Teacher Resource Notes
Jeremy All Deller That Curates Is Solid Melts Into Air
A Hayward Touring Exhibition Mead Gallery 2 May—21 June 2014
Contents
Adrian Street and his father, 1973. Photo © Dennis Hutchinson 2012.
3 An introduction to the exhibition
5 Who is Jeremy Deller?
6 Key themes
12 Links to the curriculum for KS2 and KS3
14 Knowledge and understanding Questions, discussions and activities to explore for both KS2 and 3
19 Exploring and developing ideas - follow up activities - KS2 and 3
23 Further links
24 Planning a trip to the Mead Gallery
2 An introduction to the exhibition
I’m an artistic curator… In All That Is Solid Melts Into Air the artist Jeremy Deller takes a Artistic curators can put personal look at the impact of the Industrial Revolution on British a bit more of popular culture, and its influence on our lives today. The society we themselves in the show have inherited, our towns and cities, the social formations, cultural [than academic curators traditions, class divisions, inequalities of wealth and opportunity derive can]. This is a personal to an overwhelming extent from the age of the Industrial Revolution. wander, not a straight The exhibition combines contemporary music, film and photography line, more a with a vast range of 19th century images and objects. Bringing meandering, a sort of together past and present, and including some of his own work, Deller musing on something. shows us his unique take on cultural history.
Jeremy Deller The title of the exhibition is taken from The Communist Manifesto of The Independent, 1848 by Karl Marx. All That Is Solid Melts Into Air is also an academic 18 December 2013 text written by Marshall Berman between 1971 and 1981. The book examines social and economic modernisation and its conflicting relationship with modernism. At the beginning of the 1900s, many artists and thinkers were excited by the potential for change - a utopian vision with new machines, cars, planes, newspapers, film and photography - all made possible by the Industrial Revolution. But the dreams of a better life had come at a price. There were dramatic changes in society during the Industrial Revolution. Populations in urban areas soared as people moved from the countryside to cities. Poor health amongst workers was commonplace as they endured harsh working conditions and long hours. There was an increase in pollution of the waterways, land and air from factory waste products.
3 In the exhibition we * John Martin’s apocalyptic painting The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (1852). see, amongst other things: A documentary about Adrian Street, who escaped from a life of mining * to become a famous glam wrestler.
James Sharples painting, The Forge - Sharples was a 19th century * blacksmith and self-taught painter from Blackburn.
Links between heavy metal / rock music and the industrial towns that * many bands - Happy Mondays, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath - grew up in.
How people’s lives were and are controlled in work by bells and clocks * - from a 19th century factory bell and clocking-in machine to a prosthetic grab with a microchip used for recording the removal of stock in Amazon warehouses.
And an Amalgamated Engineers Union banner from 1890 is set against * a text message sent to workers on zero-hours contracts that reads: “Hello, today you have day off.”
Heavy metal and rock musicians also feature in the exhibition, chosen by Jeremy Deller for their links to industry. Noddy Holder, lead singer with Slade, Shaun Ryder, frontman of Salford band Happy Mondays, and Bryan Ferry are all rock stars from industrial towns whose roots can be traced back through generations of workers in factories and mills. Shaun Ryder’s family tree is traced back to the early 19th century by Deller, showing generations of miners, millwrights, weavers and cloggers and revealing how deeply rooted he is in that landscape.
Tony Iommi is the lead guitarist and songwriter in Black Sabbath. He lost the tip of one finger and part of another in an industrial accident in a sheet metal factory in Birmingham. To ease the string tension on his injured hand he detuned his guitar. This led to a change in his style of playing and he developed a new sound that became synonymous with heavy metal music. Rock bands such as Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Happy Mondays and Slade were the products of the industrial towns their members came from; their music echoing the insistent rhythm of the factory floor and the smoke and lights of their live shows that of steel works.
4 Who is Jeremy Deller?
Key features of his work
* Often collaborative
Strong political aspect * * Can be ephemeral i.e. resists being a commodity
* Sense of ‘Britishness’
* Can be humorous
Born in 1966 in London.
