Lesson video

Hello, everyone.

Welcome to our next lesson of "Oliver Twist".

Now, a lot happened in our last extract.

Remember, Dodger and Charlie stole a handkerchief from Mr. Brownlow.

They then run away.

Oliver was shocked.

He could not believe that his friends were pickpockets.

Oliver was then blamed for this crime that he did not commit.

He tried to run away, but he was caught and arrested.

Oliver was brought to court, but thankfully, he was not punished.

Oliver then left the court, only to faint on the ground from exhaustion.

But thankfully, Mr. Brownlow was there to rescue Oliver.

Mr. Brownlow has now brought Oliver back to his house.

In today's lesson, Oliver becomes fascinated by the painting of a mysterious woman in Mr. Brownlow's house.

Let's begin.

For today's lesson, you will need an exercise book or a paper and a pen.

If you do not have this equipment, press the pause button on your video now, go and collect this equipment, and then we will begin our lesson.

Let's begin with a recap from our last lesson.

Why was Oliver arrested in the last lesson? Option one, Oliver tried to tell the police about Fagan and his gang, but was arrested.

Option two, Oliver was arrested alongside Charlie and Jack for stealing a handkerchief.

Option three, Oliver's stole a handkerchief.

Or option four, Charlie and Jack stole a handkerchief and Oliver was falsely accused of this crime.

Press the pause button on your video now and tell the screen the right answer.

I will now tell you the right answer, which is, of course, option four.

Charlie and Jack stole a handkerchief and Oliver was falsely accused of this crime and arrested.

Now, some of you may have chosen option one, Oliver tried to tell the police about Fagan and his gang, but was arrested, but that's not true.

Remember, Oliver did not know that Fagan and his gang were criminals until he watched Charlie and Jack steal Mr. Brownlow's handkerchief.

Some of you may have chosen option two, Oliver was arrested alongside Charlie and Jack for stealing a handkerchief.

This option is wrong for two reasons.

First of all, Oliver did not steal the handkerchief.

And secondly, Charlie and Jack ran away straight after they stole the handkerchief so that they would not be arrested.

Some of you may have also chosen option three, but you must remember, Oliver is innocent of this crime.

Oliver simply watched Charlie and Jack steal this handkerchief.

Well done, if you got that right.

I will now explain our plan for today's lesson.

First of all, we will revise Oliver's birth.

We will then learn about the writer's technique of foreshadowing.

And then we will read our extract.

Let's begin.

So, first of all, we're going to revise Oliver's birth.

You may remember that we studied this in chapter one in our first lesson together.

Now, it's important for us to understand Oliver's birth in order to understand the technique of foreshadowing later in the lesson.

Now, Oliver's birth introduces this character to the reader.

And Dickens makes it very clear that Oliver has a mysterious background.

Oliver's mother is unnamed.

Dickens reveals very little about this lady.

Dickens also does not reveal who Oliver's father is.

Once again, there's very little revealed about this man.

In fact, Oliver's father is not even mentioned in the description of Oliver's birth.

Dickens also does not reveal how Oliver's mother ended up on the street.

Something very terrible must have happened to this lady to force her into such a desperate situation, but Dickens never reveals what this terrible event might be.

These three facts point towards our idea.

Oliver's background is a mystery.

Dickens reveals very little about Oliver's father and Oliver's mother.

As the reader, we know very little about Oliver's family.

Now, this mystery will be solved by the end of the novel.

Now, Oliver's birth is also very sad.

This is how Dickens introduces Oliver to the reader.

"A parish child, the orphan of a workhouse, the humble half-starved drudge, to be cuffed and buffeted through the world, despised by all and pitied by none." Now, there's a number of different things about the description of Oliver's birth that make it very sad.

First of all, Oliver's mother died after she gave birth to him.

Secondly, Oliver struggled to breathe and nearly died.

And thirdly, Oliver's father was absent from his birth.

That means that Oliver's father was not there for his birth.

Oliver's father was not with Oliver or his mother after Oliver was born.

Let's now test your memory upon these ideas.

Press the pause button on your video now and go through these three sentences.

Tell the screen the full sentence, filling in the key word in pink.

Off you go.

I'll now tell you the right answers.

Number one, Oliver's mother died after she gave birth to him.

Number two, Oliver struggled to breathe and nearly died.

And number three, Oliver's father was absent from his birth.

Well done, if you got all those right.

Let's now talk about this technique of foreshadowing.

