Charley Bates

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of the article are generally not sufficient for a Wikipedia article. Please include more appropriate citations from reliable sources, or discuss the issue on the talk page. This article has been tagged since December 2007.

Charley Bates is a supporting character in the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist. He is a young boy and member of Fagin's gang of pickpockets, and sidekick to the Artful Dodger. Charley, along with The Artful Dodger, steal Mr. Brownlow's wallet, a crime Oliver is blamed for. Later in the novel, Bates delivers bad news to Fagin that when the Artful Dodger was arrested for stealing a silver snuff box and positively identified by the owner, that it is a sure bet he will be convicted in court, and that it is too bad he "did not go out in a blaze of glory by stealing something of great value instead of a half penny snuffbox."

At the end of the novel, Charley, horrified by Bill Sikes' violent murder of Nancy (in fact, when Sikes approaches him, he starts yelling at Sikes and reveals his location to the mob who want to lynch him for Nancy's death), is the only member of Fagin's gang to reform, becoming a policeman.

The character of Charley has been observed to be somewhat eccentric by some readers. The character of Charley Bates has a much smaller role in Oliver! the musical.

During Charley's childhood he was abused by his parents and ran away to find the Artful Dodger at a market and as they became friends they found Fagin and came into the pickpocket gang. His parents ,James and Gertude Bates, worked all day, James worked in a factory and was an overseer for 30 of the 300 workers. Charley's mother stayed home and forced him to cook, clean, and rub her feet. When James would come home the first thing he'd do would be to hit him and say that he's a worthless street rat who will never get anywhere in his life. After 10 years of taking hits from his parents and the "beak" he ran away.