Studied at Dulwich College, London; the Courtauld Institute of Art (University of London); completed his MA in Art History at University of Sussex.
Met Andy Warhol in 1986 and spent two weeks at ‘The Factory’, Warhol’s studio in New York.
Started making artworks in the early 1990s. In 1993, while his parents were on holiday (he was still living at home), he used the family home for an exhibition titled Open Bedroom.
Won the Turner Prize in 2004, dedicating his award to "everyone who cycles, everyone who cycles in London, everyone who looks after wildlife, and the Quaker movement.”
In 2013 he was selected to represent Britain in the Venice Biennale. Joy in People, a mid-career survey, opened at the Hayward Gallery, London, while Sacrilege, a bouncy castle modelled on Stonehenge, toured the country during the summer of 2012.
5 Key themes
Robert Havell, Factory Children, 1814. Coloured aquatint engraving. ©Science Museum/SSPL
The themes of All That The Industrial Revolution Is Solid Melts Into Air Work are: Time Music
6 Thomas Allom, Swainson Birley Cotton Mill near Preston, Lancashire, 1834. Pencil, pen, sepia and wash. ©Science Museum/SSPL
The Industrial “From this foul drain the greatest stream of human industry flows out to fertilise the whole world. From this filthy sewer pure gold flows. Here Revolution humanity attains its most complete development and its most brutish; here civilisation works its miracles, and civilised man is turned back almost into a savage.”
Alexis De Tocqueville on Manchester, 1835
“The society we have inherited, our towns and cities, the social formations, cultural traditions, class divisions, inequalities of wealth and opportunity – all derive ultimately from the Industrial Revolution. Within a 20 or 30 year [period] the Industrial Revolution just happens – there are no regulations [and] there is this trauma, the inversion of order. The earth is on fire [and] there are these hellish scenes on your doorstop. But it’s producing money for you …. It’s impressive but it’s frightening at the same time – you read accounts of people from France going to Manchester in the 1860s and they cannot believe what they are seeing. Then there is this moment, which I find interesting, when people take stock of what has happened and realise that they have probably let things happen too quickly and things have gone too far ….”
Jeremy Deller
7 Within the exhibition, ‘The Industrial Sublime’ shows how contemporary artists were drawn to the terrifying beauty of the new industries. Around the time that John Martin paintedThe Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the British parliament commissioned reports into living conditions in the new industrial towns. The investigators returned with devastating evidence of degradation and poverty. Photographers (wielding the latest technology) brought back from the industrial wastelands of Wales photographs of labouring women swathed in filthy rags, staring numbly into the camera.
John Martin’s painting tells us much about the anxieties of the Victorian age – as the exhibition commentary explains, Martin painted the work in 1852, when the reality of what we were doing to our environment, our towns and to the labourers condemned to spend their working lives in mines and factories was beginning to sink in.
John Martin. The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, 1852. Oil on canvas . 136.3 x 212.3cm. Courtesy Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne (Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums)
8 Amazon Fulfilment Centre in Rugeley. Photos by Ben Roberts.
Work Ben Roberts was allowed inside this Amazon warehouse (above right), but wasn’t allowed to photograph any employees (or ‘associates’ as Amazon label their workers)
“however the first thing that I saw before entering the airport style security were the surreal life-size portraits of Adam Hoccom and Bev Horton extolling the virtues of working for Amazon.”
W. Clayton, Iron Workers, Tredegar, Wales, 1865 Photographs. Courtesy Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester
9 Time Jeremy Deller compares the way time is used to oppress and control workers. The devices some warehouses strap to the workers wrist to track their efficiency and productivity is compared with some beautifully engineered timepieces from mills of the 1850s. One example is the old long case clock that presented ‘two faces’, one for the real time and the other connected to the water wheel. When the wheel did not turn quickly enough this indicated reduced production and workers had to catch up with the real clock at the end of the day.
