Oliver Twist By 7/02/1812 9/06/1870 Charles Dickens Lesson 1 LO: To find out background information about the Victorian era to help you place Oliver Twist in a social and historical context
This includes historical information on workhouses and life in Victorian London, helping you to develop a picture of what Britain was really like at the time. Using this historical information, you can contrast the lives of rich and poor during Victoria's reign and consider how Dickens' novel reflects this. Oliver s London
Paired work: Research about Oliver s London, Rich and Poor, about Dickens on the website www.filmeducation.org. Make notes for each topic and try to analyse what you found out by comparing with today s society: Examples: Oliver s London vs. Teacher s London Rich & Poor in Victorian times vs. Rich & Poor today
Plenary Lesson 1 Answer questions correctly to avoid the three terrible fates that await you. If you don't know the correct answer then you can take a guess but be careful: if you fail to answer enough questions correctly this orphan's story may not have a happy ending! Play the game
Lesson 2 LO: To explore a range of themes contained within the text
Themes Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. The Failure of Charity Purity in a Corrupt City The Countryside Idealized
The Failure of Charity Much of the first part of Oliver Twist challenges the organizations of charity run by the church and the government in Dickens s time. Poor could only receive government assistance if they moved into government workhouses. Residents of those workhouses were essentially prisoners whose rights were severely reduced by a host of difficult regulations. Work was required, families were almost always separated, and rations of food and clothing were miserable. The workhouses operated on the principle that poverty was the consequence of laziness and that the dreadful conditions in the workhouse would inspire the poor to better their own circumstances.
Purity in a Corrupt City Throughout the novel, Dickens confronts the question of whether the terrible environments he portrays have the power to blacken [the soul] and change its hue for ever. By examining the fates of most of the characters, we can assume that his answer is that they do not. Certainly, characters like Sikes and Fagin seem to have sustained permanent damage to their moral sensibilities. Charley Bates maintains enough of a sense of decency to try to capture Sikes. Oliver is above any corruption, though the novel removes him from unhealthy environments. Most telling of all is Nancy, who, though she considers herself lost almost beyond redemption, ends up making the ultimate sacrifice for a child she hardly knows. In contrast, Monks, perhaps the novel s most inhuman villain, was brought up amid wealth and comfort.
The Countryside Idealized All the injustices and privations suffered by the poor in Oliver Twist occur in cities either the great city of London or the provincial city where Oliver is born. When the Maylies take Oliver to the countryside, he discovers a new existence. Dickens states that even people who have spent their entire lives in close and noisy places are likely, in the last moments of their lives, to find comfort in half--imagined memories of sky, and hill and plain. Moreover, country scenes have the potential to purify our thoughts and erase some of the vices that develop in the city. Hence, in the country, the poor people [are] so neat and clean, living a life that is free of the dirtiness that torments their urban counterparts. Oliver and his new family settle in a small village at the novel s end, as if a happy ending would not be possible in the city.
Task: Diary entry Describe the life in the city. Consider the advantages and disadvantages: Date: Living in London Every morning I wake up hearing some sort of noises, but being still half asleep, I cannot figure out what those noises are. When the alarm goes off I realise I woke up 30 minutes earlier than I should have and probably thanks to the noises coming into my room
Plenary Lesson 2 Read your diary entry and conclude how many of us like living in a city and how many wished to have lived in a rural place.
Structure Lesson 3 Objectives: Reading: To learn how structure is a crucial part of the writing process. Writing: To construct a timeline to plot the main events of Oliver Twist.
What is Structure? Word Association Think of the word structure. What comes into your mind? A building? A large tower? A bridge? Maybe someone building or creating something
What is Structure? If you search for the word structure in Google images you find a wide range of pictures: Structure
What is Structure? So what does the word structure mean? Look again at some of the images from Google. What do they all have in common?
Building Many of the images show buildings. From Stonehenge and the Great Wall of China to the Empire State Building the pictures display man made creations. The Oxford Dictionary defines structure as: the way something is constructed or organised and explains that the word derives from the Latin struere meaning build.
Building in English Just like the Empire State Building or the Eiffel Tower writing requires structure. Before any of the structures below were built they would have been carefully thought out and a plan would have been drawn up. TTYP: Why would that have been incredibly important? What could happen if the builders did not use a plan?
