Lesson 1 - Oliver Twist and the workhouse - Queenborough ...

Lesson 1

 Oliver Twist and the workhouse

Oliver Twist

Charles Dickens first published Oliver Twist in monthly instalments
between February 1837 and April 1839.

He intended to show the system's treatment of an innocent child born
and raised in the workhouse system, where the child had done nothing
wrong.

Over the next two lessons

 We are going to learn about the
  Workhouses that existed in 19th
  century London.
 We are going to think about how
  Oliver must have felt in the
  Workhouse.

Workhouses – The Background
•   Workhouses were common and they
    had been going for a very long time.

•   Anybody of any age could be sent to
    the workhouse for a lots of different
    reasons including no work, minor
    crimes and because they were very
    poor.

•   The inmates of the workhouse were
    grouped into seven categories.
    Old or “useless” men
    Able-bodied men and youths older
    than 13
    Youths and boys between 7 and 13
    Old and “useless” women
    Able-bodied women and girls above
    16
    Girls between 7 and 16
    Children under 7 years of age

• Families were not allowed to
  stay together. One man
  demanded the ‘release’ of his
  wife and children. He was then
  told ‘you may take your
  children, but we buried your
  wife three weeks ago’.

• The workhouses had a very          Here they are picking rope
  strong work ethic.
• In Oliver Twist we see a typical
  form of work – corn grinding.
• Other forms included bone
  crushing and picking oakum.
• The combination of this severe
  workload and poor diet resulted
  in many inmates dying in the
  walls of the workhouse.

In the
workhouse

Dickens Writes:
"For the next eight or ten months, Oliver was the victim of a systematic course of
treachery and deception. He was brought up by hand. The hungry and destitute
situation of the infant orphan was duly reported by the workhouse authorities to the
parish authorities."

   •   The boys would have been fed on watery gruel and would have slept
       on the floor with nothing but sacks for covering.
   •   They did not have central heating, so the room was cold and there
       was a constant wind.
   •   There were plaques carrying religious messages "God is just", "God
       is good".
   •   The Guardians of the workhouse believed that they were improving
       the inmates’ morality and saving them from decline.
   •   There were no parents, no cuddles, no love. The boys had no-one.

Let’s read an extract from Oliver
        Twist by Charles Dickens
Think about what it might be like for the boys living in the
workhouse as we will be answering some questions after.

The room in which the boys were fed, was a large stone hall,
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 meal-times. 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.

                                            Rejoicing

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 about. 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
cookshop), hinted darkly to his
companions, that unless he had
another basin of gruel per diem, he
was afraid he might some night
happen to eat the boy who slept next
him, who happened to be a weakly
youth of tender age. He had a wild,
hungry eye; and they implicitly
believed him.

On a piece of paper, jot down a quick
    answer to the following questions:
1) What did the workhouse look like
inside?

2) How were the boys treated in the
workhouse?

3) How might the children be dressed?

4) What was the overwhelming feeling
of the boys?

5) What might they do next?

Today’s task:
 Diary entry: Entering the workhouse
  Use your answers to the workhouse
questions to help you write a short diary   1) What did the workhouse
                                            look like inside?
 entry about life in the workhouse as a
               small boy.                   2) How were the boys
                                            treated in the workhouse?

 I have been brought to a                   3) How might the children
                                            be dressed?
    Workhouse. This place is…
                                            4) What was the
                                            overwhelming feeling of the
                                            boys?

                                            5) What might they do
                                            next?

Lesson 2

 Oliver Twist and the workhouse

Yesterday we learned a little bit
  about life in the workhouse.

Who would like to share their diary
            extracts?

Watch the beginning of the film ‘Oliver’,
 which shows the part that we read in
yesterday’s lesson (0mins - 4.30mins)
       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jOIKFCkapU

We know the boys need more
food. How would you convince
Oliver Twist to ask for more?

    Let’s read the next part of the
            story together.

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. 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."

Let’s watch the rest of the clip!
        (4.30mins – end)
     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jOIKFCkapU

Would you have            Could you have
been as brave             been convinced
as Oliver Twist?          to ask for more?

Today’s task:
Write the next diary entry – you
can decide whether to be Oliver
   or one of Oliver’s friends

 We are all so hungry.
 Today we drew lots to
 see who would ask for
 more food. I drew the
 losing lot. The boys
 said…..                 You can email it or bring it
                           into school tomorrow!