EXAM STUDY GUIDE FOR GRADE 7

SUBJECT: ENGLISH
MS. SEHAR IFTEKHAR

CHARACTERS IN OLIVER TWIST

Oliver Twist Son of Edwin Leeford and Agnes Fleming, he is thought to be an orphan. A dear,
grateful, gentle child, who "instead of possessing too little feeling, possessed rather too much."
He had not learned "that self-preservation is the first law of nature."

Sally Thingummy An old pauper woman who is an inmate of the workhouse and later dies
there. She attends at Oliver's birth, "rendered rather misty by an unwonted allowance of beer."

Agnes Fleming Oliver's mother; the daughter of a retired naval officer. "She was found dying in
the street . . . but where she came from, or where she was going to, nobody knows."

Mrs. Mann An elderly woman who conducts an infant farm (the then equivalent of a foster
home). "A woman of wisdom and experience; she knew what was good for children," so of the
funds provided for their sustenance "she appropriated the greater part . . . to her own use."

Mr. Bumble The parish beadle (a minor church official); "a fat man, and a choleric (cranky
show-off) [with] a great idea of his oratorical powers and his importance." "He had a decided
propensity for bullying: derived no inconsiderable pleasure from the exercise of petty cruelty;
and, consequently, was (it is needless to say) a coward."

Mr. Limbkins Head of the parish board; "a particularly fat gentleman with a very round, red
face."

The Workhouse Master "A fat, healthy man."

Gamfield A chimney sweep, "whose villainous countenance was a regular stamped receipt for
cruelty."

Mr. Sowerberry An undertaker; "a tall, gaunt, large-jointed man," in matrimonial disputes
denominated "a brute, an unnatural husband, an insulting creature, a base imitation of a man."

Mrs. Sowerberry "A short, thin, squeezed-up woman, with a vixenish [literally, fox-like]
countenance, [having] a good deal of taste in the undertaking way."

Charlotte The Sowerberry's maidservant; a somewhat sloppy girl, she is "of a robust and hardy
make."

Noah Claypole Charity boy employed by Sowerberry, he later joins Fagin's gang under the
name of Morris Bolter. "A large-headed, small-eyed youth of lumbering make and heavy
countenance."

Little Dick Oliver's companion on the infant farm, with whom he "had been beaten, and starved,
and shut up."

John (Jack) Dawkins The Artful Dodger; Fagin's most esteemed pupil. A pickpocket and thief,
he is a dirty "snub-nosed, flat-browed, common-faced boy . . . short of his age; with rather
bowlegs, and little, sharp, ugly eyes."
Fagin The master criminal; "a very old shriveled Jew, whose villainous-looking and repulsive
face was obscured by a quantity of matted red hair."

Charles Bates One of Fagin's gang; "a very sprightly" young boy given to uproarious laughter.

Betsy Member of the Fagin gang. "Not exactly pretty, perhaps; but . . . looked quite stout and
hearty."

Nancy Trusted and resourceful member of Fagin's gang. Untidy and free in manner, but "there
was something of the woman's original nature left in her still."

Mr. Brownlow "A very respectable-looking personage" with a heart "large enough for any six
ordinary old gentlemen of humane disposition."

Mr. Fang A notorious magistrate; a "lean, long-backed, stiff-necked, middle-sized man, with no
great quantity of hair."

The Bookseller "An elderly man of decent but poor appearance."

Mrs. Bedwin Brownlow's housekeeper; "a motherly old lady, very neatly and precisely
dressed."

Bill Sikes A ruthless felon associated with Fagin; he is violent, and abusive, his anger likely to
erupt at any moment.

Bull's-eye Sikes's dog; "a white-coated, red-eyed dog . . . having faults of temper in common
with his owner." Bull's-eye eventually betrays his abusive master.

Mr. Grimwig A retired lawyer and old friend of Brownlow's. "A stout old gentleman, rather
lame in one leg," he has "a strong appetite for contradiction, [although] not by any means a bad-
hearted man."

Barney Waiter at the Little Saffron Hill dive. "Another Jew; younger than Fagin, but nearly as
vile and repulsive in appearance.

Tom Chitling One of Fagin's creatures; a simpleton of about eighteen, with "small twinkling
eyes, and a pock-marked face."

"Flash" Toby Crackit Associate of Fagin's and Sikes'; a rather flamboyant type, with "no great
quantity of hair [and] a trifle above the middle size."

Mrs. Corney Matron of the workhouse where Oliver was born; she later marries Bumble.

Monks Edward Leeford, Oliver Twist's half-brother; son of Edwin Leeford and his legal wife. A
tall, dark man, subject to fits of cowardice and epilepsy, he is interested in ruining Oliver's
reputation.

