Describe the condition of the poor in the workhouse.

The conditions in the workhouse are awful. The children are half-starved and dirty. Many of the children die of malnutrition, sickness and accidents. The children who live in the workhouse are expected to subsist on three meals per day of thin gruel. Starving, the boys decide that one of them must ask for more food. When Oliver approaches the master, he says, "Please sir, I want some more," causing chaos. He is then placed in solitary confinement, and a sign is put up outside the workhouse offering to pay someone to take Oliver off their hands.