A Stylistic Analysis of theThieves’ Language in Oliver Twist

侯宇

【Abstract】Charles Dickens is the most outstanding realistic novelists in Victorian Age， and Oliver Twist is one of his representative works. Except Oliver， the hero， the group of thieves appears most frequently through the whole novel and plays an important role not only in effecting Olivers life experience， but also in showing the reality in the prevailing social. Dickens successful shaping of the images of the group of thieve relies on their language. This thesis aims to analyze the thieves language from the stylistics aspect.

【Key words】stylistics； thieves； language

1. Introduction

Charles Dickens （1812-1870） is one of the greatest critical realist writers of the Victorian Age. In his novel he exposes and criticizes all the poverty， injustice， hypocrisy and corruptness he sees all around him. Oliver Twist is the second novel by Dickens. This novel exposes vividly the terrible living conditions of the workhouse and the inhuman treatment endured by an orphan.

Stylistics can be by and large described as the study of style of language usage in different contexts， either linguistic， or situational. The primary interest of stylistics is the analysis of the type， fluctuation， or the reason for choosing a given style as in any language a single thought can be expressed in a number of ways depending on connotations， or desires result that the message is to produce.

2. Varieties of Language

（1）Dialect

In Oliver Twist， the thieves are from the bottom society without receiving normal education. They speak in an informal way， sometimes using very rude and offensive language. Also， they have their jargon， which is difficult for Oliver to understand.

‘And so be able to retire on your property， and do the gen-teel；

（2）Register

Register is the variation of language according to use. It used constantly in fiction writing to describe the daily life of the characters.

‘sneered the Jew， catching the boy by the arm. ‘Well cure you of that， my young master.

“My young master” is not supposed to use in their conversation， it is a register variation， belonging to mode.

3. Semantic Deviation

Deviation is a linguistic term proposed by linguists of Russian Formalist school and the Prague school when studying poetic style indicating the intentional violation of normal language use in literary discourse.

1）Metaphor

A metaphor is a figure of speech where comparison is implied. It is also a comparison between two unlike elements with a similar quality. This comparison is implied without the word “as” or “like”.

‘Cause the government， as cares for the lives of such men as you， as havent half the pluck of curs， lets a man kill a dog how he likes， replied Sikes

The purpose for the using of this metaphor is to show Sikes laughing at the Jew.

2）Irony

Verbal irony can achieve emphasis by misrepresenting the truth. It can create a sense of humor， veil feelings in s subtle way， emphasize the information or strengthen the vigor of language.

‘Delighted to see you looking so well， my dear， said the Jew， bowing with mock humility. ‘The Artful shall give you another suit， my dear， for fear you should spoil that Sunday one.

The Jew uses this irony to threaten Oliver. In his opinion， Oliver is a just a dog following them and once have relation with the thieves， it is so hard to live far away from them.

3）Synecdoche

In synecdoche， a part stands for the whole， the whole for a part； the concrete for the abstract， the abstract for the concrete； or the name of the material for the object made.

‘Grin away， said Sikes， replacing the poker， and surveying him with savage contempt—‘grin away. Youll never have the laugh at me， though， unless its behind a night-cap.

In this example， the phrase “night-cap” is used to refer to sentence to hanging because before carrying out the handing， a mask should be put on the face of the criminal.

4. Conclusion

This paper mainly focuses on the thieves language from the aspect of varieties and style as deviation. Even though they are uneducated， rude， in the authors creation they become lively and true to the reality. Knowing more about their language， readers could have a better understanding on these figures， and the whole book.

References：

[1]Dickens，Charles，Oliver Twist[M].Yanbian：Yanbian Peoples Publishing House，2012.

[2]Liu Cong，An Analysis of the Linguistic Deviation in Chapter X of Oliver Twist，Overseas English，2013.

[3]廉運杰，萬平.英漢文體學對比研究[M].沈陽：遼寧大學出版社，2011.