Charley Bates and Oliver

Charley Bates and Oliver Twist are fellow members of Fagin's gang of juvenile thieves in London, a relationship defined by stark contrasts in experience, attitude, and moral development. Charley, a hardened and gleeful pickpocket, initially treats Oliver with a mixture of amusement and condescension, finding his innocence and reluctance a source of endless comedy. However, the relationship undergoes a profound transformation following the murder of Nancy by Bill Sikes, with Charley's horrified reaction and subsequent reformation marking a decisive break from his criminal past and a final, indirect vindication of Oliver's own moral journey.

Introduction and First Encounters

Charley Bates is introduced alongside Jack Dawkins, the Artful Dodger, as one of Fagin's most promising pupils. When Oliver is first brought to Fagin's den, Charley is among the boys seated around a table, smoking long clay pipes and drinking spirits with the air of middle-aged men. He immediately joins in the general scrutiny of the new arrival, grinning at him along with the others. Charley's first direct interaction with Oliver is marked by uproarious laughter at Oliver's naive responses. When Oliver, misunderstanding the nature of the gang's trade, earnestly tells Fagin he would like to learn to make pocket-handkerchiefs as easily as Charley, Master Bates finds this so exquisitely ludicrous that he nearly chokes on his coffee. He explains to the company, "He is so jolly green!" This early dynamic establishes Charley as a seasoned, cynical member of the criminal world, for whom Oliver's innocence is a source of pure, condescending amusement.

Life in the Gang: Tutor and Tormentor

Within the gang, Charley acts as a kind of tutor and constant companion to Oliver, though his instruction is laced with mockery. He and the Dodger play the daily pickpocket-training game with Fagin, and Charley is present when Fagin shows Oliver how to remove marks from stolen handkerchiefs. When Oliver is finally allowed to go out on his first "job," Charley and the Dodger are his guardians. During their walk, Charley exhibits "very loose notions concerning the rights of property, by pilfering divers apples and onions from the stalls." After the pickpocketing of Mr. Brownlow, Charley joins the hue and cry, shouting "Stop thief!" alongside the crowd, a performance of citizenship that delights him. When they escape, Charley rolls on a doorstep in a transport of mirth, finding the entire chase—especially Oliver's panicked flight—hilarious. Later, when Oliver is recaptured and brought back to the gang, Charley is the first to greet him with a shout of laughter, exclaiming, "Oh, my wig, my wig!" He examines Oliver's new clothes, nearly setting him on fire with the candle, and mocks his gentlemanly appearance. Throughout this period, Charley embodies the gang's ethos, finding joy in crime and cruelty, and treating Oliver as a source of entertainment rather than a fellow sufferer.

The Turning Point: Nancy's Murder

The murder of Nancy by Bill Sikes marks the definitive rupture in Charley Bates's character and his relationship with Oliver's world. When Sikes, a fugitive, seeks refuge in the hideout where Charley, Toby Crackit, and Kags are hiding, Charley's reaction is immediate and visceral. He retreats from Sikes, refusing to shake his hand, and cries out, "Don't come nearer me... You monster!" In a moment of extraordinary courage, the boy who had once laughed at Oliver's innocence throws himself single-handedly upon the powerful murderer, shouting for help and declaring, "I'll give him up; I will." This act of defiance is a complete inversion of his former self. The boy who had once found joy in the chase now leads the charge against the murderer, his horror at the crime overriding his loyalty to the gang and his fear of Sikes. This moment of moral awakening is the direct consequence of the violence that had always been a game to him, now made horrifyingly real.

Divergent Paths and Final Fates

The relationship between Charley and Oliver ultimately resolves into a parallel but separate reformation. Oliver, rescued by the Maylies and Mr. Brownlow, is adopted into a life of virtue and happiness, his inherent goodness rewarded. Charley, however, undergoes his own transformation from within the criminal world. Appalled by Sikes's crime, he falls into a train of reflection, concluding that an honest life is the best. He struggles and suffers for a time, but his contented disposition and good purpose lead him to success. He becomes a farmer's drudge, then a carrier's lad, and finally the merriest young grazier in all Northamptonshire. While Oliver's path to virtue is guided by benevolent protectors, Charley's is a self-willed reformation born from witnessing the ultimate consequence of their shared life. Their final fates, though achieved through different means, both represent a rejection of Fagin's world, with Charley's transformation serving as a powerful, if indirect, testament to the moral order that Oliver always represented.