Structuring Writing Just like the Eiffel Tower would have collapsed without being built to a plan your writing requires careful thought and planning otherwise it will fall apart. But how do I plan a piece of writing? Actually, it s pretty easy once you know a few simple rules
Chronological Sequencing Chronological is the structure found most frequently in writing. It means placing events in the order in which they happened. Below are a few facts about the life of Charles Dickens. Can you put them into chronological order? Published Oliver Twist in 1838 Died of a stroke in 1870 Father sent to prison in 1824 Born in Portsmouth in 1812 Almost killed in a train crash in 1865
Timeline Task: Produce a timeline for Oliver Twist. Use an A3 page. As you read through the website, list key events along the timeline that cause happened in the 19 th century Britain. 1829 Sir Robert Peel established the Metropolitan Police
Oliver Twist Oliver Twist is one of the most widely read and best loved books in the history of English literature, but what do you know about it? You may have read it or seen a film or theatre version. Jot down what you already know about the story. Oliver Twist Rich & Poor Oliver Twist "Please, sir, I want some more."!
Plenary Lesson 3 Consolidate understanding of key terms: 1. Structure 2. Planning 3. Chronological order Volunteers give a fun, concise chronological account. (E.G: their life story in 60 seconds, a famous person s biography in less than a minute)
Lesson 4 Oliver Twist Who is Oliver Twist? Infer and Deduce
Presenting Characters Objectives: To learn how to infer and deduce information about character from a text To understand how to use Point -> Evidence when writing about characters
Infer and Deduce Look at this picture very carefully. What can you see? We all see different things when we look at an image or read a book. Being able to infer and deduce is about looking closely and picking up clues that tell us more about the character or plot.
What can you see?
What can you see?
What does the picture below suggest about Oliver Twist? Infer & Deduce What does this image tell us about his where he lives?
Infer & Deduce Look carefully at this Victorian illustration. What can you infer and deduce from it about Oliver Twist?
Oliver Twist What are your first impressions of Oliver Twist? Write down 5 adjectives that describe Oliver Twist then find an example of something that he says or does which reinforces that idea. Adjective naïve Evidence when he sees the members of Fagin's gang practicing picking Fagin's pockets and when he goes out with them to steal but has no idea they are thieves until they run off and he is apprehended for the deed
First Impressions last Use your adjective and evidence grid to write a paragraph about Oliver. Think about What does he look like? Where does he live? What does he do for living? What is his character like? Oliver Twist Date: My first impression of Oliver Twist is that he is a
Feedback : Plenary Lesson 4 Read your lists out to a partner or the rest of the class. Explain why you have chosen particular adjectives, say how your examples reinforce your choice of adjectives. Remember: adjectives describe a noun.
Fagin Oliver Twist Lesson 5 Creating characters Mr Brownlow Nancy Mr Sowerberry Oliver Twist
Creating Characters L.O.: To learn how authors use description, dialogue and action to create characters
First Impressions last Remember your description of Oliver Twist? You wrote about his appearance and behaviour. TTYP: What was your first impression and where did those ideas come from? Authors create characters through description, dialogue and action but do you know exactly what those things are?
Description, Dialogue, Action! Can you match up the word with its correct definition? Description What the character says Dialogue What the character does Action How the character looks, feels and behaves
Description, Dialogue, Action! Can you match up the word with its correct definition? Description What the character says Dialogue What the character does Action How the character looks, feels and behaves
Describing Oliver Twist Read Dickens description of Oliver Twist. Find words to describe his character. [His] ninth birthday found him pale child, somewhat diminutive in stature, and decidedly small in circumference. But nature or inheritance had implanted a good sturdy spirit in [his] breast; it had plenty of room to expand, thanks to the spare diet of the establishment; and perhaps to this circumference may be attributed his having any ninth birthday at all. p.49
Oliver Twist and Noah Claypole Read Oliver s dialogue with Noah. Write down at least two differences between Noah and Oliver. One day, Oliver and Noah had descended into the kitchen at the usual dinner-hour, to banquet upon a small joint of mutton -- a pound and a half of the worst end of the neck -- when Charlotte being called out of the way, there ensued a brief interval of time, which Noah Claypole, being hungry and vicious, considered he could not possibly devote to a worthier purpose than aggravating and tantalising young Oliver Twist. Intent upon this innocent amusement, Noah put his feet on the table-cloth; and pulled Oliver's hair; and twitched his ears; and expressed his opinion that he was a "sneak;" and furthermore announced his intention of coming to see him hanged, whenever that desirable event should take place; and entered upon various other topics of petty annoyance, like a malicious and ill-conditioned charity-boy as he was. But, none of these taunts producing the desired effect of making Oliver cry, Noah attempted to be more facetious still; and in this attempt, did what many small wits, with far greater reputations than Noah, sometimes do to this day, when they want to be funny. He got rather personal.
