Lesson video

Here is Oliver Twist, a nine-year-old orphan hated by the world and abandoned by all.

Life for Oliver has been hard so far.

It's now going to get much, much worse.

Hello, everyone.

Welcome to our third lesson of Oliver Twist.

In this lesson, we are going to read one of the most famous extracts, not only in Charles Dickens' writing, but in all of English literature.

In this extract, Oliver gets into a lot of trouble.

Let's begin.

For today's lesson, you will need an exercise book or paper and a pen.

Feel free to press the pause button on this video now.

If you do not have this equipment, go and collect this equipment, and then we will begin our lesson.

Let's begin with a recap from our last lesson.

As we learned in our last extract, Oliver met the workhouse board.

Here's a question for you.

What happens when Oliver Twist faced the workhouse board? You have four options.

Option one, the board ensured that Oliver Twist was well fed.

Option two, the board members agreed that Oliver was a fool.

Option three, the board calmed Oliver's worries.

Or option four, the board refused to accept Oliver into their workhouse.

You can now press the pause button on this video and tell the screen the right answer.

I will now tell you the right answer, which is of course option two.

The board members agreed that Oliver was a fool.

Well done if you got that right.

I will now go through our plan for today's lesson.

First of all, we will look up the idea that Dickens was a social critic.

We will then read our extract, and then we will analyse our extract.

So let's begin.

We're beginning with this idea that Dickens was a social critic.

I will now explain what this term means.

As you know from our last lesson, Dickens wrote many novels.

Now a novel is a long book which tells a story about imaginary events and people.

Harry Potter is a novel.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is novel.

And the Hunger Games is also a novel.

Now Charles Dickens' novels were very popular and entertaining, but Dickens wrote for a serious purpose.

As you know from Dickens' childhood, Dickens had experienced poverty himself.

Remember when he had to work at the blacking factory to pay off his father's debts? Dickens wanted to open the eyes of his readers to the sufferings of poor people through his novels.

This mission was inspired by Charles Dickens' experience of poverty himself.

Now Dickens had a great passion for the poor, which lasted the whole way through his life.

Dickens would often go walking through the poorest areas of London late at night.

He would often walk between 15 and 20 miles.

Dickens would use these walks as inspiration for his writing.

Dickens was passionate about helping the poor.

We can therefore say that Dickens can be described as a social critic.

A social critic is a person who criticises the problems in society with the aim of making it fairer.

Let me just read that definition one second time.

A social critic is a person who criticises the problems in society with the aim of making it fairer.

In particular, Dickens criticised the cruelty with which society treated the poor.

Dickens was a social critic.

I will now test your understanding of this idea.

Which of these people is a social critic? You have four options.

Option one, James is always criticising his classmates.

Option two, Daniel is a movie critic.

Option three, Samirah is an author who writes about the problems in Britain.

And option four, Fred is always out socialising with his friends.

Press the pause button on this video now and tell the screen the right answer.

Which of these people is a social critic? I will now now tell you the right answer, which is of course, option three.

Samirah is an author.

He writes about the problems in Britain.

As we said, a social critic is a person who writes about the problems in society in order to make it a fairer place.

Well done if you got that right.

Now some of you may have said that James was a social critic.

This is an easy mistake to make.

You might've said that James is a social critic because he is always criticising his friends, but a social critic doesn't necessarily criticise their friends.

A social critic has a far bigger focus.

A social critic criticises society.

Some of you may have thought that Daniel is a social critic, but again, Daniel's job focuses on critiquing movies.

A social critic, meanwhile, critiques a whole society.

And some of you may also have thought that Fred is a social critic because he is very social.

But this again involves a slight misunderstanding about what a social critic actually is.

A social critic focuses upon criticising society in order to make it a fairer place.

Now, Charles Dickens was a social critic.

Dickens criticised the problems in society in order to make it fairer.

When we look at Charles Dickens' novels, we must therefore ask ourselves this question.

What social problem is Dickens criticising? We must get in the author's head and try to answer this question.