Now, foreshadowing is when a writer gives the reader a suggestion about something that has not happened yet in the story.

Let's read that definition a second time.

Foreshadowing is when a writer gives the reader a suggestion about something that has not happened yet in the story.

Okay, let's test your memory on this definition.

Press the pause button on your video now and go through the sentence, filling in the key words.

Tell the screen the full sentence.

I'll now tell you the full sentence.

Foreshadowing is when a writer gives the reader a suggestion about something that has not happened yet in the story.

Press the pause button on your video and write this definition of foreshadowing in your books or in your notes.

Off you go.

Okay, let's move on.

I'll now give you an example of a part of a novel where Dickens uses foreshadowing.

You may remember when Oliver first runs away from a workhouse, he walks for seven days to a small village outside London.

In this village, Oliver meets Jack Dawkins.

Now, Jack Dawkins learns that Oliver has been walking for seven days and he says something very odd.

Let's read this dialogue.

Oliver, first of all, speaks.

Oliver says, "I have been walking a long way.

I have been walking these seven days." And this is how Jack Dawkins responds.

"Oh, I see.

Beak's order, eh?" Now, you may remember that a beak's order is a magistrate's punishment for a criminal.

In Victorian times, some criminals were punished on a beak's order in which they had to walk for the very long distance.

Jack is here assuming that Oliver is on a beak's order, Oliver is being punished, just like many of these other criminals.

So Jack is making an interesting assumption about Oliver here.

Jack is assuming that Oliver is in trouble with the law.

Oliver has clearly committed some crime and is now being punished.

Now, Jack is obviously wrong.

Oliver has not committed a crime at all.

Oliver is simply running away from the workhouse.

This assumption that Jack makes therefore reveals a lot about Jack's background.

It is a hint that Jack Dawkins has lived a life of crime.

It is clear that Jack Dawkins is well acquainted with all the different types of punishments that judges and magistrates give to criminals.

So Jack's reference to a beak's order is a hint or suggestion that later on in the novel we will discover that Jack is a criminal, or in other words, Jack's reference to a beak's order foreshadows Oliver's discovery later in the novel that Jack is a criminal.

Now let me show you how I would put that into a sentence.

When Jack casually assumes that Oliver is walking on a beak's order, Dickens uses foreshadowing to hint towards Oliver's eventual discovery that this untrustworthy child is a criminal.

And I think that's the easiest way to use this word foreshadowing.

You use, you talk about foreshadowing as if it is a tool that the writer is using.

So remember that phrase, Dickens uses foreshadowing.

Let's now test your understanding of this idea.

True or false, foreshadowing is a reminder about something that happened earlier in the story.

Foreshadowing is a clue about something that will happen later in the story.

A writer uses foreshadowing to create a sad atmosphere.

Foreshadowing tells the reader exactly what will happen later in the story.

Go through the, press the pause button on your video now, and tell the screen the right answers.

I will now tell you the right answers.

A is false.

Foreshadowing is not a reminder about something that happened earlier in the story.

Remember, foreshadowing is a suggestion or clue about something which will happen later in the story.

B is true.

Foreshadowing is a clue about something that will happen later in the story.

C is false.

A writer you does not use foreshadowing to create a sad atmosphere.

And D is also false.

Foreshadowing does not tell the reader exactly what will happen later in the story.

Instead, foreshadowing gives the reader clue or a hint or a suggestion about what will happen later in the story.

For example, when Jack Dawkins talks about his beak's order, Dickens does not tell the reader that Jack is definitely a criminal.

Instead, Dickens is simply giving us a clue that later on in the novel we will discover that Jack is a criminal.

Well done, if you got that right.

Let's now move on to a second example of foreshadowing in our novel.

Now, as you know, Oliver struggles to survive at the beginning of the novel.

Remember, in chapter one, Oliver is born and struggles to breathe and Oliver nearly dies.

Now, why does Dickens describe Oliver nearly dying at the start of the novel? Well, I would suggest that Dickens is using this description to foreshadow something which will happen later in the novel.

Dickens is using this description of Oliver's struggle to survive to give us a hint, to give us a clue about the sort of life that Oliver's going to live throughout the rest of the novel.

Oliver's struggle to survive at the beginning of the novel foreshadows Oliver's struggle to survive throughout the rest of the story.

In this opening description of Oliver struggling to breathe Dickens is giving the reader a hint or a clue or a suggestion that Oliver will continue to struggle to survive throughout the rest of the novel.

