Mr. Chitling in Oliver Twist

Who is Mr. Chitling?

Mr. Chitling (called Tommy in the den) is one of the younger, less prominent members of Fagin's circle. He spends time in Fagin’s old den playing whist and drinking gin-and-water with the Artful Dodger and Charley Bates, where he shows a half-fawning attachment to a girl named Betsy and takes comfort in the company and reassurances of Fagin. He shares in the group's gossip and anxiety when news arrives from Toby Crackit about a failed burglary and a boy possibly left wounded. Later he is among the small band of Fagin’s associates who bring food and spirits to revive Bill Sikes, helping sustain the household’s tense, feverish life. In the book’s final scenes he is with Toby Crackit and others on Jacob’s Island, trembling and fearful as the law and the mob close in, and witnesses Sikes’s frantic escape and death. He functions mainly as part of the gang’s chorus: companion, bystander, and frightened follower.

Personality

Nervous

In the den he reveals a nervous, half-fawning attachment to a girl named Betsy while the others joke and bicker.

Conformist

He sits playing whist and drinking gin-and-water with Fagin’s boys, following the group’s habits without asserting himself.

Loyal

He joins the others in bringing food and spirits to restore the feverish Sikes, supporting the gang’s needs in a crisis.

Fearful

On Jacob’s Island he sits in a ruined back room with Toby Crackit and Kags, alarmed as news of arrests and the mob reaches them.

Character arc

Mr. Chitling enters the story as a background figure in Fagin’s den: a companionable yet anxious presence who amuses himself with games and drink while confessing a timid affection for Betsy. He moves from lighthearted socializing to sharing in the gang’s darker news when Toby Crackit reports a failed ‘crack’ and a boy left in a ditch; the mood in the den shifts and Chitling is part of that collective shock. Later, when Sikes is feverish, Chitling helps sustain the household by bringing food and spirits, showing practical loyalty rather than leadership. His arc culminates in the collapse of the criminal community: stranded on Jacob’s Island with fellow hangers-on, he experiences the panic that follows Sikes’s return, the attack by Charley Bates, and finally witnesses Sikes’s desperate flight and fatal fall. He does not grow into independence or moral courage; instead he remains a frightened, dependent follower whose world unravels around him.

Relationships

• Fagin Anxiety-soothing leader and paterfamilial figure whom Chitling sits with in the den and looks to for reassurance.
• The Artful Dodger A close associate present at the whist game and in the den’s company, with whom Chitling shares the gang’s routines.
• Charley Bates A companion at the card table and later a fellow gang-member who denounces Sikes in Jacob’s Island.
• Toby Crackit A fellow associate whose arrival with news of the failed burglary provokes horror in the den and later sits with Chitling on Jacob’s Island.
• Bill Sikes A violent associate whom Chitling helps tend by bringing food and spirits and who later returns to Jacob’s Island causing panic.

Quotes by Mr. Chitling

“Tonight’s paper says that Fagin’s took. Is it true, or a lie?”

Chapter 50The men confirm the report of Fagin's arrest, increasing their fear and sense that the net is closing.

Why Mr. Chitling matters

Mr. Chitling embodies the expendable, lower-tier followers who make up Fagin’s criminal community: young, pliant, and shaped by habit rather than conviction. He highlights the social dynamics of the gang—comfort-seeking, superstition, and group loyalty—while his persistent fear and helplessness illustrate how crime corrodes ordinary lives without elevating or redeeming its participants. His presence at both convivial and catastrophic moments reinforces Dickens’s portrayal of the underworld as a communal but fragile system that ultimately collapses under violence and law.

Chapters with Mr. Chitling

• Chapter 25
• Chapter 39
• Chapter 50

More Oliver Twist characters

• Oliver TwistProtagonist
• FaginAntagonist
• Bill SikesAntagonist
• Mr. BumbleMajor character
• Rose MaylieMajor character
• Charley BatesMinor character
• NancyMajor character
• Mr. BrownlowMajor character