One of the most important elements of technique that engages a writer's ingenuity is the way he manages time. The passage of time can be made evident by the chronology of events, either through dramatic presentation or narrative summary. Yet it is often impracticable for the writer to represent or suggest the passage of time, and he may resort to bare statement, which is what Dickens does in Chapter 2. A brief account of the mistreatment suffered by the young paupers leads to an abrupt statement that Oliver Twist is nine years old. The reader is in no way made to feel the passing of years, and the pronouncement comes as rather a surprise. The author, however, is obviously eager to reach the point where a fuller chronicle takes on significance.
In this same chapter, we meet Mr. Bumble, one of Dickens's famous minor characters. The minute he begins to speak, he makes himself conspicuous by mispronouncing parochial as "porochial." He also seems to regard his headgear as indicative of his station: he glances "complacently at the cocked hat." Oliver Twist acknowledges the power of the symbol when he makes his bow, which is "divided between the beadle on the chair, and the cocked hat on the table."
In his conversation with Mrs. Mann, Bumble reveals that he could learn nothing about Oliver's parentage. This persistent obscurity surrounding the boy's origins reinforces the atmosphere of mystery evoked in the opening scenes of the book.