Now in our extract, Dickens draws the reader's attention to a particular social problem in Victorian society.

In our extract, Dickens describes the awful conditions of the workhouse.

Life in the workhouse, as you know, was deliberately kept miserable.

Families would be broken up upon entering the workhouse.

Workhouse inhabitants would also be forced to wear uniforms. They were poorly fed and had to endure backbreaking work.

In Dickens' view, the workhouse was similar to a prison that treated poor people as if they were criminals.

We can see Dickens' perspective in the extract that we're about to read.

As you will see, this workhouse is like a prison and the poor children are treated like criminals deserving punishment.

Let's begin our preparation for reading this extract.

This is one thing you need to know.

In the workhouse, these boys are fed gruel.

There is a picture of gruel there.

Gruel is a thin, liquid food made from oats and boiling water.

It is not very filling and it is also a horrible type of food.

Now in this extract, Oliver and the other boys cast lots.

To cast lots means to make a decision by choosing randomly from a set of objects that are all the same except one.

For example, you might have lots of matchsticks that are black at the top and one matchstick is red.

If a decision needs to be made about someone who's going to do a particularly unpleasant task, you might draw lots using these matchsticks.

The person who's unlucky enough to draw the red matchstick must go and do that unpleasant task.

I wonder which person in this extract might need to do something very unpleasant indeed? We shall see.

Okay, let's now read our extract.

Oliver Twist has now arrived at the workhouse for young boys.

Let's begin.

"The room in which the boys were fed "was a large stone hole with a copper at one end, "out of which the master, "dressed in an apron for the purpose, "and assisted by one or two women, "ladled the gruel at mealtimes.

"Of this festive composition each boy had one porringer "and no more, except on occasions of great public rejoicing "when he had two ounces and a quarter of bread besides." As you can see from this paragraph, Dickens mentions a master.

A master is a very important person in a workhouse.

The master is the person who is responsible for the day to day running of the workhouse.

As you're going to see, the master of this workhouse is a very unpleasant man.

Also notice the way that the boys are eating gruel.

This is the horrible, thin porridge liquid that I told you about earlier on.

They are eating this gruel through a porringer.

Now a porringer is a very, very small bowl.

As you're now going to see, this workhouse is literally starving these boys.

Let's continue.

"The bowls never wanted washing.

"The boys polished them with their spoons "till they shone again, "and when they had performed this operation, "which never took very long, "the spoons being nearly as large as the bowls, "they would sit staring at the copper "with such eager eyes as if they could have devoured "the very bricks of which it was composed, "employing themselves, meanwhile, in sucking their fingers "most assiduously, with the view of catching up "any stray splashes of gruel "that might have been cast thereon.

"Boys have generally excellent appetites.

"Oliver Twist and his companions suffered "the tortures of slow starvation for three months.

"At last, they got so voracious and wild with hunger, "that one boy, who was tall for his age, "and hadn't been used to that sort of thing, "for his father had kept a small cook shop, "hinted darkly to his companions, "that unless he had another of basin of gruel per day, "he was afraid he might some night happen to eat "the boy who slept next to him, "who happened to be a weakly youth of tender age.

"He had a wild, hungry eye; "and they implicitly believed him." Now notice that this description here describes these boys suffering from the tortures of slow starvation.

These boys are so hungry that they are being tortured.

They're so hungry they are in physical pain.

Now remember the workhouse is only feeding these boys watery gruel.

It is a terrible diet, which is literally starving these children.

One of these boys even imagines eating a smaller boy.

He's that hungry.

In fact, the boys are so desperate for food that they are soon going to come up with a very risky idea.

Let's see what happens.

"A council was held; "lots were cast who should walk up to the master "after supper that evening and ask for more; "and it fell to Oliver Twist.

"The evening arrived; the boys took their places.

"The master, in his cook's uniform, "stationed himself at the copper; "his pauper assistants ranged themselves behind him; "the gruel was served out; "and a long grace was said over the short commons." Now the boys had just cast lots.

As I said before, this is when items are used to randomly select an individual for an unpleasant task.