Motorola WT4000 This device (above right) is worn on the wrist by workers in warehouses, and similar items are used by Amazon to track the speeds of orders and consequently the efficiency of its staff. It calculates if you are falling behind schedule and sends a warning if this occurs.
10 Music Noddy Holder was born in 1946 in Walsall and went on to be lead singer in Slade. His family tree created for the exhibition reveals ancestors who were variously a: millwright, shoemaker, boiler cleaner, agricultural labourer, spin filer, washerwoman, curb and chain maker, buckle filer, key stamper, buckle stamper, chainmaker, coalminer, rail- way carriage cleaner, ironworker, puddler, forgeman, blacksmith. His father was a window cleaner.
The family trees of Bryan Ferry reveals 19th century ancestors that included agricultural labourers, blacksmiths, a cartman, colliery labourers, farm servants and coal miners. His father was a pit pony handler
11 Links to the curriculum for KS2 and KS3
The activities in this In the Art and Design curriculum pack will enable they will support pupils to: children to explore and Produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording develop key areas of the * their experiences current National Curriculum with a focus * Evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, on Art & Design, History craft and design and English. There are Know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and un- activities that allow * derstand the historical and cultural development of their art them to work on their forms. own and to Create sketchbooks, journals and other media to record their collaborate with others * observations and use them to review and revisit ideas in small groups
And specifically for Key Stage 3:
* Analyse and evaluate their own work, and that of others, in order to strengthen the visual impact or applications of their work
Learn about the history of art, craft, design and architecture, * including periods, styles and major movements from ancient times up to the present day.
12 In the History curriculum the activities will in part support pupils to:
Know and understand the history of these islands as a * coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world
Gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge * into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between short- and long-term timescales
Gain understanding of how our knowledge of the past is * constructed from a range of sources, and that different versions of past events may exist
In the English curriculum the activities will in part support pupils to strengthen the following skills:
* Develop ideas thoughtfully, describing events and conveying their opinions clearly
Acquire a wide vocabulary, and begin to vary their expression * and vocabulary
Ask relevant questions to clarify, extend and follow up ideas * Appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage * Elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas * Talk and listen with confidence in an increasing range of * Contexts
ICT skills will also be supported in pupils’ use of digital cameras and/or iPads to record observations
13 Knowledge and understanding
Questions, discussions and activities to explore- KS2
Before your visit 1. In class begin a discussion about the Industrial Revolution (see Appendix One for teachers notes):
What do the students know about this already?
2. What was good about it? bad about it?
Think of five words to describe living in the Industrial Revolution.
3. Inventions made the industrial revolution possible. Invite the students /pupils to come up with their own inventions. Draw these and explain in writing how it makes life easier, or what problem it solves.
4. Invite some of them to ‘sell’ their invention to the others— encourage a debate on whether their idea really does make the world a better place.
5. Modern day inventions
What in the classroom would not be here without inventions i.e. clothes, computers - research their beginnings using the internet.
14 At the exhibition 1. Find and draw two of these things in your sketchbooks.
A painting or photograph of a worker You will need sketchbooks or Something to do with time paper; pencils, pens, and, if A banner possible, a camera and/or Something to do with music iPad.
2. Using your image of the worker create a short story about them, their work and their life in your sketchbook using the comic strip form.
3. Can you think of any current songs that are to do with work? If so, what kind of story do they tell? Find a way to record these in your sketchbook.
4. Look around for the different inventions that are represented In the exhibition. Imagine they were competing on The Dragon’s Den. Work in a group to plan how you might present these inventions to your judges and then vote on which should win and why.
5. In your sketchbook, do a close up drawing - a detail of something you like in the exhibition.
Tell a friend why you like it.
JW Lowry, Thomas Robinson's power loom factory, Stockport, 1849-1850. Engraving. ©Science Museum/SSPL
15 Knowledge and understanding
Questions, discussions and activities to Explore - KS3
Before your visit 1. The Industrial Revolution took place in many towns across England and Wales. Working in groups, research these towns and find out as much as you can about what happened:
Manchester Birmingham Bradford
Coventry Leeds The Black Country
Find one image that sums up all these changes in that town and mark it on the map (Appendix Two).
