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
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
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