Now, Oliver has been selected to walk up to the master and ask him for more gruel.

As you're going to see, the master is a very scary man, so Oliver must be very nervous.

Let's see what happens.

"The gruel disappeared; "the boys whispered each other, and winked at Oliver; "while his next neighbours nudged him.

"Child as he was, he was desperate with hunger "and reckless with misery.

"He rose from the table and advancing to the master, "basin and spoon in hand said, "somewhat alarmed at his own temerity, "'Please, sir, I want some more.

' "The master was a fat, healthy man, but he turned very pale.

"He gazed in stupefied astonishment "on the small rebel for some seconds, "and then clung for support to the copper.

"The assistants were paralysed with wonder; "the boys with fear.

"'What!' said the master at length, in a faint voice.

"'Please, sir,' replied Oliver.

"'I want some more.

' "The master aimed the blow at Oliver's head with the ladle, "pinioned him in the arm and shrieked aloud for the beadle." So the master is now going to the help of a beadle.

This is Mr. Bumble.

And as you're going to see, the master is now going to go to the workhouse board for support.

He cannot believe that Oliver Twist has had the cheek to ask for more gruel.

"The board were sitting in solemn conclave "when Mr. Bumble rushed into the room in great excitement, "and addressing the gentlemen in the high chair said, "'Mr. Limbkins, I beg your pardon, sir! "'Oliver Twist has asked for more!' "There was a general start.

"Horror was depicted on every countenance.

"'For more!' said Mr. Limbkins.

"'Compose yourself, Bumble, and answer me distinctly.

"'Do I understand that he has asked for more "'after he has eaten the supper allotted by the dietary?' "'He did, sir,' replied Bumble.

"'That boy will be hung,' said the gentleman "in the white waistcoat.

"'I know that boy will be hung.

'" And that brings us to the end of our reading.

I will now ask you some questions on this extract.

Question one, for what foods does Oliver ask for more? I'll give you a clue.

This is a very thin, watery porridge.

Do you know of right answer? Here it is.

Oliver of course asks for more gruel.

Question two, what group does the master go to after Oliver's request? I'll give you a clue.

This group is a very important group in the workhouse.

It is of course, the workhouse board.

The master goes to the workhouse board after Oliver's request.

Question three, what prediction does a workhouse board member make about Oliver? This workhouse board members suggests that Oliver will die in a very horrible way.

And the answer is of course this.

A workhouse board member predicts that Oliver will be hung.

I will now explain this final idea a little bit more.

In Victorian times, criminals were most commonly executed through being hanged.

You can see a picture of someone being hanged on the right-hand side.

As you can see, there is a rope that is tied around his neck.

This rope is called a noose.

When a criminal is hanged, they suffocate to death because they cannot breathe.

Now, the board member makes a prediction about Oliver's rebellious behaviour when he says that Oliver will be hung.

In the board member's eyes, Oliver's request for more gruel is undoubtedly a sign that he will begin a life of crime.

As we know, this is a ridiculous idea.

Oliver is not being rebellious.

Instead, he is simply a starving boy who wants more food.

Let's now begin our analysis of this extract.

As we learned earlier on, Dickens was a social critic.

In other words, Dickens criticised the problems in society in order to help society become a fairer place.

Now, when we read an extract written by Dickens, we therefore need to ask ourselves this question.

What social problem is Dickens criticising through this extract? Bear this question in mind as we look at our extract.

Let's take a look as two quotations.

At the beginning of the extract, Dickens writes this description.

"The workhouse boys are suffering "the tortures of slow starvation." In other words, the boys are so hungry that they are in physical pain.

It is as if they are being tortured with hunger.

Dickens is making one thing very clear here.

The boys have been neglected by the workhouse staff members.

They have not been fed properly.

They have not been cared for.

In fact, these boys have been left to starve.

Now this is a shocking moment, but we are even more shocked when Dickens next describes the workhouse master.

Dickens writes this.

The master is described as a fat, healthy man.

As you can see, these two descriptions are very different.

While the boys are starving, the workhouse master is fat and healthy.

