The man who growled out these words, was a stoutly-built fellow of about five-and-thirty, in a black velveteen coat, very soiled drab breeches, lace-up half-boots, and grey cotton stockings which enclosed a bulky pair of legs, with large swelling calves—the kind of legs, which in such costume, always look in an unfinished and incomplete state without a set of fetters to garnish them. He had a brown hat on his head, and a dirty belcher handkerchief round his neck: with the long frayed ends of which he smeared the beer from his face as he spoke. He disclosed, when he had done so, a broad heavy countenance with a beard of three days' growth, and two scowling eyes; one of which displayed various parti-coloured symptoms of having been recently damaged by a blow.[1]
His girlfriend Nancy reluctantly tolerates, but is intimidated by, his violent behaviour. However, when he thinks Nancy has betrayed him, Sikes viciously murders her.[2] After police identify him as travelling with a dog, Sikes attempts to drown Bull's-eye to rid himself of his companion. In the end he hangs himself while trying to escape. It is left ambiguous whether or not this act was accidental or intentional.
Sikes is a somewhat conflicted character. For instance, after preventing her from keeping her midnight appointment with Rose Maylie and Mr Brownlow, he wondered aloud to Fagin if being indoors for so long in their dingy lodging was beginning to affect her after she dedicated the whole day caring for him. After he brutally beats Nancy to death, Sikes apparently is capable of feeling guilt—although the reader cannot be sure the emotion is not merely his suspicion that Fagin lied to him about her betrayal and fear of being arrested for the crime.
Sikes lives in Bethnal Green and later moves to the squalid rookery area of London then called Jacob's Island, east of present-day Shad Thames. Otherwise, Sikes's background and early life prior to joining Fagin are not mentioned in the book.
Robert Newton first played Sikes on screen in the 1948 British film noir Oliver Twist. Sikes's death is changed slightly: while attempting to swing to another building to escape the mob, he is shot by a police officer and dies while dangling from a building by a rope around his body. Perhaps Newton's portrayal is the closest to how Dickens himself envisioned the character: a vicious, heavy drinking sociopath.
Sikes was played by Danny Sewell in the stage musical Oliver! which won several awards in the early 1960s. Oliver Reed played Sikes in the musical's 1968 film adaptation which also won several awards, including the Oscar for Best Picture, with Reed's performance often cited as one of the best portrayals of Sikes – being labelled as "the sinister core of the film". His songs are removed from the film, making his performance of the character closer to that of the novel rather than the stage version. The famous climax of the 1948 film adaptation is retained and Bill Sikes dies in the same manner of being shot then hanging himself.
In Disney's animated version, Oliver & Company (1988), Sikes is renamed Sykes and he is a cold-hearted loan shark who lives and works in a New York shipyard with his pet Dobermans, Roscoe and DeSoto, and is voiced by Robert Loggia, who was cast in the role after Marlon Brando rejected an offer to voice the character because he felt the film was going to be a flop.[5] Fagin, here depicted as a dogkeeper, owes him money before Sykes proceeds to kidnap a young wealthy girl, Jenny Foxworth, planning to take a ransom to himself. In a final confrontation, Sykes chases Fagin and the dogs into the subway tunnels in attempt to recapture Jenny until they reach the Brooklyn Bridge. While Roscoe and DeSoto are killed when they fall onto the electrified railway, Sykes fights with Oliver and Dodger on the roof of his limousine, and is brutally killed when his car collides with a train, sending his corpse falling into the East River.
In the 2021 movie, Twist, Sikes is altered into a female portrayed by Lena Headey with a pet Doberman named Bull's-eye and appears to be a lesbian when seen in a supposed relationship with Nancy. This version, however, was criticized for transitioning a male character into female.
References
^Dickens, Charles (1839). Oliver Twist. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). London: Richard Bentley. pp. 198–9.
^"Bill Sikes: My favourite Charles Dickens character". Telegraph. No. 2012–02–15. Retrieved 2018-08-11.
^Madeleine Bingham, Henry Irving and The Victorian Theatre, Routledge (1978) - Google Books pgs. 68-69
^Richard Foulkes (ed), Henry Irving: A Re-Evaluation of the Pre-Eminent Victorian Actor-Manager, Routledge (2017) - Google Books
^Hischak, Thomas S. (6 October 2011). Disney Voice Actors: A Biographical Dictionary. ISBN9780786486946.
