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Age and build

burly, powerfully built frame

“the man displayed the burly frame of Sikes” (Oliver Twist, part 47)

wasted and cadaverous in appearance after illness

“the meagre and attenuated condition of Mr. Sikes himself would have fully confirmed these symptoms” (Oliver Twist, part 39)

Face and hair

features made worse by illness and stubble

“displaying a set of features in no degree improved by the cadaverous hue of illness, and the addition of a soiled nightcap, and a stiff, black beard of a week’s growth” (Oliver Twist, part 39)

blanched face with sunken eyes and hollow cheeks when hunted

“Blanched face, sunken eyes, hollow cheeks, beard of three days’ growth, wasted flesh, short thick breath; it was the very ghost of Sikes” (Oliver Twist, part 50)

Dress

velveteen coat with drab shorts and half-boots

“a man in a velveteen coat, drab shorts, half-boots and stockings” (Oliver Twist, part 15)

great-coat worn as dressing-gown when ill

“wrapped in his white great-coat, by way of dressing-gown” (Oliver Twist, part 39)

large dark shawls around neck and chin when on criminal business

“Sikes and his companion enveloped their necks and chins in large dark shawls, and drew on their great-coats” (Oliver Twist, part 22)

Voice and speech

very harsh voice, speaks in harshest key

“Mr. Sikes spoke in the very harshest key of a very harsh voice” (Oliver Twist, part 15)

uses cant terms and criminal slang throughout conversation

“in cant terms, with which his whole conversation was plentifully besprinkled” (Oliver Twist, part 13)

growls like addressing his dog

“with a growl like that he was accustomed to use when addressing his dog” (Oliver Twist, part 16)

Signature words

frequent use of 'Burn my body' as exclamation

“Burn my body, make haste” (Oliver Twist, part 19)

uses 'strike me blind' as oath

“Strike me blind, if I don’t honour that ’ere girl” (Oliver Twist, part 15)

refers to himself as 'Bill' in third person

“Bill Sikes in the passage with nobody to do the civil to him” (Oliver Twist, part 22)

uses 'young 'un' to address Oliver

“Now, young ’un!” said Sikes, looking up at the clock” (Oliver Twist, part 21)

Gait and mannerisms

makes threatening gesture with hand to throat

“Mr. Sikes contented himself with tying an imaginary knot under his left ear, and jerking his head over on the right shoulder” (Oliver Twist, part 13)

smites table with enormous fist

“smiting the table with his enormous fist” (Oliver Twist, part 13)

drags people by the wrist or collar

“clasped it firmly in his, and, exchanging a farewell with Nancy, led him away” (Oliver Twist, part 20)

kicks animals when angry or frustrated

“Whether his meditations were so intense as to be disturbed by the dog’s winking, or whether his feelings were so wrought upon by his reflections that they required all the relief derivable from kicking an unoffending animal to allay them” (Oliver Twist, part 15)

Strengths

skilled housebreaker with professional tools and knowledge

“he insisted upon producing his box of housebreaking tools: which he had no sooner stumbled in with, and opened for the purpose of explaining the nature and properties of the various implements it contained” (Oliver Twist, part 19)

physically powerful and strong

“I should have such strength,” muttered the robber, poising his brawny arm, “that I could smash your head as if a loaded waggon had gone over it” (Oliver Twist, part 47)

quick to act decisively in dangerous situations

“Sikes had disappeared for an instant; but he was up again, and had him by the collar before the smoke had cleared away” (Oliver Twist, part 22)

Flaws

prone to violent rage and brutal treatment of others

“Illness had not improved Mr. Sikes’s temper; for, as the girl raised him up and led him to a chair, he muttered various curses on her awkwardness, and struck her” (Oliver Twist, part 39)

suspicious and paranoid nature

“You haven’t opened the parcel and swallowed one or two as you come along, have you?” inquired Sikes, suspiciously” (Oliver Twist, part 15)

lacks subtlety and discrimination in reading people

“Mr. Sikes lacking the niceties of discrimination, and being troubled with no more subtle misgivings than those which resolve themselves into a dogged roughness of behaviour towards everybody” (Oliver Twist, part 39)

driven by greed and self-interest

“That’s for our share of the trouble,” said Sikes; “and not half enough, neither” (Oliver Twist, part 16)

Traits

contemptuous of others, especially those weaker

“surveying him with savage contempt” (Oliver Twist, part 15)

malicious and cruel in nature

“returned Sikes with a malicious grin” (Oliver Twist, part 13)

unsentimental and practical about crime

“the unsentimental Mr. Sikes” (Oliver Twist, part 16)

capable of sudden violence without warning

“the man thrust and swore, and struck and blasphemed” (Oliver Twist, part 15)

deeply attached to his dog despite cruelty

“the dog running forward, as if conscious that there was no further occasion for his keeping on guard” (Oliver Twist, part 16)

Lines in their own words

threatening Oliver about the pistol

“if he speaks ever so soft a word, hold him! D’ye mind” (Oliver Twist, part 16)

dismissing Fagin's concerns

“You’re blowed upon, Fagin” (Oliver Twist, part 13)