The style of the novel is tragicomic, intertwining comedy and tragedy to make readers laugh at the institutions and people responsible for orchestrating tragic situations. The narrator often functions as a lighthearted and bumbling guide through the tragedy of Oliver's life. For instance, the heading of Chapter 36 reads:
[Chapter 36] IS A VERY SHORT ONE, AND MAY APPEAR OF NO GREAT IMPORTANCE IN ITS PLACE, BUT IT SHOULD BE READ NOTWITHSTANDING, AS A SEQUEL TO THE LAST, AND A KEY TO ONE THAT WILL FOLLOW WHEN ITS TIME ARRIVES
The heading instructs readers in how to read the novel. It takes a mock-defensive tone that demonstrates a certain self-consciousness on the part of the narrator. Dickens is essentially playing with his role as a novelist and with the limits and conventions of fiction. Through this kind of chapter heading, through comedic digressions by the narrator, and through a suspenseful and elaborate plot about an orphan coming into a family fortune, Dickens imitates the style of Henry Fielding's popular 18th-century novel The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling. Fielding's novel, one of the earlier examples of the novel as a literary form, is more of a straightforward comedic romp than Oliver Twist. It tells the story of an orphan who is raised by an aristocrat who turns out to be his uncle—everyone lives happily ever after! By imitating Fielding's iconic style, Dickens points out that Oliver's story is not dissimilar to Tom's, except that Oliver finds himself caught up in the spiderweb of Victorian England's social welfare problems.
Dickens's style is also characterized by fairly short chapters that jump around to different characters. This style is also similar to Fielding's. For Dickens, famous for making a living by his work in installments, it is important to consider the way economics contributed to his use of chapters. By cultivating a sense of suspense over what would happen to characters next, Dickens could keep readers coming back to buy future installments. This was an especially important tactic for Oliver Twist, which Dickens wrote early in his career. The more suspense his writing style created, the more likely he would be to cultivate a loyal customer base.
