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Abstract

This article employs Stuart Hall’s (1997) theory of representation to analyze the construction of The Other in the portrayal of Fagin as a Jewish character in Charles Dickens’ novel Oliver Twist. The study focuses on how practices of representation, stereotyping, and anti-Semitic racism are constructed through language and narrative structure. The main aim is to identify forms of anti-Semitic representation and the ideological mechanisms that shape Jewish identity as an outsider (The Other). The research uses a qualitative descriptive method with a literary and cultural studies approach, analyzing text, characters, and narrative based on concepts of representation, stereotyping, encoding-decoding, and racism within Hall’s framework. Findings show that Fagin is consistently represented through ethnic markers, negative stereotypes, and social exclusion, which are static in nature. These representations not only serve to characterize the antagonist but also reproduce anti-Semitic discourse by constructing Jewish identity as different, dangerous, and morally inferior. This study confirms that Oliver Twist presents racism not as an incidental element, but as a system of representation embedded within the language and narrative structure of the novel.

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