Oliver Twist and Noah Claypole Highlight examples of Oliver s speech that reveal his character. "Work'us," said Noah, "how's your mother?" "She's dead," replied Oliver; "don't you say anything about her to me!" Oliver's colour rose as he said this; he breathed quickly; and there was a curious working of the mouth and nostrils, which Mr. Claypole thought must be the immediate precursor of a violent fit of crying. Under this impression he returned to the charge. "What did she die of, Work'us?" said Noah. "Of a broken heart, some of our old nurses told me," replied Oliver: more as if he were talking to himself, than answering Noah. "I think I know what it must be to die of that!" "Tol de rol lol lol, right fol lairy, Work'us," said Noah, as a tear rolled down Oliver's cheek. "What's set you a snivelling now?" "Not you," replied Oliver, hastily brushing the tear away. "Don't think it." "Oh, not me, eh!" sneered Noah.
Oliver Twist and Mr. Brownlow Read Oliver s dialogue with Mr Brownlow. Write down at least two similarities between Mr Brownlow and Oliver. "Poor boy, poor boy!" said Mr. Brownlow, clearing his throat. "I'm rather hoarse this morning, Mrs. Bedwin. I'm afraid I have caught cold." "I hope not, sir," said Mrs. Bedwin. "Everything you have had, has been well aired, sir." "I don't know, Bedwin. I don't know," said Mr. Brownlow; "I rather think I had a damp napkin at dinner-time yesterday; but never mind that. How do you feel, my dear?" "Very happy, sir," replied Oliver. "And very grateful indeed, sir, for your goodness to me." "Good boy," said Mr. Brownlow, stoutly. "Have you given him any nourishment, Bedwin? Any slops, eh?" "He has just had a basin of beautiful strong broth, sir," replied Mrs. Bedwin: drawing herself up slightly, and laying a strong emphasis on the last word: to intimate that between slops, and broth well compounded, there existed no affinity or conexion whatsoever.
Oliver Twist and Mr. Brownlow Read Oliver s dialogue with Mr Brownlow. Write down at least two similarities between Mr Brownlow and Oliver. "Ugh!" said Mr. Brownlow, with a slight shudder; "a couple of glasses of port wine would have done him a great deal more good. Wouldn't they, Tom White, eh?" "My name is Oliver, sir," replied the little invalid: with a look of great astonishment. "Oliver," said Mr. Brownlow; "Oliver what? Oliver White, eh?" "No, sir, Twist, Oliver Twist." "Queer name!" said the old gentleman. "What made you tell the magistrate your name was White?" "I never told him so, sir," returned Oliver in amazement. This sounded so like a falsehood, that the old gentleman looked somewhat sternly in Oliver's face. It was impossible to doubt him; there was truth in every one of its thin and sharpened lineaments. "Some mistake," said Mr. Brownlow. But, although his motive for looking steadily at Oliver no longer existed, the old idea of the resemblance between his features and some familiar face came upon him so strongly, that he could not withdraw his gaze.
Oliver Twist and Mr Brownlow Compare Oliver s dialogue with Mr Brownlow and Oliver s dialogue with Noah. Think about similarities & differences in the language used by Oliver to converse with these two characters. Why does Oliver speak in standard English?