^All-star cast announced for BBC adaptation of Oliver Twist, BBC (25 July 2007)
^Hemley, Matthew Drop the Dead Donkey duo creates new BBC1 comedy, The Stage (11 July 2007)
January 09, 2023
bill, sikes, william, bill, sikes, fictional, character, main, antagonist, 1838, novel, oliver, twist, charles, dickens, sikes, malicious, criminal, fagin, gang, vicious, robber, murderer, throughout, much, novel, sikes, shadowed, bull, terrier, bull, fred, ba. William Bill Sikes is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1838 novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens Sikes is a malicious criminal in Fagin s gang and a vicious robber and murderer Throughout much of the novel Sikes is shadowed by his bull terrier dog Bull s eye Bill SikesBill Sikes by Fred BarnardCreated byCharles DickensPortrayed byGeorge Siegmann 1922 William Stage Boyd 1933 Robert Newton 1948 Danny Sewell 1960 Oliver Reed 1968 Tim Curry 1982 Michael Attwell 1985 Michael McAnallen 1995 Jack Pocorobba 1996 David O Hara 1997 Andy Serkis 1999 Jamie Foreman 2007 Tom Hardy 2009 Steven Hartley 2009 Shannon Wise 2010 Jake Thomas 2011 Anthony Brown 2015 Sam C Wilson 2022 Voiced byRobert Loggia 1988 In universe informationFull nameWilliam SikesGenderMaleOccupationCriminalRobberSignificant otherNancy love interest Role in the novel EditDickens describes his first appearance The man who growled out these words was a stoutly built fellow of about five and thirty in a black velveteen coat very soiled drab breeches lace up half boots and grey cotton stockings which enclosed a bulky pair of legs with large swelling calves the kind of legs which in such costume always look in an unfinished and incomplete state without a set of fetters to garnish them He had a brown hat on his head and a dirty belcher handkerchief round his neck with the long frayed ends of which he smeared the beer from his face as he spoke He disclosed when he had done so a broad heavy countenance with a beard of three days growth and two scowling eyes one of which displayed various parti coloured symptoms of having been recently damaged by a blow 1 The death of Sikes by Kyd 1905 His girlfriend Nancy reluctantly tolerates but is intimidated by his violent behaviour However when he thinks Nancy has betrayed him Sikes viciously murders her 2 After police identify him as travelling with a dog Sikes attempts to drown Bull s eye to rid himself of his companion In the end he hangs himself while trying to escape It is left ambiguous whether or not this act was accidental or intentional Sikes is a somewhat conflicted character For instance after preventing her from keeping her midnight appointment with Rose Maylie and Mr Brownlow he wondered aloud to Fagin if being indoors for so long in their dingy lodging was beginning to affect her after she dedicated the whole day caring for him After he brutally beats Nancy to death Sikes apparently is capable of feeling guilt although the reader cannot be sure the emotion is not merely his suspicion that Fagin lied to him about her betrayal and fear of being arrested for the crime Sikes lives in Bethnal Green and later moves to the squalid rookery area of London then called Jacob s Island east of present day Shad Thames Otherwise Sikes s background and early life prior to joining Fagin are not mentioned in the book Theatrical cinematic and TV portrayals EditIn the theatre Sikes was played by Henry Irving opposite Ellen Terry as Nancy in Oliver Twist at the Queen s Theatre in London 1868 3 4 Robert Newton first played Sikes on screen in the 1948 British film noir Oliver Twist Sikes s death is changed slightly while attempting to swing to another building to escape the mob he is shot by a police officer and dies while dangling from a building by a rope around his body Perhaps Newton s portrayal is the closest to how Dickens himself envisioned the character a vicious heavy drinking sociopath Sikes was played by Danny Sewell in the stage musical Oliver which won several awards in the early 1960s Oliver Reed played Sikes in the musical s 1968 film adaptation which also won several awards including the Oscar for Best Picture with Reed s performance often cited as one of the best portrayals of Sikes being labelled as the sinister core of the film His songs are removed from the film making his performance of the character closer to that of the novel rather than the stage version The famous climax of the 1948 film adaptation is retained and Bill Sikes dies in the same manner of being shot then hanging himself In Disney s animated version Oliver amp Company 1988 Sikes is renamed Sykes and he is a cold hearted loan shark who lives and works in a New York shipyard with his pet Dobermans Roscoe and DeSoto and is voiced by Robert Loggia who was cast in the role after Marlon Brando rejected an offer to voice the character because he felt the film was going to be a flop 5 Fagin here depicted as a dogkeeper owes him money before Sykes proceeds to kidnap a young wealthy girl Jenny Foxworth planning to take a ransom to himself In a final confrontation Sykes chases Fagin and the dogs into the subway tunnels in attempt to recapture Jenny until they reach the Brooklyn Bridge While Roscoe and DeSoto are killed when they fall onto the electrified railway Sykes fights with Oliver and Dodger on the roof of his limousine and is brutally killed when his car collides with a train sending his corpse falling into the East River In Disney s 1997 live action television production Oliver Twist Bill Sikes is played by David O Hara In the 2005 Oliver Twist Bill Sikes is played by Jamie Foreman In 2007 Sikes is portrayed by actor Tom Hardy in the BBC One miniseries Oliver Twist later aired in the United States on PBS Masterpiece Classic 6 7 In the 2015 BBC TV series Dickensian Sikes is played by Mark Stanley In the 2021 movie Twist Sikes is altered into a female portrayed by Lena Headey with a pet Doberman named Bull s eye and appears to be a lesbian when seen in a supposed relationship with Nancy This version however was criticized for transitioning a male character into female References Edit Dickens Charles 1839 Oliver Twist Vol 1 2nd ed London Richard Bentley pp 198 9 Bill Sikes My favourite Charles Dickens character Telegraph No 2012 02 15 Retrieved 2018 08 11 Madeleine Bingham Henry Irving and The Victorian Theatre Routledge 1978 Google Books pgs 68 69 Richard Foulkes ed Henry Irving A Re Evaluation of the Pre Eminent Victorian Actor Manager Routledge 2017 Google Books Hischak Thomas S 6 October 2011 Disney Voice Actors A Biographical Dictionary ISBN 9780786486946 All star cast announced for BBC adaptation of Oliver Twist BBC 25 July 2007 Hemley Matthew Drop the Dead Donkey duo creates new BBC1 comedy The Stage 11 July 2007 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bill Sikes amp oldid 1117970822, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
