Exercises on CHARLES DICKENS’ OLIVER TWIST

Comprehension

1.    The children are in a large stone hall and they are waiting for the daily ration of gruel.

2.  After they have finished eating they polished their copper and they sucked their fingers,  indeed they  were still hungry.

3.    The children decided who should have gone to ask for more food; it feel Oliver Twist.

4.  The master was very surprised and he hit Oliver’s head with his ladle. He call the beadle,  who was  surprised too and he took Oliver to the beadle, who said Oliver will be hung.

Interpretation

1.    When I had finished to read the story I was made curious about Oliver’s “punishment”.

2.    The main features of Charles Dickens’ style is:

·      Contrasts:

o  …Please, sir,' replied Oliver, 'I want some more… The board were sitting in solemn conclave, when Mr. Bumble rushed into the room in great excitement…

·      Hyperboles:

o   …he was afraid he might some night happen to eat the boy who slept next him…;

o   The boy will be hung.

·      Repetition:

o   Please, sir,' replied Oliver, 'I want some more. …Please, sir,' 'I want some more…For more!

o   The boy will be hung…I Know that boy will be hung.

3.       The narrator sympathizes with the boys; indeed the use of hyperboles, contrasts and irony  make the  reader understand the narrator’s point of view, in particular in the description of  the master.

4.     The narrator is a third person omniscient narrator.

5.     The narrator is omniscient, that is he knows everything about the story and the characters.

6.  The narrator’s serious aim in telling the episode is to underline the problems and the consequences  of the Industrial Revolution, which took  increase of population and people’s charity.