Mr. Giles Mrs. Maylie's butler and steward. "One who labored under a very agreeable sense of
his own merits and importance."

Brittles Man-of-all-work for Mrs. Maylie; "treated as a promising young boy still, though he
was something past thirty."

Rose Maylie Rose Fleming; Agnes Fleming's younger sister, thus Oliver's aunt. Accepted as
Mrs. Maylie's niece; later becomes her daughter-in-law.
Mrs. Maylie Rose's adoptive aunt; a stately lady, "well advanced in years."
 KITERARY DEVICES IN OLIVER TWIST
Pathetic fallacy occurs when a writer attributes human emotions to things that aren't human,
such as objects, weather, or animals. It is often used to make the environment reflect the inner
experience of a narrator or other characters. For example, if a writer mourning the death of a
loved one writes that "the flowers on the grave drooped in sadness," this would be an example of
pathetic fallacy, since the flowers do not, in fact, feel sad.

 The word "pathetic," in this context, doesn't mean "bad" or "lame." It comes from the
Latin pathos, meaning "feeling." The word "fallacy" comes from the Latin fallax,
meaning "deceitful" or "false." When they're put together, these words suggest that
assigning human feelings to nonhuman things is a falsehood. However, that doesn't
 mean that pathetic fallacy is always a mistake; it is often used on purpose in order to
evoke a certain emotional atmosphere.

 Personification can involve the attribution of any human quality, action, or attribute to
nonhuman things Examples of personification that are not pathetic fallacy would
include saying that "The waves winked in the sunlight" or "The wind played hide-and-
go-seek among the trees," since neither of these suggest any particular emotion.

An additional difference between pathetic fallacy and personification is that pathetic fallacy is
often associated only with the attribution of human emotions to aspects of nature (sun, sky,
wind, etc.), while personification is applied to things both natural and man-made.

EMOTIVE LANGUAGE

Emotive language is the use of descriptive words, often adjectives, that can show the reader how
an author or character feels about something, evoke an emotional response from the reader, and
persuade the reader of something.

EXAMPLES

SENSORY DESCRIPTION
CHAPTER 16

English Literature: Oliver Twist

Text Extract: Chapter Sixteen

Relates what became of Oliver Twist, after he had been claimed by Nancy.

Bill Sikes and Nancy bring Oliver to Fagin’s den, where they argue over him.

The Jew inflicted a smart blow on Oliver’s shoulders with the club; and was raising it for
a second, when the girl, rushing forward, wrested it from his hand. She flung it into the
fire, with a force that brought some of the glowing coals whirling out into the room.
‘I won’t stand by and see it done, Fagin,’ cried the girl. ‘You’ve got the boy, and what
more would you have? – Let him be – let him be – or I shall put that mark on some of
you, that will bring me to the gallows before my time.’
The girl stamped her foot violently on the floor as she vented this threat; and with her lips
compressed, and her hands clenched, looked alternately at the Jew and the other robber:
her face quite colourless from the passion of rage into which she had gradually worked
herself.
‘Why, Nancy!’ said the Jew, in a soothing tone; after a pause, during which he and Mr.
Sikes had stared at one another in a disconcerted manner; ‘you, - you’re more clever than
ever to- night. Ha! ha! my dear, you are acting beautifully.’
‘Am I!’ said the girl. ‘Take care I don’t overdo it. You will be the worse for it, Fagin, if I
do; and so I tell you in good time to keep clear of me.’
There is something about a roused woman: especially if she add to all her other strong
passions, the fierce impulses of recklessness and despair; which few men like to provoke.
The Jew saw that it would be hopeless to affect any further mistake regarding the reality
of Miss Nancy’s rage; and, shrinking involuntarily back a few paces, cast a glance, half
imploring and half cowardly, at Sikes: as if to hint that he was the fittest person to pursue
the dialogue.
Mr. Sikes, thus mutely appealed to; and possibly feeling his personal pride and influence
interested in the immediate reduction of Miss Nancy to reason; gave utterance to about a
couple of score of curses and threats, the rapid production of which reflected great credit
on the fertility of his invention. As they produced no visible effect on the object against
whom they were discharged, however, he resorted to more tangible arguments.
‘What do you mean by this?’ said Sikes; backing the inquiry with a very common
imprecation concerning the most beautiful of human features: which, if it were heard
above, only once out of every fifty thousand times that it is uttered below, would render
blindness as common a disorder as measles: ‘what do you mean by it? Burn my body! Do
you know who you are, and what you are?’
‘Oh, yes, I know all about it,’ replied the girl, laughing hysterically; and shaking her head
from side to side, with a poor assumption of indifference.
‘Well, then, keep quiet,’ rejoined Sikes, with a growl like that he was accustomed to use
when addressing his dog, ‘or I’ll quiet you for a good long time to come.’
The girl laughed again: even less composedly than before; and, darting a hasty look at
Sikes, turned her face aside, and bit her lip till the blood came.
 Oliver Twist - Text Extract: Chapter Sixteen

