Oliver Taken to Fagin's Den

The Dodger leads Oliver through the dark, filthy streets of London's East End to a dilapidated house in Field Lane, near Saffron Hill. There, Oliver is introduced to Fagin, a 'very old shriveled Jew' who presides over a gang of boy thieves. The room is filled with stolen handkerchiefs and other loot. Fagin and the boys greet Oliver with a mixture of false welcome and menacing curiosity. Oliver is given food and drink, and then falls into a deep sleep on a sack, now firmly in the clutches of the criminal gang. This marks Oliver's entry into Fagin's den, the center of the novel's criminal world.