sheep

Sheep are a recurring animal presence in Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist, appearing most prominently in the crowded, filthy environment of Smithfield market, where they are herded, penned, and traded. Their presence underscores the novel's relentless depiction of London's brutal commerce and the dehumanizing conditions of the urban poor, serving as a vivid emblem of the crowded, suffering masses that surround the protagonist.

Smithfield Market and the Animal Commerce of London

The most concentrated depiction of sheep occurs during Oliver's journey with Bill Sikes through Smithfield market on the morning of the burglary. The ground is covered nearly ankle-deep with filth and mire, and a thick steam rises from the reeking bodies of cattle. All the pens in the center of the large area, as well as temporary pens crowded into every vacant space, are filled with sheep. They are tied up to posts by the gutter side in long lines, three or four deep, alongside beasts and oxen. The scene is one of stunning and bewildering chaos: the bleating of sheep mingles with the bellowing of oxen, the grunting of pigs, the barking of dogs, the whistling of drovers, and the shouts, oaths, and quarrelling of the human crowd. This cacophony of discordant sounds fills Oliver with amazement, rendering the market a place where animals and humans are compressed into a single, struggling mass of life and commerce. The sheep, like the other livestock, are reduced to commodities, their bodies and sounds part of the overwhelming sensory assault that defines the lowest reaches of the city.

Metaphor and the Suffering Masses

Beyond the literal market scene, sheep function as a metaphor for the vulnerable, passive, and often victimized poor. The novel's narrator describes the wretched, breathless child Oliver, panting with exhaustion and terror as he is pursued by a mob shouting "Stop thief!" The crowd's passion for hunting something is described as deeply implanted in the human breast, and the boy is hunted like an animal. This imagery of pursuit and helplessness aligns with the condition of sheep, who are driven and slaughtered without agency. The sheep's bleating in the market echoes the cries of the poor, the orphans, and the criminals who populate the novel's world, all of whom are herded by the forces of poverty, law, and social indifference. The sheep thus become a symbol of the collective suffering and powerlessness that Dickens critiques throughout the narrative.

Contrast and the Individual Animal

While sheep appear primarily as a collective, the novel also uses individual animals to create contrast and highlight specific emotional states. The dog Bull's-eye, Sikes's fierce companion, is a creature of violence and loyalty, a stark contrast to the docile, herd-bound sheep. In one scene, Sikes's dog, having faults of temper in common with his owner, bites at a half-boot and growls, a far cry from the passive bleating of the market sheep. This juxtaposition emphasizes the spectrum of animal behavior in the novel, from the brutal and predatory to the meek and victimized. The sheep, in their sheer numbers and passive suffering, represent the fate of the many, while the dog represents the dangerous, individual predator. This contrast reinforces the novel's social critique: the sheep-like poor are herded and exploited by the predatory few, whether they be criminals like Sikes or institutional authorities like the workhouse board.

The Sheep as a Symbol of Death and Judgment

The sheep also appear in contexts of death and finality. In the final chapters, as Fagin awaits execution, the crowd outside the prison greets the news of his death sentence with a tremendous shout, a peal of joy that echoes like angry thunder. The narrator describes the condemned man's last night, where he is haunted by visions of the scaffold and the noose. The sheep, as animals traditionally associated with sacrifice and slaughter, resonate with this theme of impending doom. The market scene, with its pens and slaughter, prefigures the fate of characters like Fagin and Sikes, who are themselves hunted and destroyed by the mob. The sheep's presence in the novel thus extends beyond mere setting, becoming a recurring symbol of the vulnerability, suffering, and ultimate destruction that await the weak and the wicked alike in the unforgiving world of Oliver Twist.