Oliver TwistLesson 2

Thursday 13th January 2022

Learning purposes

• Further explore context of a Victorian novel

• Analyse how language creates meaning

• Explore Oliver’s thoughts and feelings

Prior learning:1. What did we learn about

the character of Oliver?2. What was unusual about

the circumstances of his birth?

Future learning:• How did context influence

the choices Dickens made?• Develop knowledge of prose

writing, character, themes and narrative perspective.

Starter

Draw an outline of an empty bowl, surround it with adjectives describing how Oliver was presented in the first two chapters.

Things you might want to think about:

• How Oliver was described when he was born.

• Oliver’s future as an orphan in the workhouse.

• Oliver’s bravery when he asked for more.

• How Oliver was treated after he asked for more.

Chapter 3 (pages 16-18)

• Oliver is flogged and then locked in a dark room.

• Mr. Gamfield, a chimney sweep, offers to take Oliver on as an apprentice.

• At the last minute, the magistrate notices Oliver’s pale, alarmed face. He asks the boy why he looks so terrified. Oliver falls on his knees and begs that he be locked in a room, beaten, killed, or any other punishment besides being apprenticed to Mr. Gamfield.

• The magistrate refuses to approve the apprenticeship, and the workhouse authorities again advertise Oliver’s availability.

Chapter 3 – Key quotations (pages 16-18)

Characters What have we learnt about this character?

Evidence (quotations)

Analysis of the quotation, include a range of adjectives describing the character.

Mr Gamfield

Mr Limbkins

Mr Bumble

Oliver Twist

Reading

Read pages 19-22.

Analyse the language used in the following quotations, explore how they present the key events. How is the reader meant to feel about what is happening?

1. ‘…giving Oliver a sly pinch to intimate that he had better not say he didn’t’. (About Mr Bumble)

2. ‘Oliver fell on his knees, and clasping his hands together…’

3. ‘Yes. Hold your tongue’ (magistrate)

Chapter 4 (pages 26-27)

• In Chapter 4, the workhouse board considers sending Oliver out to sea as a cabin boy, expecting that he would die quickly in such miserable conditions.

• However, Mr. Sowerberry, the parish undertaker, takes Oliver on as his apprentice. Mrs. Sowerberry serves Oliver the leftovers that the dog has declined to eat.

• Oliver devours the food as though it were a great feast. After he finishes, Mrs. Sowerberry leads him to his bed, worrying that his appetite seems so large.

• Question: How is Oliver’s desperation presented on these two pages? Find a quotation to support your ideas.

Chapters 5, 6 and 7 take place at Mr Sowerberry’s coffin makers• In Chapter 5, Noah Claypole, Mr. Sowerberry’s apprentice, wakes

Oliver.

• Noah and Charlotte, the maid, taunt Oliver during breakfast. Oliver accompanies Sowerberry to prepare for a pauper’s burial. The husband of the dead woman is upset – she has starved to death. He once tried to beg for her so the authorities sent him to prison for the offence.

• At the graveyard before the funeral, some boys play around the coffin so Mr. Bumble beats a few of the boys. The clergyman performs the service in four minutes. Oliver decides that he is not at all fond of the undertaking business.

Chapter 6 (Start reading from the bottom of page 37 ‘Work’us,’ to page 40)• In Chapter 6, a measles epidemic arrives, and Oliver gains extensive

experience in undertaking.

• His master dresses him well so that he can march in the processions. Noah becomes increasingly jealous of Oliver’s treatment. One day, he insults Oliver’s dead mother. Oliver attacks him.

• Charlotte and Mrs. Sowerberry rush to help Noah, and the three of them violently beat Oliver and lock him in the cellar.

Writing task

Write the following question into your exercise books:

How does Dickens show Oliver’s anger and mistreatment in this chapter?

You should start by skimming back through what we have read and find at least three quotations that support this question.

Model response

Dickens successfully presents Oliver as a character who is upset, angry and frustrated. His annoyance is demonstrated when he loses his temper, erupting with ‘don’t you say anything about her to me!’ towards Noah Claypole, who is mocking him about his dead mother. The use of the imperative ‘don’t’ highlights how this is an uncomfortable topic for Oliver, opting to demand Noah’s silence as opposed to asking for it. Additionally, the exclamative function serves to depict Oliver’s pain and sorrow, and how that has subsequently manifested in an authoritative, defensive manner. Overall, Dickens is able to effectively capture the intense emotions experienced by orphaned children in Victorian England.

Plenary: STAR Time

Complete your STAR proofreading.

• Substitute words with more suitable replacements.

• Take things out and remove unnecessary details.

• Add things in or go into more detail.

• Rearrange the order of ideas and structure of the writing.

Always check your spelling and punctuation and make at least 3 visible changes.

Homework

• Read chapter 7