Essential English: Wonderful Writers and Comprehension - Charles Dickens

Created by Gemma Louise Bull

Charles Dickens

Key Information 

• Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth on the 9th February, 1812.

• Dickens wrote 15 novels, five novellas and hundreds of short stories.

• He is considered to be one of the UK’s best writers, owing to his exciting plots, quirky characters and impressive use of the English language in his writing.

Recommended Reading:

• ‘Oliver Twist

• ‘A Christmas Carol’

• ‘Great Expectations’

Fun Facts

• Charles Dickens was also known by the pseudonym, ‘Boz’

• Dicken’s books were usually released in instalments in magazines which explains the many cliff-hangers at the end of chapters in his novels.

• Many of his novels contain comedy characters and funny stories. However, Dickens also wanted to highlight the problems in society (especially poverty) in his writing.

• Dickens had 10 children with his wife, Catherine.

• Dickens has appeared on the British £10 note.

An Extract - 'Great Expectations'

“Hold your noise!” cried a terrible voice, as a man started up from among the graves at the side of the church porch. “Keep still, you little devil, or I’ll cut your throat!”

A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg. A man with no hat, and with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round his head. A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints, and stung by nettles, and torn by briars; who limped, and shivered, and glared, and growled; and whose teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the chin.

“Oh! Don’t cut my throat, sir,” I pleaded in terror. “Pray don’t do it, sir.”

“Tell us your name!” said the man. “Quick!”

“Pip, sir.”

“Once more,” said the man, staring at me. “Give it mouth!”

“Pip. Pip, sir.”

“Show us where you live,” said the man. “Point out the place!”

I pointed to where our village lay, on the flat in-shore among the alder-trees and pollards, a mile or more from the church.

The man, after looking at me for a moment, turned me upside down, and emptied my pockets. There was nothing in them but a piece of bread. When the church came to itself,—for he was so sudden and strong that he made it go head over heels before me, and I saw the steeple under my feet,—when the church came to itself, I say, I was seated on a high tombstone, trembling while he ate the bread ravenously.

“You young dog,” said the man, licking his lips, “what fat cheeks you ha’ got.”

I believe they were fat, though I was at that time undersized for my years, and not strong.

“Darn me if I couldn’t eat ’em,” said the man, with a threatening shake of his head, “and if I han’t half a mind to’t!”

I earnestly expressed my hope that he wouldn’t and held tighter to the tombstone on which he had put me; partly, to keep myself upon it; partly, to keep myself from crying.

“Now lookee here!” said the man. “Where’s your mother?”

“There, sir!” said I.

Questions 

1. INFORMATION: What does Pip have in his pocket?

2. INFORMATION: Where does the man put Pip?

3. VOCABULARY: What does the word ‘undersized’ mean?

4. VOCABULARY: What does the word ‘earnestly’ mean?

5. WORD CLASS: Find two verbs to describe what has happened to the man.

6. INFERENCE: How do you think Pip feels when he sees the man for the first time? Why?

7. INFERENCE: Why does Pip repeat his name? (“Pip. Pip, sir.”)

8. INFERENCE: Why does Pip hold ‘tighter to the tombstone’?

9. LANGUAGE: What does the word ‘terrible’ suggest about the man’s voice?

10. PREDICTION: What do you think will happen next? Why?

Answers

1. INFORMATION: What does Pip have in his pocket? Pip has a piece of bread in his pocket.

2. INFORMATION: Where does the man put Pip? The man puts Pip on top of a high tombstone.

3. VOCABULARY: What does the word ‘undersized’ mean? The word ‘undersized’ means small (especially for a particular age).

4. VOCABULARY: What does the word ‘earnestly’ mean? The word ‘earnestly’ means sincerely and seriously.

5. WORD CLASS: Find two verbs to describe what has happened to the man. The verbs used to describe what has happened to the man are ‘soaked’, ‘smothered’, ‘lamed’, ‘cut’, ‘stung’ and ‘torn’.

6. INFERENCE: How do you think Pip feels when he sees the man for the first time? Why? Pip feels scared when he first sees the man as he says, ‘Oh! Don’t cut my throat sir’. When someone feels terrified, they are really scared. As Pip ‘pleads in terror’, it implies that Pip believes the man is going to harm him.

7. INFERENCE: Why does Pip repeat his name? (“Pip. Pip, sir.”) We often repeat words when we are nervous. Pip repeats his name because he is frightened of the man and how the man will react when he speaks.

8. INFERENCE: Why does Pip hold ‘tighter to the tombstone’? Pip holds ‘tighter to the tombstone’ because he is scared he might fall off, or be pushed off by the man.

9. LANGUAGE: What does the word ‘terrible’ suggest about the man’s voice? The word ‘terrible’ means awful or dreadful which suggests the man sounds cruel and evil.

10. PREDICTION: What do you think will happen next? Why? The man seems like he is in trouble. He has been ‘stung’ and ‘lamed’ so he may ask Pip to help him.