These prompts can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before or after reading the novel.

Pre-Reading Warm-Up

Consider how you define yourself as an individual. Do you strongly identify with an ethnic or cultural heritage? Does class or place of birth factor into your sense of identity? What role does family play in your self-perception? Do you prefer to think of yourself in terms of your own preferences, accomplishments, and goals? Bearing all of this in mind, to what extent do you think we shape our own identities, and to what extent do you think our identities—and ourselves—are shaped by factors beyond our control?

Teaching Suggestion: Use this prompt to guide students to think about the inescapability of identity. Students who have grown up in individualist societies may find the notion that socioeconomic class (for example) strongly dictates the course of a person’s life surprising or difficult. Although Oliver Twist does not endorse a completely deterministic view of personal identity, its depiction of systemic inequality provides a useful starting point for thinking about the way similar forces persist in contemporary society.

Personal Response



Dickens’s novels typically feature a broad assortment of colorful characters. Which characters in Oliver Twist made a particular impression on you and why? Do you have any favorites? Alternatively, were there any characters you particularly disliked?