Upon looking further into the illustration created by George Cruickshank, it is evident that the image was not solely created to portray what the environment of the young boys looked like, it also creates vast symbolism that has a somewhat racial / religious slant (which I will explore further).
Cruickshank’s depiction of the workhouse in this specific scene within the novel is illustrated well and correlates to the text’s opening “The walls and ceiling of the room. were perfectly black with age and dirt.” The walls are grained on the illustration to make them appear even more worn and old, as to really emphasise the grittiness of the surroundings these boys were in. A smooth surface would have symbolised an easy ride for the boys, but by making the walls stained with soot and grainy, it reiterates the boys bumpy and disjointed journey through life so far. The openings and holes within the ceiling are representative of the escape the boys may have, there isn’t room for all of them to fit through, therefore life’s plan will open more opportunities (holes) for them to escape and live a life of prosperity.
The representation of Fagin being the Devil is something that resonated with me and jumped out at me straight away. His depiction of him standing by an open flame with a three forked toasting fork is comparable to the depictions of the Devil in many illustrations. Satan is often drawn and depicted as a red figure surrounded by flame and burning, sometimes even with souls and bodies in a pool of lava, which could also be symbolic of the sausages that were cooking. The sausages are fickle pieces of meat, which is all that Satan sees his victims as. The reference to the colour red is also highly prominent in comparing Fagin to Satan. His ‘red matted hair’ is indicative of the colour associated with Satan and also that of blood.
The dictionary defines the Devil as ‘A person with specified characteristics’ and the novel describes ‘The Jew’ (Fagin) very specifically; as ‘villainous-looking [with a] repulsive face’ which is what all illustrations of Satan show, especially the villainous aspect to his demeanour – the illustrations of Satan show him as being almost proud of his fall as an angel and often is drawn with an open – welcoming hand as to invite one to a life of sin. The welcoming hand of Fagin, comparable to the welcoming hand of Satan. (evidenced when Fagin ‘grinned at Oliver’ as if to welcome him into his cruel world). This is comparable to the definition of the name Fagin which is ‘a person who teaches crime to others.’ In addition to this, the passage also provides evidence of Fagin’s welcoming demeanour as Fagin ‘hoped [Oliver] should have the honour of his intimate acquaintance’, as if Oliver was meant to be in awe of Fagin’s presence. The passage also evidences how the welcoming persona of Satan is reflected in Fagin as one who wishes to turn people to a life of sin.
‘Christians believe Satan acts as leader of the fallen angels’ and Fagin in this extract is seen as a leader of these young children in a life of crime. He teaches them the ways of pick pocketing and deceit, deceit being that of something the angel was very good at achieving before his fall.
References:
AllAboutGOD.com. (n.d.). History of Satan. [online] Available at: https://www.allaboutgod.com/history-of-satan.htm [Accessed 9 Dec. 2017].
Lucifer Fall. (2007). [image] Available at: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/satan-the-adversary/ [Accessed 7 Dec. 2017].
Oxford Dictionaries | English. (2017). devil | Definition of devil in English by Oxford Dictionaries. [online] Available at: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/devil [Accessed 8 Dec. 2017].
Satan. (2017). [image] Available at: https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=0ahUKEwjbh6-z9P3XAhWKvBQKHeIaADEQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sangenaronoticias.com.ar%2Findex.php%2F2015%2F10%2F01%2Fsanta-fe-le-pusieron-lucifer-a-su-hijo%2F&psig=AOvVaw2Syq1ajUvVEDK7D-Jn5vEV&ust=1512940819556254 [Accessed 6 Dec. 2017].
Wikipedia (2012). Fagin. [image] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fagin [Accessed 9 Dec. 2017].
Whispers from the cell 