Acceptability of stereotypes in fiction? Steampunk Oliver Twist?

What are everyone's opinions on whether stereotypes are ever acceptable in fiction? A while ago I did a first draft of a Steampunk Oliver Twist retelling which was narrated by the Artful Dodger in diary format, Fagin was a Polish immigrant with a heavy accent who teamed up with a (black) Jamaican immigrant baby farmer (with equally heavy "patwa" accent. Most of the Jamaican dialect I know comes from listening to and singing old mento songs, including some very bawdy ones.) and Nancy was his biological daughter. Oh yeah, and the Dodger is the Jamaican lady's son. And there's this whole set up involving a black market (I still haven't figured out why exactly there's a huge black market, maybe it's set in the 1940s. I do know it's in a world where the steam age never ended.) Basically, it's a very loose retelling. I might be getting back to it soon, which is why I asked these questions.

The thing is that during my research I discovered that Jewish fences and kidsmen were very common in the 19th century when Dickens was writing Oliver Twist. The most common front for a fence was apparently a pawnshop. (See the connection? An old trope was the Jewish Pawnbroker/moneylender) And given the fact that Fagin and Shylock are anti-Semitic stereotypes, writing about an Orthodox Jewish, religious Fagin (Ikey Solomon, the supposed RL inspiration for the character, was very religious) even though he's a sympathetic character, (Come on, it's narrated by the Artful Dodger) could be seen as reinforcing the stereotype. What does everyone think? And also, what's a plausible scenario for the existence of the Black Market?

BTW, I still want to keep the dark tone of the Dickens novel in this one. After all, this is a world where fencing stolen goods has become almost semi-legal. There's no way that isn't a Crapsack World.

edited 7th Jul '12 5:18:50 PM by MorwenEdhelwen

Could a Steampunk Oliver Twist even work?

edited 7th Jul '12 6:36:57 AM by MorwenEdhelwen

Don't see why not, I suspect a lot of steampunk settings import heavily from Dickens to begin with. If it inspires you, go with it.

I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with stereotypes. The wiki article notes that Dickens has a talent for caricature, and I think that's probably what Fagin is, a satirical caricature of a monster that lurked in the public consciousness at the time. In a way, he serves a story purpose that he couldn't have done if he wasn't a grotesque Jewish stereotype. On the other hand, it could have been handled a lot more sensitively without contributing to the very problem it represents.

As always though, if you're worried about offending a minority, it's best to consult with actual members of that minority directly. There might be some here but I don't get the impression we're very diverse.

Also, as long as there are government regulations on commerce and an imperfect legal system, black market trading is inevitable. The more oppressive the regulations, and the less perfect the legal system, the bigger the black market. Demand exceeding supply boosts it, as does inequality. I don't think it needs to be a complete crapsack world for it to be commonplace, but obviously, it helps.

I'd vote against the stereotypes, especially since they're ethnic ones.

Any Jewish tropers want to put in their opinion on the stereotype question? (I have two reasons for writing it that way. (1)There are lots of immigrants with heavy accents in Real Life. My own (Malaysian Chinese) parents are examples. (2)There are also some religious people in organised crime IRL. (3)Most stereotypes are based on some tiny, exaggerated grains of truth and perceptions of what a particular group is like. Emphasis on tiny, "exaggerated and perceptions.

edited 7th Jul '12 4:52:17 PM by MorwenEdhelwen

I think that we should remember the context that Dickens wrote Oliver Twist in. The story was published as a serial in 24 installments from February 1837 to April 1839. That's a long time to be reading a single novel, and asking readers to remember unique and complicated characterisations for that length of time just isn't practical.

Utilising easily-remembered stereotypes would have helped readers keep a track of who is who without having to go keep and re-read the previous however many chapters before reading the new installment.

Stereotypes used correctly are a tool of convenience. They're a way of getting from Point A to Point B without wasting time by building up a character that ultimatley doesn't go anywhere. At the same time, they can help avoid bland, interchangable and completely unmemorable background characters. You'll accept the imperial troops in Star Wars, for example, being essentially SS goons in space because it gets the point across while keeping everything in focus.

One-dimensional stereotypical characters don't really work well as the main focus in a modern novel, however. It's boring and repetitive, if not offensive. But the key term here is one-dimensional; there's no reason why Fagin can't be what you describe provided that his defining characteristic isn't a one-dimensional Greedy Jew or the like.

Provided that the character is otherwise well-written and logically constructed (and thus justified) there really isn't a problem. Because he won't be a stereotype but a fully rounded character.

edited 7th Jul '12 5:01:46 PM by TheBatPencil

Very good answer, Bat Pencil! Thanks.

edited 7th Jul '12 5:12:15 PM by MorwenEdhelwen

What if Fagin appeared to be greedy and stereotypical at first but was really trying to collect to advance a cause/help someone as opposed to just helping himself?

@Utahann: That's kind of what I'm doing.

Is that really worthwhile, though? It's not like 'hey, this guy isn't a one-dimensional Greedy Jew after all' is shocking, unexplored ground any more, and it's frankly kind of weird to treat it as if it is. Why not just have him as a rounded, three-dimensional character from the start?

@laculus: Actually, the only thing about Fagin that's "bad" is that he's a fence and a kidsman and very obviously a European Jewish immigrant.

Not really seeing how that invalidates my reply to that post, though.

I don't know.

Back to the idea of Steampunk Oliver Twist:

All I have in my brain is the idea that it's post-apocalyptic and that tunnels and gold smuggling are involved. Also, that it's from the perspective of the Artful Dodger and is sort of like a post-apocalyptic Gangs Of New York. I know that Fagin's group of kids collect scrap metal and make stuff to sell on the streets, as well as other things like performing. Stealing is only part of it. Nancy may or may not actually be his illegitimate daughter. I know that the ending will be different from Dickens' novel, which I have read. But how the hell do I actually get this thing to work?

edited 10th Aug '13 7:30:06 PM by MorwenEdhelwen

Never mind. I thought of how to figure it out.