Jack Dawkins
Jack Dawkins, universally known by his sobriquet "the Artful Dodger," is the most accomplished and charismatic young thief in Fagin's criminal enterprise. He is the first person Oliver meets upon arriving in London, and he serves as both Oliver's guide into the underworld and a living embodiment of the gang's values—cunning, pride in his trade, and absolute loyalty to his own self-interest. The Dodger is a creature of the streets, utterly at home in the squalor of Saffron Hill and Field Lane, and his appearance, speech, and actions mark him as a boy who has aged far beyond his years in the school of crime.
Identity and Appearance
The Dodger is described as a snub-nosed, flat-browed, common-faced boy, as dirty as any juvenile could be, but with all the airs and manners of a man. He is short for his age, with bow-legs and little, sharp, ugly eyes. His hat is stuck on top of his head so lightly that it threatens to fall off at every moment, saved only by a habitual sudden twitch of his head. He wears a man's coat that reaches nearly to his heels, with the cuffs turned back halfway up his arm to free his hands, which he keeps thrust into the pockets of his corduroy trousers. He is altogether as roystering and swaggering a young gentleman as ever stood four feet six or something less. His speech is a dense cant of the streets, full of slang terms like "beak" for magistrate, "mill" for treadmill, and "grub" for food, which he must translate for the bewildered Oliver.
Role in Oliver's Introduction to Crime
The Dodger first encounters Oliver in the town of Barnet, where Oliver has arrived after a week of walking from his native town. Seeing the exhausted and hungry boy sitting on a doorstep, the Dodger crosses the street, addresses him as "my covey," and immediately takes charge. He buys Oliver food—a half-quartern loaf with ham stuffed inside—and a pot of beer, all the while eyeing him with great attention. When Oliver reveals he has no money and no lodgings, the Dodger offers to take him to a "spectable old gentleman" who will provide free lodging. This old gentleman is, of course, Fagin. The Dodger leads Oliver through the filthy, narrow streets of London's worst slums to Fagin's den, where he presents him with the words, "This is him, Fagin—my friend Oliver Twist." This act sets in motion Oliver's entire entanglement with the criminal world.
Skill and Status Within the Gang
Within Fagin's gang, the Dodger is the star pupil. He is the most skilled pickpocket among the boys, and Fagin treats him with a mixture of fondness and respect. The Dodger and Charley Bates are the two senior boys who regularly go out to "work," returning with pocket-books, handkerchiefs, and other stolen goods. The Dodger's expertise is demonstrated in the daily game Fagin orchestrates, where the old man dresses up as a gentleman and the boys practice picking his pockets. The Dodger executes this with such extraordinary rapidity and skill that Oliver laughs till the tears run down his face. The Dodger is also a shrewd and calculating operator. When Oliver is arrested for the pickpocketing of Mr. Brownlow, the Dodger and Charley Bates immediately join the hue-and-cry, shouting "Stop thief!" themselves to divert suspicion, then slip away down the first convenient court. Later, when reporting to Fagin, the Dodger is sullen and defensive, snatching up a toasting fork and making a pass at the old man when Fagin grabs him by the collar. He is not a passive subordinate; he is a junior partner in the enterprise.
The Dodger's Philosophy and Influence on Oliver
The Dodger embodies the gang's code of self-interest. He tells Oliver plainly that he is a "prig"—a thief—and scorns to be anything else. He argues that if Oliver doesn't take pocket-handkerchiefs and watches, some other cove will, so Oliver has just as good a right to them as anyone else. This is the "catechism of his trade," as Fagin approvingly notes. The Dodger tries to recruit Oliver into the life, offering him a handful of shillings and halfpence and telling him, "Here's a jolly life! What's the odds where it comes from?" Oliver, however, recoils from this philosophy, and the Dodger's persistent pressure only deepens Oliver's resolve to escape. The Dodger's influence is thus paradoxical: he is the agent who brings Oliver into the gang, but his very success as a thief serves to highlight the moral gulf between them.
The Dodger's Arrest and Trial
The Dodger's career culminates in his arrest for attempting to pick a pocket. He is caught with a silver snuff-box on his person, which he claims is his own. At his trial at Bow Street, he conducts himself with theatrical bravado. He shuffles into the dock with his big coat sleeves tucked up, his left hand in his pocket, and his hat in his right hand, and demands in an audible voice to know why he is placed in that "disgraceful sitivation." He threatens to make a parliamentary business of it, claims his attorney is breakfasting with the Vice President of the House of Commons, and tells the magistrates they will pay for this. When asked if he has anything to say, he replies, "Not here, for this ain't the shop for justice." He is fully committed for trial, and Fagin laments that he will likely be "lagged"—transported for life. The Dodger's performance is a source of pride for Fagin, who sees it as a testament to the boy's training and spirit.
Thematic Significance
The Artful Dodger is a complex figure who embodies both the allure and the tragedy of the criminal life. He is a child who has been utterly shaped by his environment, possessing a precocious intelligence and a fierce pride in his skills, yet he is also a victim of the system that has produced him. His name—the Artful Dodger—captures his essence: he is artful in his craft, and he dodges responsibility, the law, and any moral reckoning. He serves as a dark mirror to Oliver, showing what the orphan boy might become if he succumbs to the gang's influence. The Dodger's ultimate fate—transportation for life—is a grim reminder of the consequences of the life he has chosen, yet even in the dock, he maintains his defiant, theatrical spirit, refusing to be broken by the system that has finally caught him.