‘You’re a nice one,’ added Sikes, as he surveyed her with a contemptuous air, ‘to
take up the humane and gen-teel side! A pretty subject for the child, as you call
him, to make a friend of!’
‘God Almighty help me, I am!’ cried the girl passionately; ‘and I wish I had been
struck dead in the street, or had changed places with them we passed so near to-
night, before I had lent a hand in bringing him here. He’s a thief, a liar, a devil, all
that’s bad, from this night forth. Isn’t that enough for the old wretch, without
blows?’
‘Come, come, Sikes,’ said the Jew appealing to him in a remonstratory tone, and
motioning towards the boys, who were eagerly attentive to all that passed; ‘we
must have civil words; civil words, Bill.’
‘Civil words!’ cried the girl, whose passion was frightful to see. ‘Civil words, you
villain! Yes, you deserve ‘em from me. I thieved for you when I was a child not
half as old as this!’ pointing to Oliver. ‘I have been in the same trade, and in the
same service, for twelve years since. Don’t you know it? Speak out! Don’t you
know it?’
‘Well, well,’ replied the Jew, with an attempt at pacification; ‘and, if you have, it’s
your living!’
‘Aye, it is!’ returned the girl; not speaking, but pouring out the words in one
continuous and vehement scream. ‘It is my living; and the cold, wet, dirty streets
are my home; and you’re the wretch that drove me to them long ago, and that’ll
keep me there, day and night, day and night, till I die!’
‘I shall do you a mischief!’ interposed the Jew, goaded by these reproaches; ‘a
mischief worse than that, if you say much more!’
The girl said nothing more; but, tearing her hair and dress in a transport of
passion, made such a rush at the Jew as would probably have left signal marks of
her revenge upon him, had not her wrists been seized by Sikes at the right
moment; upon which, she made a few ineffectual struggles, and fainted.

Glossary
contemptuous:
scornful.
disconcerted:
unsettled.
imprecation:
curse.

pacification: calming things

tangible: physical.
transport: an overwhelming emotion.
vehement:
intense.
vented:
expressed.
wrested:
pulled.

English Literature: Oliver Twist

Text Extract: Chapter Seventeen

Oliver’s destiny continuing unpropitious, brings a great man to London to

Mr Bumble the Beadle goes to London on business, and there sees an advertisement
placed in the paper by Mr Brownlow, asking for details of the whereabouts of Oliver.
Mr Bumble goes to Mr Brownlow’s house, where Mr Grimwig is also present, and tells
the two gentlemen that Oliver has always been a wicked and terrible boy.

Mr. Brownlow paced the room to and fro for some minutes; evidently so much
disturbed by the beadle’s tale, that even Mr. Grimwig forbore to vex him further.
At length he stopped, and rang the bell violently.
‘Mrs. Bedwin,’ said Mr. Brownlow, when the housekeeper appeared; ‘that boy,
Oliver, is an imposter.’
‘It can’t be, sir. It cannot be,’ said the old lady energetically.
 ‘I tell you he is,’ retorted the old gentleman. ‘What do you mean by can’t be? We
have just heard a full account of him from his birth; and he has been a thorough-
paced little villain, all his life.’
‘I never will believe it, sir,’ replied the old lady, firmly. ‘Never!’
‘You old women never believe anything but quack-doctors, and lying story-
books,’ growled Mr. Grimwig. ‘I knew it all along. Why didn’t you take my
advice in the beginning; you would if he hadn’t had a fever, I suppose, eh? He was
interesting, wasn’t he? Interesting! Bah!’ And Mr. Grimwig poked the fire with a
flourish.
‘He was a dear, grateful, gentle child, sir,’ retorted Mrs. Bedwin, indignantly. ‘I
know what children are, sir; and have done these forty years; and people
who can’t say the same, shouldn’t say anything about them. That’s my opinion!’
This was a hard hit at Mr. Grimwig, who was a bachelor. As it extorted nothing
from that gentleman but a smile, the old lady tossed her head, and smoothed down
her apron preparatory to another speech, when she was stopped by Mr. Brownlow.
‘Silence!’ said the old gentleman, feigning an anger he was far from feeling.
‘Never let me hear the boy’s name again. I rang to tell you that. Never. Never, on
any pretence, mind! You may leave the room, Mrs. Bedwin. Remember! I am in
earnest.’
There were sad hearts at Mr. Brownlow’s that night.

Glossary
extorted: obtained.
feigning: pretending.
forebore: refrained
from.

quack-doctors: a pretend doctor.