Oliver s Actions Look at his gut reaction when he sees the Dodger and Charley pick Mr. Brownlow s pocket: In one instant the whole mystery of the handkerchiefs, and the watches, and the jewels, and the Jew, rushed upon the boy s mind. He stood for a moment with the blood tingling so through all his veins from terror, that he felt as if he were in a burning fire; then, confused and frightened, he took to his heels, and, not knowing what he did, made off as fast as he could lay his feet to the ground. (10.15) Oliver's response to the book of criminal biographies that Fagin offers another example: In a paroxysm of fear the boy closed the book and thrust it from him. Then, falling upon his knees, he prayed Heaven to spare him from such deeds, and rather to will that he should die at once, than be reserved for crimes so fearful and appalling. (20.17)
Consolidation Remember the three techniques for creating characters. Description Dialogue Action Look for these techniques in stories you read, and try to use them in your own writing.
Plenary Lesson 5 Think of someone you know well perhaps a friend or relative. Jot down a few quick notes about them under the headings Description, Dialogue and Action. Try to make your observations vivid and specific.
Oliver Twist Lesson 6 Looking at Language
Language Study Objectives: To understand how a dictionary can help you develop your understanding of language and expand your vocabulary.
Using a Dictionary Such as what..? Dictionaries can make a big difference to our spelling but they offer much more
They tell us the meaning of a word, what kind of word it is and where the word originates from.
Root Words Often a word is listed in a dictionary under its root word. For example, kept is found under keep and taught is found under teach. Task! Work out the root words of the following: sang built caught highway bought To gain a level 4 or above you need to be able to spell almost all complex words correctly. This requires you to develop your spelling and language skills, one way of doing this is to use a dictionary.
Definitions One of the great uses of a dictionary is to find out the definition of a word which you don t understand. Here are a few uncommon words. How many can you define in five minutes! a) cranium b) tabard c) franchise d) canker e) laudable f) soliloquy
Different types of dictionaries If you are using a word processing software package with a computer there will probably be an in built dictionary that you can use. Microsoft Word has a dictionary to help you check the meaning of the words you are using. Firstly, place the cursor over the word you want to look up and right click. Finally, you will see options to search for the word in a thesaurus or to translate it. Secondly, click on Look up and you will be referred to the Encarta Dictionary definitions of the word and a phonetic version to help your pronunciation.
Abbreviations prep. adj. pron. conj. Abbreviations adv. pl. n. vb. These abbreviations are frequently used in dictionaries but do you know what they mean?
Abbreviations preposition adjective pronoun conjunction Abbreviations adverb plural noun verb How many did you know?
Origins of Words Some dictionaries give the country of origin of words. Can you work out what these stand for? Hind. Gk. U.S. F. L. Think of other countries, other cultures and ancient languages.
Origins of Words How did you do? Hind. - Hindi Gk. - Greek U.S. United States F. - French L. - Latin Many words which we think of as English are actually from foreign languages.
Dictionary Competition See if your dictionary tells you what kind of word (adjective, plural etc) and where that word originates from for the following: a)café b)drama c)safaris You have five minutes! d)shampoo e)sherbert
Plenary Check your results a)café b)drama c)safaris d)shampooed e)sherbert noun - French noun - Greek plural - Swahili verb - Hindi noun - Turkish
Oliver Twist Lesson 7 Looking at Language
Language Study Objectives: To learn how Dickens uses language in the opening chapter of Oliver Twist to engage the reader.
Language Changes New Words The English language is constantly changing. Words we use now such as laptop, internet or ipod did not exist twenty years ago. The development of new technology alone is rapidly expanding the English language. Can you think of any other new words that did not exist until recently? Changing Words As well as new words some words also change their meaning over time. Words such as wicked, sorted and bad developed different meanings in the 1990s. Can you think of any other words that have developed new meanings in recent years? Old Words The other main change is when words become redundant and fall out of use. Words such as casement and shaw which would have been common a hundred years ago are now defunct and largely unused. Casement Shaw WICKED! Use a dictionary to find out the meanings of the words casement and shaw
Language changes over time The next paragraph is from Oliver Twist. When the workhouse decided that Oliver should be apprenticed, Gamfield, the chimney-sweep, happened to come by the workhouse and offering to be his master, answered the questions of the board of the workhouse. The following speech of Gamfield is a good example of Cockney, showing typically vulgar or substandard pronunciation:
Language changes over time That s acause they damped the straw afore they lit it in the chimbley to make em come down agin, said Gamfield; that s all smoke, and no blaze; vereas smoke ain t o no use at all in making a boy come down, for it only sinds him to sleep, and that s wot he likes. Boys is very obstinit, and wery lazy, gen lmen, and there s nothink like a good hot blaze to make em come down with a run. It s humane too, gen lmen, acause, even if they ve stuck in the chimbley, roasting their feet makes em struggle to hextricate theirselves.
