Character Analysis: Charly Bates

Charley Bates has an extremely crucial role in the novel: comic relief, just as The Artful Dodger does. Dodgers comedy comes from the fact that he knows more than he should at his young age, but Charley is more of the dumb sidekick, I think of him as the Crab and Goyle to Draco Malfoy. (Harry Potter connection). However, Charley undergoes a major change after Nancy is brutally murdered. He decides that crime isn't so fun anymore, and he is the only character who does this. It is also good because Dickens explains that Charley goes on to live a happy life at a farm. This major change in his character is a big deal, considering few characters change in Oliver Twist.