The sad birth experienced by Oliver foreshadows the sad events which will take place across the rest of the narrative.

Now, this is an example of foreshadowing.

Dickens is describing something earlier in the novel to give the reader a clue about something which will happen later in the novel.

And the description of Oliver's sad birth very much does foreshadow the sad events that take place throughout the rest of the narrative.

Here's an example of seven sad things that have happened to Oliver Twist in our novel so far.

He was called a fool by the workhouse board.

He was sent to the workhouse.

He was starved in the workhouse.

He was thrown out of the workhouse.

He was insulted by Noah.

He was locked in a cellar by the Sowerberrys.

And he was falsely accused of stealing a handkerchief.

As you can see, the sad events in Oliver Twist's life are foreshadowed by the description of his sad birth at the start of the novel.

Oliver's struggle to survive at the beginning of the novel foreshadows Oliver's struggle to survive throughout the story.

I now want you to write your own sentence.

Use the sentence model and some of the keywords below.

"In his descriptions of," blank, "Dickens uses foreshadowing to." And use some of these key words.

You don't need to use all of them.

You could use the word, struggle, sad birth, survive, or sorrows.

Press the pause button on your video now, and write down this sentence.

I will now show you some exemplar sentences.

Here is our acceptable answer.

"In his description of Oliver's sad birth, Dickens uses foreshadowing to suggest that Oliver will face many sorrows throughout the novel." And here is our good answer.

"In his descriptions of Oliver's struggle to breathe and the death of this orphan's mother, Dickens uses foreshadowing to suggest that this vulnerable child will face hardships and sorrows throughout the novel." Well done for your hard work.

You can now press the pause button on your video.

Take a look back at your answer and, if you like, improve your answer.

Off you go.

Let's now move on to the next part of our lesson.

We will come back, though, to this idea of foreshadowing.

We're now going to read our extract.

Before we begin, let me give you a bit of background about this extract.

Now, in this extract, Oliver wakes up in Mr. Brownlow's house.

Oliver is very sick.

He's had a very stressful time.

Remember, he's walked for seven days to escape the workhouse.

He's been chased through the streets of London.

He's been punched in the head and taken to court.

Oliver has had a miserable time.

Now in Mr. Brownlow's house, a kind lady called Mrs. Bedwin helps Oliver recover.

As Oliver gets better, he becomes fascinated by the painting of a mysterious woman on the wall.

Who might this mysterious lady be? Let's read.

"Weak and thin and pale, Oliver awoke at last from what seemed to have been a long and troubled dream.

Feebly raising himself in the bed with his head resting on his trembling arm, he looked anxiously around.

'What room is this? Where have I been brought to?' said Oliver.

'This is not the place I went to sleep in.

' He uttered these words in a feeble voice, being very faint and weak, but they were overheard at once.

The curtain at the bed's head was hastily drawn back and a motherly old lady, very neatly and precisely dressed, rose as she undrew it from an armchair close by, in which has been sitting at needlework.

'Hush, my dear,' said the old lady softly.

'You must be very quiet or you will be ill again.

And you have been very bad, as bad as bad could be.

Lie down again, there's a dear.

My name's Mrs. Bedwin and I am here to take care of you.

' With those words, the old lady very gently placed Oliver's head upon the pillow and smoothed back his hair from his forehead, looking so kindly and loving in his face that he could not help placing his little withered hand in hers and drawing around his neck.

'Save us,' said the old lady with tears in her eyes.

'What a grateful little dear he is, poor creature.

What would this mother feel if she had sat by him as I have and could see him now?' 'Perhaps my mother does see me,' whispered Oliver, folding his hands together.

'Perhaps she has sat by me.

I almost feel as if she has.

' 'That was a fever, my dear,' said the old lady mildly.

'I suppose it was,' replied Oliver, 'because heaven is a long way off.

They are too happy there to come down to the bedside of a poor boy like me.

But if my mother knew I was ill, she must've pitied me, even there, for she was very ill herself before she died.

She can't know anything about me, though,' added Oliver, after a moment's silence.

'If she had seen me hurt, it would have made her sorrowful and her face has always looked sweet and happy when I have dreams of her.

' The old lady made no reply to this, but wiping her eyes first, and her spectacles, which lay on the counterpane afterwards, as if they were a part and parcel of those features, brought some cool water to Oliver to drink and then patted him on the cheek, told him he must lie very quiet or he would be ill again.

