AB_mr. bounderby homework

1. List all the words and phrases describing Mr. Bounderby

He was a rich man: banker, merchant, manufacturer, and what not. A man made out of a coarse material, which seemed to have been stretched to make so much of him. A big, loud man, with a stare, and a metallic laugh. A man with a great puffed head and forehead, swelled veins in his temples, and such a strained skin to his face that it seemed to hold his eyes open, and lift his eyebrows up. A man with a pervading appearance on him of being inflated like a balloon, and ready to start. A man who could never sufficiently vaunt himself a self-made man. A man who was always proclaiming, through that brassy speaking-trumpet of a voice of his, his old ignorance and his old poverty. A man who was the Bully of humility.

1. Collect the 4 phrases which explicitly convey the narrator’s opinion of Mr. Bounderby’s character and find in a dictionary adjectives of the same meaning.

Banker, merchant, manifacturer.

1. Now go back to the list you made for exercise 1. Which of the other items on it are connected with one or more of the author’s comments.He came from the poor class, and thanks to his work he was enriched.

1. The surname of the character contains the word bounder on purpose . Look it up in the dictionary. Which of the phrases you have listed reinforces the meaning of the surname?

Bounder means “canaglia”, “furfante”, “mascalzone” and “farabutto”.

1. Mr. Bounderby is described as coming from a poor family, without , without education and self-made. In other contexts these attributes might be presented as worthy of sympathy and/or admiration. Why aren’t they here?

Dickens wants to criticize the rich class, their perception of superiority.

1. Now go on reading and see if what Bounderby says is consistent with the description of his character.

1. Which aspect/s of Bounderby’s character is/are emphasised in what he says?

“A man with a great puffed head and forehead, swelled veins in his temples, and such a strained skin to his face that it seemed to hold his eyes open, and lift his eyebrows up.”

1. Does what he says confirm or modify his portrait in the previous text?

He talks about his past, about his childhood, but in the beginning he is described as he is in the adult age, as rich man, banker and merchant.

1. Consider the way Bounderby speaks:

Repeats the word "ditch" several times to emphasize its origin from the lower class. He uses many adjectives to emphasize the fact that he was always sick like miserable, sickly,

He uses a pathetic description