What is Dickens suggesting through these descriptions? Well, let's take a little bit more of a look at the second quotation.

Not only has the workhouse master failed to feed these boys, but he has also gorged himself on food.

He has eaten so much, he's become fat.

While the boys under his care are starving, the workhouse master has too much food.

Yet he does not share this food, and instead forces the children to eat gruel.

Dickens is presenting the workhouse master as an incredibly selfish man who only looks out for himself.

Now, Dickens may be criticising his society here.

Dickens might be suggesting that the rich and powerful enjoy their wealth and comforts, but fail to care for the poor.

Dickens may be criticising the selfishness of the rich and powerful as symbolised by this workhouse master.

You can now pause your video and take some notes upon these quotations before we begin answering some questions.

Right, we will now take a look at our questions.

Question one, compare Dickens' descriptions of the workhouse master and the workhouse boys.

You can begin your answer with this phrase.

Whereas the workhouse master is a fat, healthy man, and then you write a comma after that.

Once you've written that phrase, you will then write the rest of your answer.

Question two, what is Dickens suggesting about the workhouse master through these two descriptions? Dickens uses these two descriptions to suggest.

Question three, what might Dickens be criticising about his society through these two descriptions? Dickens may be using these two descriptions to.

You can now pause this video here and spend a few minutes answering these three questions in your book or on your paper.

Off you go.

I will now show you some exemplar answers to these questions.

Question one, compare Dickens' descriptions of the workhouse master and the workhouse boys.

Whereas the workhouse master is a fat, healthy man, the workhouse boys under his care are suffering the tortures of slow starvation.

This master enjoys an abundance of food, while these pitiful children are in physical pain with hunger.

Let me now explain why this answer is really fantastic.

I use something which is very easy to use and will transform your writing.

I use very short quotations to support my ideas.

My quotations are words I've taken directly from Charles Dickens' novel.

These quotations are in pink.

I talk about a fat, healthy man and the tortures of slow starvation.

Now, when some people use quotations, they waste time by copying out whole sentences.

You don't need to do this.

All you need to do is copy out a few words, sometimes even one word from a text, and put it into your sentence.

This will impress your reader a huge amount.

Let's now take a look at our second exemplar.

What is Dickens suggesting about the workhouse master through these two descriptions? Dickens uses these two descriptions to suggest that the workhouse master is selfish.

While this fat man gorges himself upon food, he refuses to properly feed the children under his care.

It is evidence that this workhouse master views his job simply as a means for making money for himself.

He displays no sympathy for the pitiful workhouse children at all.

Once again, look at the way that I've only used a one-word quotation here, but it makes my answer very impressive indeed.

It's very easy to do.

Let's now take a look at our next exemplar.

Question three.

What might Dickens be criticising about his society through these two descriptions? Dickens may be using these two descriptions to criticise society's treatment of the poor.

The author is describing a world in which the rich and powerful, as symbolised by the workhouse master, enjoy the benefits of wealth and luxury, while the poor struggle to survive.

The master's cruel neglect of the workhouse children could thus reflect the neglect of the poor by society's wealthy members.

You can now pause your video here, look back at your answers and improve them based upon the exemplars that I have just shown you.

Off you go.

Let's now take a look at our next quotation.

This is one of the most famous moments in all of English literature.

Oliver Twist, a young, vulnerable nine-year-old boy now approaches the workhouse master and asks for some more.

Let's analyse these words in a little bit more detail.

Notice the way that Oliver is very polite.

He says, please, to the master, and respectfully addresses him as sir.

Next, Oliver politely says, "I want some more." These words reflect Oliver's innocence.

He genuinely expects that the workhouse master will happily give him more gruel.

Oliver expects that the workhouse will take care of him.

And as you know, Oliver is wrong.

Now, as you can see, there is nothing offensive or rude about Oliver's words.

Remember, Oliver is a nine-year-old boy who is literally starving.

He is just asking for more food in a very polite and respectful way.

It is therefore shocking that Oliver should be punished for this request.

