Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens is a fictional story based in London in the 1800s. Oliver Twist, an orphaned child, is forced to live in a workhouse where he is abused, starved and given as an apprentice. Eventually, Oliver turns to life on the streets, living with a gang of orphaned children. Charles Dickens' description of working conditions in the workshops is considered very accurate according to historians. The conditions were horrible and unsuitable for humans. The poor were not valued and were considered a scourge on society. It was morally acceptable to treat them as less than human, to mistreat them and starve them. Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth in 1812. His father was imprisoned as a debtor when Dickens was just 12 years old. According to the laws of the time, his brother and mother were forced to go to the workhouse with his father. While they were imprisoned, Charles started his first job in a factory. He didn't tell many people about his days working at the factory, only his wife and his closest friend knew about the horrors he faced during this dark period of his life. He witnessed the devastating effects of poverty and saw social idiocracy. As an adult, Charles became a journalist and book author. During this time in society, it was not allowed to openly oppose government regulations, so Charles could express his discontent and opinions through his writings. Social norms were significantly different in the 1800s. The English considered the poor unworthy of help and passed laws prohibiting anyone from helping them. “In 1834, the Commission's report resulted in the Poor Law Amendment Act, which sought to end all external aid for able-bodied people. Care and training...... middle of paper...... written with little humility, and the elderly and sick were of even less concern. In the 1800s, those less fortunate faced abuse, segregation, starvation, and hard labor (Perdue). Works Cited Barrow, Mandy. “The Victorians.” Woodlands-Junior.2010, 2010. Accessed March 16, 2011. .Barbury, Lorna. “Oliver Twists Workhouse discovered.” The Telegraph. copyright by telegraph media group, 20 1 2011. Accessed March 10, 2011. .Dickens, Charles."The Complete Works of Charles Dickens."Dickens. dickens-literature.com, 2008. Accessed March 12, 2011. Perdue, David. www.charlesdickenspage.com. Dickens' London. David A. Purdue, 2010. Accessed March 16, 2011. “Children of the Workhouse.” » Spartacus School Network. Accessed March 9 2011. .