Dodger to take the sausages and a tub for the boy near the fire. He assures Oliver that the handkerchiefs are just laundry.

Everyone eats their supper, and Fagin makes Oliver a hot gin with water, asking him to drink it all directly as the other boy wants the cup, too. He drinks it all, is carried to one of the sacks on the floor used as beds and is soon asleep.

Late the next morning, Fagin is boiling some coffee in a saucepan in the apartment. The boys have gone out, and Oliver slightly awakens from his long sleep.Fagin whistles to himself and listens anxiously for any sounds in the apartment. He calls to Oliver, but when the boy pretends to sleep and doesn’t answer him, Fagin opens a trap door on the floor, pulls out a box, and draws a chair to sit at the table. He takes out a glittery gold watch, happily murmuring about the boys who did their work for him, wondering if they will be hanged when he has all the loot. He puts away the gold watch and takes out more valuable trinkets, such as brooches, rings and other jewelry. He inspects the jewelry and murmurs about criminals’ executions, making a benefit for running a successful crime syndicate. When they are caught, none of them will confess to his crimes.

But when he turns around, he sees Oliver awake and watching him. He quickly closes the box and grabs a bread knife from the table. He angrily and anxiously demands Oliver if he has seen anything. Oliver says he can’t sleep anymore and apologizes if he has disturbed him. Fagin plays with the knife and jokes that he is just trying to scare him. He tells the boy that the trinkets belong to him and are what he needs. Then, he asks Oliver to fetch a pitcher of water, and when Oliver gets up to find the pitcher, the box quickly disappears. At that moment, the Artful Dodger and his friend, Charley Bates, return. They sit with Oliver and Fagin at the table for breakfast with coffee, bread rolls and ham.

Fagin asks the Dodger and Charley how their day was and what they have brought back. The Dodger shows him some pocketbooks that Fagin finds nicely made. Charley shows off four handkerchiefs, and after Fagin examines them, he says they need to be embroidered, and they will teach Oliver how to do it. Fagin asks Oliver if he’d like to learn how to embroider handkerchiefs, and Oliver replies that he’s interested. After breakfast is cleared away, Fagin and the boys start to play an unusual game. Fagin places a snuffbox, other trinkets, and a handkerchief in his pocket. He paces around the room with a walking stick and walks like an old gentleman, looking around anxiously and keeping his pockets tight, which makes Oliver laugh. The Dodger and Charley sneak behind Fagin without him noticing them, and the boys take all the trinkets from his pockets, with Fagin looking away. When Fagin checks his pockets and the missing trinkets, he cries out where they have gone, and they repeat the game.

Two young ladies arrive, Bet and Nancy. Fagin, the boys and women have some liquor and talk for awhile, with Fagin saying he’s determined to make Oliver a great man like Charley. The women and boys leave, with Fagin giving them money and telling Oliver they have gone out for work today. While shovelling the hearth, Fagin notices the handkerchief is still hanging from his pocket and asks Oliver to take it out for him. Oliver obeys him and removes the handkerchief, showing it to him. Fagin smiles and pats Oliver on the head, giving him a shilling and assuring him he’ll be a great man one day. Fagin brings Oliver to the table to teach him how to embroider the handkerchiefs.

Oliver stays in the apartment for several days, picking out the handkerchiefs' marks and participating in Fagin’s “game.”[3]Whenever the Artful Dodger and Charley return empty-handed, Fagin severely punishes them, sending them to bed without supper or pushing them down the stairs. Within two days, there were no more handkerchiefs to embroider. Oliver desperately wants to go out, so Fagin relents and allows Oliver to go out with the Artful Dodger and Charley.

### Oliver is Kidnapped and Returned to the Gang

When the Artful Dodger and Charley return without Oliver, Fagin demands where he is, even threatening to beat them if they don’t say anything.Charley drops to his knees and starts howling. Fagin shakes the Dodger, and the Dodger says that Oliver has been captured, and that was it. The Dodger grabs a toasting fork and swings it at Fagin but misses. Fagin grabs a jug of ale and throws it at the Dodger, but it misses and hits Bill Sikes, a large, stout man who is a member of Fagin’s gang, as he walks into the room with his dog Bullseye. He kicks the dog that scurries away, and Sikes sits in a corner. He demands Fagin if he has been mistreating his boys again and won’t blame them if they try to kill him. Fagin begs Sikes to be quiet, and Sikes wants a drink.

After a few drinks, Sikes becomes interested when he overhears about Oliver being captured during a robbery. Fagin worries that Oliver will say something that will get them into trouble, and Sikes agrees with him. Fagin also worries that if they are caught, Sikes will have the worse of it. Everyone is silent in dismay at Oliver getting them into trouble, and Sikes says that somebody must go to the police station and figure out where the boy is. Fagin and the others refuse to go to the police station and are still debating what to do when Nancy and Bet arrive.

## References

1. ↑ Chapter 8
2. ↑ Chapter 9
3. ↑ Chapter 13