Fagin Character Analysis in Oliver Twist Essay Example

Fagin was one of the main antagonists in the story of Oliver Twist. An avaricious man, driven by nothing but money. A man who had no concern for his public image or the methods used to obtain money. A person with no truly personal relationships, even the people closest to him would not be told the truth. 

Fagin was introduced by the author as an ugly man, both visually and mentally. The author first described him as “ a very old shrivelled Jew, whose villainous-looking and repulsive face was obscured by a quantity of matted red hair.” Immediately, you can infer many things from this. First of which, Fagin was described as a shrivelled old Jew. This gave the impression that he was described as a Jew in a negative manner, showing that he was most likely discriminated against by both the author and other characters in the book. Fagin was often described as an insincere man, with no real relationship. Even those closest to Fagin were not told the truth. “I’ll go and get you that cash, Nancy. This is only the key of a little cupboard where I keep a few odd things the boys get, my dear. I never lock up my money, for I’ve got none to lock up, my dear—ha! ha! ha!—none to lock up. It’s a poor trade, Nancy, and no thanks; but I’m fond of serving the young people about me, and I bear it all, I bear it all.” Fagin made himself seem like a poor man. A man who only cared about those around him and would spend most of his money on them. While in truth, he would hide his wealth from those children, keeping it to himself. 

Money. Money was what Fagin was all that he cared about, some might even go as far as saying that it was an obsession. Unlike most people, he didn’t work a regular nine-to-five job. Instead, he stole from those who did. Fagin ran an organization where he would recruit orphaned children to become pickpockets and crooks. He ran this organization with one goal in mind, to get rich. Using a gang of young pickpockets, Fagin could keep his hands away from being directly involved with stealing. Fagin would recruit these bandits by luring orphans and homeless children into his world of theft in return for a place to seek shelter and a steady supply of food. After recruiting them, he would teach these children the skills required to become pickpockets and thieves. After the training was completed, these children would be sent on jobs to retrieve stolen goods from a particular target, or a regular passerby in a busy square. 

Some people were not cut out to be thieves, but Fagin still hoped to recruit more pickpockets onto the streets. Young Oliver Twist often refused to work as a pickpocket, and when he finally did accept work, was caught. After Oliver was caught, he was taken in by Mr. Brownlow. This made Fagin both angry and scared. He was afraid that Oliver would tell either the police or Mr. Brownlow about Fagin’s operation. Because of this paranoia, Fagin asked Nancy, another member of his gang of thieves, to forcefully bring Oliver back to Fagin. Nancy succeeded, bringing Oliver back into the control of Fagin. Once back in the control of Fagin, Oliver was sent out to a burglary once Fagin regained some sense of trust in Oliver. Oliver still heavily protested being a thief. Oliver was shot by the homeowner. Oliver never returned to Fagin. 

Fittingly, Fagin’s need for money was his downfall. Once he was arrested, not one person attempted to get him out due to his lack of personal relationships. He was ultimately convicted and hanged. Fagin ended as a man known for taking advantage of unprivileged children and taking from the hard-working citizens of the United Kingdom.