2. Change also took place within rural communities. Again, identify where and how.
3. Inventions were key to the Industrial Revolution. Research the following, their uses, their inventors and where they were used:
cotton gin power loom spinning jenny flying shuttle spinning mule water frame steam engine
4. Who was Jethro Tull?
5. Discuss the following: Are we in the midst of an industrial revolution today? How is society changed by technological advances? How has faster transportation and global communications made the world smaller? Is technology always a positive factor? How did the world function prior to technological advancements?
16 6. Can you place in order of importance 5 inventions of the 21st century that have had a big impact on your lives? 7. Invite students to brainstorm what a person/family needs to survive (shelter, food, safety, healthcare, etc). Ask them to rank these from the most to the least important. Write this
list on the board.
8. Ask students what a worker needs to survive (job security,
respected rights, unions, etc). Ask the students to rank these
from least to most important. Write this list next to the other
one. Then ask the students which list is more important.
Adrian Street and his father, 1973. Photo © Dennis Hutchinson 2012.
At the exhibition 1. Use your camera or sketchbook to gather a collection of images from the exhibition that mean something to you You will need sketchbooks or (ideally 6 – 12). Use these to create your own personal history paper; pencils, pens, and, if or that of a fictional character. possible, a camera and/or iPad. 2. Find examples of as many different kinds of labour in the exhibition as you can. You could do this through drawing, writing or photography. List these and next to them list the different types of labour people are involved in today. Are any of these jobs the same? What are the main differences? (When you get back to school you could produce this as a visual ‘work map’ charting the historical changes.)
3. Find the photograph of Adrian Street and his father taken in 1973. Imagine the conversation that might have taken place between them and the other miners when Adrian arrived at the pithead dressed in his wrestling costume. Record this as a short article, interview, blog post or act it out with your group.
17 4. Jeremy Deller refers to the impact the Industrial Revolution had on cities and the socialisation of people. What do you think would have been people’s main ways of communicating at that time? Set up scenarios with your friends and take photos of how people might have communicated then and how they do now.
5. Go and look at the Amazon productivity poster and compare this to any other motivational images that you can think of that have been created from the time of the Industrial Revolution to the present day in order to ‘sell’ various forms of productivity (e.g. the famous 2nd World War poster ‘We Need You in the Army’.)
6. Jeremy Deller has confessed that he has never been able to draw, and has never learnt what he sees as the basic technical skills of fine art practice. Instead “he thinks, conceives and commissions, explores, discovers and selects.” (Interview with BBC Radio 6 Music) Can you create a mindmap like the one below that shows the skills you think are needed for CREATIVE WORK and LABOUR BASED WORK and explore where the meeting points might be.
The History of the World, 1997 by Jeremy Deller
"I drew this diagram about the social, political and musical connections between house music and brass bands – it shows a thought process in action. It was also about Britain and British history in the twentieth century and how the country had changed from being industrial to post-industrial. It was the visual justification for Acid Brass. The History of the World is a graphic and textual portrayal of the Without this diagram, the history, influence and context for acid house and brass band music. musical project Acid Brass would Adopting the form of a flow diagram, it suggests that there are social not have a conceptual backbone”. and political echoes and points of confluence between these two musi-
cal movements that date from different eras; acid house being a post- Jeremy Deller. industrial movement of the late twentieth century, and the brass band movement dating from the industrial era of the nineteenth century.
18 Exploring and developing ideas
Follow up activities - KS2
W. Clayton, Iron Workers, Tredegar, Wales, 1865 Photographs. Courtesy Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester
Aim 1. Design a banner with a slogan on - think about something uplifting, that will make people think good about life; or use a warning i.e. something that will make them feel worried To use words and language about the future. to investigate ideas seen in the exhibition 2. You have just 140 characters to write to someone telling them something about the exhibition.
3. Write a review of the exhibition in the form of a blog, if you are using an iPad or computer. (A blog is an online personal journal or diary, a place to express yourself to the world, or to share your thoughts and your passions.)
