Text 28- From Oliver Twist

Text 28- From Oliver Twist

1. Contexts of production

   • Describes the hunger of the boys in the workhouse. Oliver is elected to experiment with asking for another serving of gruel. He asks, much to the disbelief of the adults
   • First Published in 1837
   • Showed his attitudes towards poor working and living conditions for children
   • At the time it was critisised as Fagin was referred to as 'the Jew' many times so Dickens reduced the number in the next publication

2. Form and Structure

   • Made up of a small number of paragraphs
   • The first paragraph is double the length of the others and provides details about the setting and the food they were given to eat. THe length of the paragraph could be argued to represent the complexity surrounding the issue of the work houses
   • A formal regester can be reconised, due to the archaic time period.
     • Use of dialogue highlights the formal tone, 'I beg your pardon', formality contrasting against the conditions of the work house.
     • A sense of status is suggested in the way that Oliver addresses the master
   • A third person narration is recognised, describing the events from a non biased opinion

3. Word choice

   • Use of lexis when Oliver asks for more shows how shocking the request really was. 'Faint voice' 'pale' 'horror'
   • Words have been used to highlight how hungry the children in the workhouse really are. Words such as 'assiduously' and the description of the bowls being 'polished' and teh verb 'devoured'. This makes olivers request seem more justified from the audience perspective, and they pity the children
   • Master is described to be dressed 'for the purpose' and clearly suggests that it is just an act and that he does not care for the children
     • 'fat, healthy man' obvious physicality contrasts against the chidlren
   • Negative lexical choice to describe the workhouse
   • The boys are being dehumanised, having no food makes them go mad. It suggest they are almost like animals, they need food to survive