Oliver remained sick for many days.

His one source of comfort, however, lay in a painting of a beautiful lady that hung on the wall of his bedroom.

One day, Mrs. Bedwin caught Oliver looking at this portrait.

'Are you fond of pictures, dear?' inquired Mrs. Bedwin, seeing that Oliver had fixed his eyes most intently on the portrait, which hung on the wall.

'I don't quite know, ma'am," said Oliver, without taking his eyes off the portrait.

'I have seen so few that I hardly know.

Whose portrait is that, ma'am?" asked Oliver.

'Why, really, my dear, I don't know,' answered the old lady in a good humoured manner.

'It's not a likeness of anybody that you or I know, I expect.

It seems to strike your fancy, dear.

' 'It is so pretty,' replied Oliver.

'Why, sure you're not afraid of it?' said the old lady, observing in great surprise the look of awe with which Oliver regarded the painting.

'Oh no, no,' returned Oliver quickly.

'But the eyes look so sorrowful, and where I sit, they seem fixed upon me.

It makes my heart beat,' added Oliver in a low voice, 'as if she was alive and wanting to speak to me, but couldn't.

' 'Lord, save us,' exclaimed the old lady, starting.

'Don't talk in that way, child.

You're weak and nervous after your illness.

Let me wheel your chair around to the other side and then you won't see it.

There,' said the old lady suiting the action to the word.

'You don't see it now, at all events.

' Later that day, Mr. Brownlow visited Oliver's room.

He was also fascinated by the painting on the wall.

He pointed hastily to the picture over Oliver's head and then to the boy's face.

They were an exact copy.

The eyes, the head, the mouth, every feature was the same.

The expression was for the instant so precisely alike that the minutest line seemed copied with startling accuracy.

'Oliver,' exclaimed Mr. Brownlow, 'you look just like that lady!' Oliver knew not the cause of this sudden exclamation, for, not being strong enough to bear the start it gave him, Oliver fainted." Let's now test your memory of that extract.

Question one, in whose house does Oliver wake up? I'll give you a clue.

This man defended Oliver in court.

It is, of course, Mr. Brownlow.

Oliver wakes up in Mr. Brownlow's house.

Question two, what is the name of the old lady who helps Oliver recover from his sickness? Here's a clue: this lady's name is Mrs. B.

It is, of course, Mrs. Bedwin.

Mrs. Bedwin helps Oliver recover from his sickness.

Question three, what does Oliver notice on the wall? I'll give you a clue.

This person looks very similar to Oliver.

It is, of course, a portrait of a lady on the wall.

Oliver notices a portrait of a woman on the wall.

Question four, what does Mr. Brownlow notice about the woman in this portrait? I'll give you a clue.

Mr. Brownlow looks back and forth from this portrait to Oliver.

He, of course, notices that Oliver looks very similar to this portrait.

Mr. Brownlow notices that the women in the portrait looks very similar to Oliver.

Well done, if you got full marks there.

Now, I would suggest that Dickens is using foreshadowing in his descriptions of the characters' reactions to this portrait on the wall.

In other words, Dickens is giving his reader a suggestion about something that has not happened yet in the story.

He's giving us a clue about something which will happen later in the story.

I wonder what this might be.

What might Dickens be foreshadowing through the description of this portrait? You will find out that this lady has played a very important role in Oliver's life.

Let's now test your memory on today's extract.

Here is a fill in the gaps paragraph.

You will notice that many of the key words are missing.

And here are the four key words that fill in each of those blanks.

Press the pause button on your video now, and write out this paragraph with the right key words in the blanks, in your book or on your page.

Off you go.

Let's now go through the right answers.

Oliver wakes up in Mr. Brownlow's house.

Mrs. Bedwin nurses Oliver to recovery from his sickness.

Oliver notices are portraits of a lady on the wall of his room.

He likes this portrait very much.

Mr. Brownlow thinks that the portrait looks very similar to Oliver.

Well done, if you got all of those right.

If you have made a mistake, press the pause button on the video now and correct your mistake.

Okay.

And let's now move on to the final part of the lesson.

Well done for all of your amazing work today.

You've been great.

Oliver is now safe in the comfort of Mr. Brownlow's house, but that's not going to last long.

In our next lesson, Oliver is kidnapped.

I'll see you next time.

Before you leave, make sure you complete the quiz on all the learning you've done today.