You can now pause your video here and take some notes upon this quotation.

Let's now take a look at how the master responds to Oliver's words.

"The master was a fat, healthy man, but he turned very pale.

"He gazed in stupefied astonishment "on the small rebel for some seconds, "and then clung for support to the copper." It is clear that the master is shocked by Oliver's requests for more gruel.

He, first of all, turns very pale, a clear reflection that the master is surprised and shaken by Oliver's request.

The master then gazes at Oliver in stupefied astonishment.

That means his mind cannot understand what has just happened.

The master cannot believe that a workhouse boy would ask for more food.

In fact, the master is so shocked that he must cling for support to the copper, as if he is trying to stop himself from fainting with shock.

Now we learn a lot about how the master sees Oliver here.

The master views Oliver as a rebel.

Rather than recognising that Oliver is simply an innocent boy who is starving and asking for food, the master sees a dangerous and rebellious child who must be punished.

Dickens may be criticising how the poor are treated by society through this moment.

In particular, Dickens is criticising the workhouse.

He is suggesting that the workhouse was not designed to care for the poor.

In fact, the workhouse was designed to punish the poor as if they were criminals.

Dickens is criticising a society here that harms poor people like Oliver rather than giving them support and care.

You can now press pause on this video and take notes upon this quotation.

We will then answer some questions.

Let's now take a look at our questions.

Question one, is Oliver being rude when he makes this request? It is clear that Oliver is not being rude when he makes this request because.

Question two, how does the master respond to Oliver's request? And why does he respond in this way? The master responds to Oliver's request by.

You can now press pause on this video and answer these two questions in your book or on your page.

Off you go.

Let's now take a look at our next two questions.

Question three.

What might Dickens be suggesting about workhouses through this moment? Dickens may be suggesting that workhouses.

And question four, what might Dickens be criticising in his society through this moment? Dickens may be criticising.

These are your final two questions.

Press the pause button on this video, and now write your answers in your book or on your page.

Off you go.

Let's now take a look at our exemplar answers.

Question one, is Oliver being rude when he makes this request? It is clear that Oliver is not being rude when he makes this request because he speaks to the master very politely.

He courteously says, please, and respectfully addresses the master as sir.

Far from being a rude rebel, Oliver's request is very reasonable.

He is starving and is simply asking for some food.

Such a request reflects Oliver's foolish belief that the master does indeed care for the workhouse children and will gladly agree to satisfy Oliver's appetite.

Let's now look at our next exemplar.

Question two.

How does the master respond to Oliver's request? And why does he respond in this way? The master responds to Oliver's request with stupefied amazement.

He turns pale and clings for support to the copper as if he is going to faint with shock.

The master cannot believe that a workhouse child would have the cheek to ask for more food.

Question three.

What might Dickens be suggesting about workhouses through this moment? Dickens may be suggesting that workhouses do not care for the poor at all.

This is evident by the fact that the master is so surprised by Oliver's request for more gruel.

This gentleman understands that the true purpose of a workhouse is to punish the poor.

He is thus shocked that Oliver expects to receive care.

And our final one, number four.

What might Dickens be criticising in his society through this moment? Dickens may be criticising society's treatment of the poor through this moment.

He is suggesting that society needlessly punishes the poor as if they are immoral rebels.

Through his presentation of the innocent Oliver Twist, Dickens may be suggesting that the poor do not deserve such punishment at all.

Instead, these unfortunate members of society deserve sympathy and support of the rich and powerful.

You can now pause this video here, take a look back at your answers and improve them.

Remember to use short quotations if you can.

Off you go.

Well done for your amazing work today.

You can share your work with Oak National.

If you'd like to, please ask your parents or carer to share your work on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, tagging @OakNational and #LearnwithOak.

Well done today.

Fantastic.

Thank you for all the hard work that you've done today.

It has been a pleasure to teach you.

Join us in our next lesson when Oliver runs away from the workhouse.

Things are going to get a little bit crazy.

I'll see you next time.

And remember, before you leave to complete our quiz upon all of your learning.