REVISE – Oliver wants some more #639535 - Prove ed esercizi Zanichelli

STEP 4 The narrator's role

Read the sentences about the narrative mode and its effects and select the ones that are true.

A:

The narration limits the reader's understanding to Oliver's personal perspective.

B:

The narrator uses hyperbolic imagery to intensify the reader's awareness of the boys' hunger.

C:

By relying on generalised descriptions of hunger rather than individual suffering, the narrator distances the reader emotionally from the boys.

D:

The narrator mainly relies on dialogue rather than narration to communicate criticism of the workhouse system.

E:

The contrast between calm narration and the adults' extreme reactions increases the sense of injustice.

Revise

Scelta multipla

STEP 5 Think further and prepare for your test: workhouse children

In his Treatise on the Physiological and Moral Management of Infancy (1840), Andrew Combe describes in detail the conditions of workhouse children. Read this passage from the Treatise and decide if the statements are true or false. Then look at the prompts and write some extra reflections in your exercise book. You can use the final text as revision material for your test.

- Refer to the paragraph 'Characters' in section 7.11 of your textbook and comment on the importance of children in Dickens's work as shown also in Oliver Twist.
- Refer to STEPS 3 and 4 to show how Dickens uses language and narrative techniques to vividly portray the condition of the children as described by Combe.
- Dickens wanted to raise awareness on the issue of workhouses as denounced by Combe: referring to the previous STEPS, discuss the effectiveness of his writing.

A:

Combe suggests that the workhouse environment actively creates evil in the children it houses.

B:

Combe notes that workhouse children are both physically weak and morally impaired due to parental neglect and institutional conditions.

C:

Children in workhouses appear disadvantaged when compared to schoolchildren.

D:

Combe observes that the vitality and carefreeness of children are diminished in workhouse children.

E:

According to the passage, all children of the lowest social class are inevitably physically and morally stunted.

Revise

Vero o falso

STEP 2 The workhouse's hierarchy

Match the characters to their respective role. Write the correct letters (A-D) in the gaps.

1 Master      ________
2 Pauper assistants      ________
3 Mr Bumble      ________
4 Mr Limbkins      ________

A Responsible for the children, takes Oliver's request for more food to the board.
B A man in an apron who serves gruel.
C Head of the board that runs the workhouse.
D Tools of the institution, quietly enforcing the rules.

Revise

Completamento aperto

STEP 3 Focus on language

Choose the correct alternative to complete Dickens's intended meaning in some key expressions from the passage.

1 The gruel is described as a 'festive composition' ________.
2 The narrator uses the expression 'they could have devoured the very bricks' ________.
3 Oliver being 'somewhat alarmed at his own temerity' when asking for more shows ________.
4 The master turning pale and clinging onto the copper for support best expresses ________.
5 The bill offering five pounds for Oliver emphasises ________.

Revise

Completamento chiuso

STEP 1 From a boy's eyes

Imagine you are one of the other boys in the workhouse on the evening Oliver asks for more food. Complete the text with the words given.

I held my bowl tightly, my stomach ________ from weeks of barely enough gruel. My companions and I were shaking with anticipation, our eyes wide and ________ as we watched Oliver rise from his seat. What he did was bold, almost ________: he spoke to the master and asked for more food. Even if I wanted to ________, I was too frightened to move or speak. I understood that such a small act of ________ might have serious consequences. Now, his ________ is in the hands of anyone willing to pay five pounds to take him as an ________. I cannot help but wonder what I would have done in his place, and whether I could ever ________ up for my companions like Oliver did.

Revise

Posizionamento