An orphaned boy struggles to survive the harsh realities of the Victorian workhouse system and the criminal underworld of London. Oliver Twist, a young orphan, navigates a series of exploitative environments, from the brutal workhouse to an apprenticeship with an undertaker. He eventually flees to London, where he is ensnared by a gang of pickpockets led by the manipulative Fagin. The narrative follows his quest for identity and safety while he is pursued by forces that seek to keep him in poverty and crime. Dickens employs a third-person omniscient perspective to critique the social institutions of 19th-century England.

Discussion often centers on the effectiveness of Dickens's social critique regarding the treatment of the impoverished. Readers frequently highlight the stark contrast between the grotesque, memorable villains and the idealized, virtuous nature of the protagonist. Critics often analyze the pacing, noting how the story shifts between dark, gritty realism and sentimental melodrama. The work remains a primary point of reference for understanding the Victorian literary approach to systemic injustice and the moral education of the individual.