Oliver Itch

It was amusing to see how the behaviour of people changed when I climbed the academic ladder in my student era. I was valued more; my opinions carried more weight. What's more interesting is that the same outcome could have been expected if I were illiterate and had the ladder been of wealth.

In the society, I live, people seek external validation more often than they should. Everything has to be branded, displayed and curated — from head to toe, from school name to where you live. This reminds me of a line of Dickens from Oliver Twist.

Dignity, and even holiness too, sometimes, are more questions of coat and waistcoat than some people imagine.

These words hit me so hard. Even in the early 1800s social issues were more or less the same as they are now.

It is a world for the rich and not for the poor.

We only spare our attentions for the rich — nicely dressed and well-versed even if they are the most hollow and shallow beings. This is not out of respect but we hope for some form of a "gain" from them. This respect is transactional, a quiet calculation of securing opportunity, a favour or better influence. Such selfish creatures, we are.

It is the world for the sly and not for the guileless.

These days everyone thinks they are morally and intellectually superior to others. A thief always justifies the theft with necessity; a murderer reasons the blood with revenge. The highly fluid situation of the current world affairs is no different.

Perhaps, this is the truth of life, society values appearances and those who are skilled at positioning themselves in it. But it's a destructive truth to accept. Dickens exposed the flaws of this world but it's up to us not to mistake the coat for the character.

I was looking both for a nice coat and some character to come and write here. Took me so long.

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Afternote...

I read a chapter of Oliver Twist in school and never read the whole book until a few months ago. I got an old worn-out copy from the local library which gave me allergies that I started calling Oliver Itch and eventually had to return to the library because it was impossible to read it with invisible things crawling up on my skin whenever I touched it. I was determined to read the whole book this time so I bought myself a new copy. It was the right decision.

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These are just random thoughts with open-ended reflections and possibilities. Don't take it too seriously.