Question

Victorian Novel Analysis

• craft one well-developed paragraph analyzing a social issue presented by the novels of Dickens, Austen, or Shelley

• Paragraphs must state the social issue in the topic sentence and use development, cited evidence, and analysis throughout for the final product

• must adhere to the paragraph expectations discussed in the Writing module in order to meet or exceed expectations  

Answer 1

In the story “Oliver twist” by Charles Dickens the reader can find themselves diving into social issues that were occurring during the 19th century, but still occurring to this day. Social injustice is something that has been covered in literature for many years, but especially in the 19th century it was tradition in England. The social issues tackled in this book are things like social injustice, poverty, social stratification, and child labor. Most of the characters that suffered social injustice in this story were from the lower-class. They suffered from poverty and couldn’t change the situation that easily. Most of the characters who experienced such went to conducting criminal activities. There are a lot of sensitive issues tackled in this story. A lot of major social injustices like poverty, social stratification, and homelessness. With these social issues tackled it really opens the readers eyes into what Oliver might have felt while living back in that day.

Part II: Public Service Announcement of a Modern-Day Social Injustice

In the United States, People to this day still suffer from discrimination because of their gender, ethnicity, and age. This can happen in the workplace, school, and everyday life and can cause much pain and suffering in these individuals. Not giving them equal rights to succeed, not giving them a fair shot at getting the job, not giving them the opportunity to showcase their talents.

This is a current issue that America is still facing to this day. In a recent poll by NPR, they stated that 55% of white Americans felt there was still discrimination happening in this country. This is not only a key sign something is wrong, but it’s a key sign something needs to be fixed. Some of the examples that had come up discussed females not getting hired as fast as males, and not getting as high of wages. Only 22% of females in the United States out earn the man of the household. Ethnicity and the fact that people had built up false stereotypes of how people of color act and putting a halt on how fast they can get hired, what universities they can get into, the list goes on.

Lastly age, In a recent study, It found that 91% of the people said that age discrimination is still a thing. This number was very apparent in the age demographic of 45-79 who felt they had an increased target on their back, claiming that it would be nearly impossible for them to get a job. With all of that in mind, discrimination is still a huge thing. It affects nearly half of Americans on a daily basis crushing their dreams and futures in most cases. Its 2020, lets all take a stand against gender, ethnicity, and age based discrimination.

Work Cited

“Age Discrimination.” Age Discrimination, 2019.

Dickens, Charles. The Adventures of Oliver Twist. Nabu Press, 2010.

“Discrimination in America.” Harvard Public Health Magazine, 22 June 2018,