4. Imagine being one of these women (above). How can you describe her life in the Industrial Revolution?
5. There is a focus on work in the exhibition. Today children and young people are not legally allowed to work until the age of 16, however, many of them are forced into work at a younger age. What kinds of jobs do you think these children might do? Write a story about one of these children.
19 Exploring and developing ideas
Follow up activities - KS3
Activity Simply create a timeline of people, starting with yourself, then adding your father or mother, a grandparent, a great-grandparent etc. What
1. Your own timeline jobs do they do/did they do? What symbols can you use to describe their jobs? Make this as visual and as big as you like. You could also select significant individuals from your own community, such as local politicians, celebrities etc. and research their family history in the same way
20 2. What’s in a decade? Jeremy Deller has given us a flavour of what life was like in certain moments of the past 200 years. Pick a decade and find out the key words and phrases that describe it - think politics, music, art, books, wars, society, work. Then, work in pairs to see what differences and similarities there are between the decades. What would be the main three things that sum up each decade for you?
Here’s the 1960s to get you started:
The 60s – ‘I have a dream’. The Famous Five, Airfix kits, Biggles, Blue Peter, The Sound of Music, James Bond 007, record players and discos, John, Paul, George and Ringo, Yeah, yeah, yeah, ‘Turn that racket down!’, mini-skirts, Hippies, Flower-Power, Woodstock, ‘Hair – flow it, show it, long as God can grow it.’ Churchill’s funeral, Cuban Missile Crisis, Kennedy assassinated, Aberfan. ‘I have a dream’, Martin Luther King assassinated. Andy Warhol screenprints. Civil Rights, Black Power, Student riots, Make Love not War, Sit-ins, End the Vietnam War, Ban
the Bomb, Anti-Apartheid, Ban the South Africa tour, Northern Ireland, Send in the army, The Troubles. National Service – the end. Hanging – the end. Race Relations Act. One small step for man, moon landing, abortion legalised, The Pill, heart transplants, motorways, fridges, washing machines, 3 TV channels – now in colour!, central heating; 1966 World Cup – 4-2 extra time.
3. Who are they? Jeremy Deller highlights a number of individuals and their stories, linking music with their industrial past. Research these names to
understand the part they played in our industrial past:
The Lunar Society Matthew Boulton Brunel Stephenson James Watt Charles Darwin
Josiah Wedgwood Joseph Priestly
Can you find any women in your search?
An important writer during this moment in history is David Henry Thoreau, who writes in his 1862 essay ‘Walking’: In Wildness is the
preservation of the world.
Write a poem or short story, starting with this sentence, and bring in some of the imagery and ideas found in the exhibition. Think about the impact of climate change today; our relationship with work and with Nature.
21 4. Charles Dickens Another important writer was Charles Dickens who was strongly opposed to the Industrial Revolution. His novels, particularly Oliver Twist and Hard Times described the grim realities of child labour, the rise of machines, overpopulation, and the damage to the cities and natural greenery that industrialization brought about.
Using newspapers, magazines and the internet research examples of
child labour that are still taking place today. Make a collage or storyboard to explore the similarities between child labour then and now. How much have times actually changed?
Dickens explored social issues of the period. Can you think of recent social issues that have been in the news? What kinds of things have made people angry enough to take social action? What do you think might motivate people to take this kind of action in the future?
5. Talking across time Imagine if these people met each other – talk to a partner about what you imagine the two different people might be like, how they might interact with each other and then write a script of their conversation - their questions, their ideas, their concerns.
John Evans, who was rescued after 12 Adam Hoccom, Facilities and Engineering, days buried 120 yards underground at a Amazon Fulfilment Centre, Rugeley, 2013. Welsh coal pit, as commemorated by the Photograph: Ben Roberts. artist A.R. Burt, 1819. Engraving with wash on paper, 29.2 x 21.9cm. Courtesy National Museum Wales.
