An orphan born as the illegitimate child of a mysterious woman in a workhouse. He grows up being pushed around in conditions of hard labor and malnutrition. When he dares to ask for a little more gruel—his basic human right—the system views him as a great danger, and he is essentially sent off to an undertaker's shop. Unable to bear his suffering, Oliver runs away to London, where his kind-hearted nature leads him to fall into the trap of pickpockets. Nevertheless, he resists letting his spirit be tainted. Throughout the story, he is caught between criminal gangs (Fagin and Sikes) and honorable, respectable people (Mr. Brownlow, the Maylie family). In the end, his true roots are revealed, and he attains the happiness, inheritance, and prosperity he deserves.
After a grueling journey, his mother Agnes was found on the street at night and brought to the workhouse, where she gave birth and died on the spot. This boy, whose father is unknown, grew up until the age of 9 in the workhouse, enduring hunger, beatings, and imprisonment. His name, 'Twist', was assigned according to the system's rule of naming orphans based on the next letter in the alphabet.
A skinny, pale-faced, short boy with a very delicate and saintly angelic face. Initially, he wears tattered, oversized orphanage rags. When dressed as a gentleman, the nobility in his features and his striking resemblance to his father are immediately revealed.
Fagin
A source of torment who gives him no respite, whom he loathes but is terrified of.
Nensi
A protective figure who makes a sacrifice that will cost her own life for the sake of the beaten and suffering Oliver.
Bay Branlo
Like an angel descended from heaven for him; he holds infinite loyalty.