Language changes over time The words of Cockney pronunciation are: acause = because, afore = before, chimbley = chimney, agin = again, sinds = sends, vereas = whereas, vith = with, wot = what, wery = very, nothink = nothing, hextricate = extricate, ain t = isn t, gen lmen = gentlemen, em = them, o = of, obstinit = obstinate.
Chapter One Oliver Twist Chapter I: Treats of the place where Oliver Twist was born, and of the Read the opening circumstances to A attending Christmas his birth. Carol again. Among other public buildings in a certain town, which for many reasons it will be prudent to refrain from mentioning, and to which I will assign no fictitious name, there is one anciently common to most towns, great or small: to wit, a workhouse; and in this workhouse was born; on a day and date which I need not trouble myself to repeat, inasmuch as it can be of no possible consequence to the reader, in this stage of the business at all events; the item of mortality whose name is prefixed to the head of this chapter. For a long time after it was ushered into this world of sorrow and trouble, by the parish surgeon, it remained a matter of considerable doubt whether the child would survive to bear any name at all; in which case it is somewhat more than probable that these memoirs would never have appeared; or, if they had, that being comprised within a couple of pages, they would have possessed the inestimable merit of being the most concise and faithful specimen of biography, extant in the literature of any age or country.
Dickens Technique What clue does the chapter title give us? What narrative hook is used here? Why does Dickens address the reader here? How does the opening try to keep the reader engaged? What technique is used here?
Plenary Lesson 7 Feedback : Read your answers out to a partner or the rest of the class. Explain what techniques you have discovered and provide examples from the text.
Oliver Twist Objective: Lesson 8 To represent characters from script to screen
Script to screen Choose from one of the following then make a storyboard from the script:
Think about how you will communicate a sense of the status of various characters and also the time period in which the film is set. Compare your ideas to the sequences from Oliver Twist (Polanski:2005). Remember there is not a 'right' way to adapt a novel or other source material. The way you do this will depend on the various choices and experiences that you make and bring to the text. Look at the script and consider how many characters there are, their actions, the dialogue and their movements, what sort of mood is developed, is it tense, sad etc. How will you communicate this to your audience? This is exactly the same information that the director and storyboard artists would have used to create what we see on screen. You will need to read the script carefully to pick up the information that you want to use to when you construct the storyboard.
Plenary Lesson 8 Plan a scene that has not been included in the novel.
Lesson 9 Objective: To understand how to use Point -> Evidence when writing about characters To understand how Dickens make the reader feel sympathetic towards Oliver
Motifs and Symbols in Oliver Twist Today we are going to look at the text and quotations and try to analyse how the writer is trying to make the reader feel sympathetic towards the characters. When we look at a quote we try to analyse what the writer is expressing by using the point/ evidence and analyse structure. The point is when you look at the text and find the theme or the main idea you extracted from the text/ quote. The evidence is the actual text/ quote. Analysis/ explanation represents finding out the motifs and symbols in the story. Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text s major themes. Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colours used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
Motifs and Symbols in Oliver Twist Motifs Disguised or Mistaken Identities Hidden Family Relationships Surrogate Families Oliver s Face Symbols Characters Names Bull s-eye London Bridge
Choosing and analysing quotations Extract But now that he was enveloped in the old calico robes, which had grown yellow in the same service, he was badged and ticketed, and fell into his place at once a parish child the orphan of a workhouse - the humble half-starved drudge to be cuffed and buffeted through the world, - despised by all, and pitied by none. Chapter 1 Point: Point/ Evidence/ Analysis From the beginning of the novel, Dickens presents Oliver as bullied and vulnerable and that this is because of his position as an orphan born in the workhouse. Evidence: the humble half-starved drudge to be cuffed and buffeted through the world Analysis/ Explanation: Even though Oliver is only a baby, because he is in the workhouse the way his life will go is already decided: he will not have enough to eat, he will have no control over what happens to him and he will be abused by those around him.
Plenary Lesson 9 Talk about your table with the rest of the class. Discuss the points you have made, provide evidence and explain what the evidence tells the reader about Oliver.