22 Pupils should * The different working environments both workers had/have to demonstrate what they operate in (History) have learnt through the * The different social environments that existed/exist at these two exhibition and their different times (History & Geography) own studies about: How an impression you may have of someone from a drawing or * photograph may differ considerably from that individual’s lived experience (Art & Design - visual literacy)
* Use language thoughtfully to support the sense of each individual existing in a different time period (English)
Use their writing to elaborate on these characters’ conversation to tell * us more about the different times they live in (English)
Further links This is the film made in collaboration with BBC Newsnight, and is included in the exhibition. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24458982
http://gerryco23.wordpress.com/2013/11/16/all-that-is-solid-melts- into-air-from-this-filthy-sewer-pure-gold-flows/
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/oct/13/artist- industrial-revolution-popular-culture
http://benrobertsphotography.com/blog/news/all-that-is-solid- melts-into-air-hayward-gallery-touring-show/
http://deanoworldtravels.wordpress.com/2013/10/08/all-that-is- solid-melts-into-air/
http://thoreau.eserver.org/walking1.html
www.lightsgoingon.com [email protected] 07971 439104
April 2014
23 Planning a trip to the Mead Gallery
Contact Details and Mead Gallery Opening Hours Warwick Arts Centre University of Warwick Coventry CV4 7AL Box Office: 024 7652 4524
Open Monday – Saturday, 12 noon – 9pm. Free Entry.
For group visits, it is advisable to book in advance. The Mead Gallery is exclusively available for school group bookings Monday – Friday, 9am – 12noon by prior arrangement. Staff and resources are available to support these visits.
Parking at Warwick Arts Daytime parking on campus can be difficult so please allow plenty of Centre time. For directions to Warwick Arts Centre, go to http://www.warwickartscentre.co.uk/visit/getting-here/
For a map of the campus, http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/about/visiting/maps/campusmap/
Coaches Coaches can drop off and pick up on Library Road. Please follow the signs for the short walk to the Arts Centre. Please inform our Box Office if you are arriving by coach so that effective and safe arrangements can be made with campus security.
Cars Charges apply for all University of Warwick car parks during the day. The nearest to Warwick Arts Centre is CP7 (free if arriving after 6pm). Please note, CP7 has no lift.
24 Minibuses CP4 and CP5 (1hr max stay) are not height-restricted. Charges apply. After 6pm, please use CP4 or CP5, which are both free.
Lunch If necessary, rooms are available where pupils can eat their packed lunches. Let us know in advance if you want us to book one.
Toilets Public toilets are available in the Arts Centre.
Risk Assessments Risk Assessments are available from the Arts Centre’s Education Team. Contact Brian Bishop on 02476 524252.
Before your visit We recommend a preliminary planning visit and are happy to discuss your requirements with you. Your visit will confirm which works which are most suitable for your group.
Adult supervision of students under 16 is required at all times. An adult student ratio of 1:5 for under 5s, 1:10 for 5-11 year olds, 1:15 for 11-16 year olds and 1:20 for 16-18 year olds is required.
During your visit Teachers/group leaders and accompanying adults are responsible for their group’s behaviour whilst at Warwick Arts Centre.
Many contemporary artworks are fragile and damage easily. Unless you are told otherwise, please take extra care to ensure that your group follows the Gallery guidelines at all times:
No running No touching No leaning against walls or plinths No photography
Drawing The Mead Gallery has some drawing materials available and can sup- ply a certain amount of clipboards. Please contact Gallery staff on 024 7657 3732 to discuss your needs. We regret that we cannot supply drawing materials with little or no notice.
25 Teacher Resource Notes
Appendices
A Hayward Touring Exhibition Mead Gallery 2 May—21 June 2014
Appendix 1 The Industrial Revolution
There were five main * Agricultural Revolution factors that led to * Population Boom Industrialisation and * Imperial gains marked its progress: * Slavery * Technological advances (especially in the cotton industry)
There were six major social * Started the factory system changes: * Led to population growth and urbanization * Created new social classes * Made the worker’s life difficult * Gave rise to socialism Led to the colonial expansion of the industrial nations *
Steam engines were invented and machines were used in the production process.
Production of goods was done in factories instead of at home.
The population increased because of more food supply and better medicine.
Many of the rural population moved to the industrial towns because people could get jobs and better living conditions in the industrial towns.
Two new social classes were formed. They were the capitalist class and the working class. The two classes opposed each other.
A worker’s life was poor. They lived in poor conditions. Working hours were long but their wages were low.
The workers joined together and wanted the government to protect their rights and interests.
Industrial / European powers set up colonies in Asia, Africa and the Americas for cheap raw materials and bigger markets.
Before the Industrial Revolution, towns were small. After the mid eighteenth century many people left the countryside for the towns, ports and industrial communities on the coalfields of the Midlands, the North, and South Wales. They were attracted by higher wages and the opportunity of employment. Manchester, Leeds and Bradford grew rapidly in size.
II Literature (KS3) Charles Dickens
Notes on Oliver Twist Oliver Twist was born to an unknown young woman in the parish workhouse. He worked on a parish farm until he was nine years old. An offer was made to pay five pounds to whomever would take Oliver as an apprentice. He was taken in by Mr. Sowerberry, an undertaker, who put him to work as a mute. Oliver was treated very well by Mr.
Sowerberry, though he was mistreated by several other characters in
the story. One morning Oliver decides to run away.
Upon his arrival at the outskirts of London, Oliver meets a young boy named Artful Dodger. Dodger takes Oliver to meet Fagin, a master criminal. Oliver gets involved with the law when he is with two thieves who rob an old gentleman. Oliver is saved from jail by Mr. Brownlow. Later, Oliver is kidnapped by two of Fagin’s cohorts and made to participate in a burglary, during which Oliver is shot.
The plot thickens when the reader learns that Olivers half-brother made a pact with Fagin to make Oliver a criminal, thus disinheriting him from their fathers will.
Notes on Hard Times Much of Dickens writing provides commentary and criticism of social issues of the period and descriptions of settings that make it impossible for the reader to distinguish fact from fiction. Hard Times is no exception. In this social protest novel, the working class, known as Hands, as well as the other classes, experience some hard times. The utilization of this book in the classroom can best be determined by the teacher. This may be the book that teacher chooses to read
aloud to the class. Dickens descriptions of Coketown and some of its inhabitants are quite graphic and are examples of his best writings.
Suggested questions for Which aspects of English life were being criticised by Dickens in Hard discussion: Times?
Which characters do you consider to be heroes in the story? Explain.
Which characters struck you as being the villains? Explain.
Does the story have a sad ending, or does it give you hope for better times?
III Oxfam statistics on social consequences of globalisation
Women as percentage of In South Africa, 69% of all temporary and seasonal employees are production employees: women; 26% of long-term employees are women.2
Honduras 65% In Chile, 52% of all temporary and seasonal workers are women; Morocco 70% 5% of long-term employees are women. Bangladesh 85%
Cambodia 90% In Bangladesh, 46% of interviewed women garment workers had the Columbia 65% letter of employment needed to establish employment relationship.3 Kenya 75%
Zimbabwe 87%1 In Chile, one in three fruit pickers and packers, paid by piece-rate, is effectively earning minimum wage or less; to earn this amount they
work 63 hours a week, sometimes up to 18 hours a day.4
In China, overtime is legally limited to 36 hours a month; but in Guangdong province the vast majority of workers surveyed worked more than 150 extra hours a month.5
If Africa, East Asia, South Asia and Latin America were each to increase their share of world exports by one per cent, the resulting gains in income would lift 128 million people out of poverty.6
1. Source: C. Dolan and K. Sorby (2003) and Oxfam background research reports. 2. Source: Barrientos et. al. (1999) and Venegas (1993) cited in C.Dolan and K. Sorby (2003) 3. Source: Oxfam research 4. Source: D. López (2003) 5. Source: K.M. Liu (2003) 6. Source: Rigged Rules and Double Standards. Oxfam (2002)
IV Appendix 2
V