Introduction
The Prince and the Pauper was written by Mark Twain. Although this is a fictional story, one of the main characters, Prince Edward the sixth, was a real prince regent and heir to the British throne. In the original version of this book Mark Twain writes, "What am I writing? A historical tale of 300 years ago, simply for the love of it." It was written in 1881, but it was set in the year 1547 in London, England. Another famous quote from Mark Twain is "Don't part with your illusions (dreams). When they are gone, you may still exist, but you have ceased to live." In this tale of "walking in another person's shoes," we find one of grand themes to be "knowing the lives of the people you lead." It would seem as the story unfolds that Edward has gone a long way to achieving this goal. In his short stint he understands some of the maltreatment often caused by inequality among the classes. Another one of the main themes of the story is to never depend on appearances alone to pass a judgment. Once the switch between the boys is made, it is nearly impossible for the prince to convince anyone that he is the Prince of Wales (because of his shabby clothes) and equally impossible for Tom to convince the members of the royal court that he is royalty because he has not been taught the customs and etiquette of the royal court. This book calls on us to reimagine our basis for judging people and to remember that it is the inside of a person who counts when we are trying to determine their true identity. This webquest will allow us to explore some notions set forth in the novel and to see some historical basis that will help our understanding of the story as it unfolds in all of its classical greatness.
Task
Please go to the following website to explore the world of a pauper in the year 1547.
http://www.localhistories.org/povhist.html
The word "Pauper" comes from the Latin language meaning poor. At the time in history of this book the following facts were true:
1. "The old and ________________________ were given licenses to beg. However, anyone roaming without a ________________ was tied to a cart in the nearest market town and whipped" until they couldn't stand anymore.
2. At the end of the 17th century, the measure of how wealthy you were was decided by how many times your family ate _____________ each week.
Next Website:
http://homeworkhelp.stjohnssevenoaks.com/tudors/poor.htm
From this website we learn that England was generally divided into four types of people. The lowest class of people were the poor-farmworkers, servants and vagrants, who have "neither voice nor authority."
1. (Inference question) What do you think that the poor people could not do in England, based on the quote above?
I think that this means they could not ____________________ or ______________________________________.
2. In the year 1601 one of the many reforms of Queen Elizabeth I was to reform how society cared for the poor. What happened to the "lazy poor" under her time of ruling England?
"The 'lazy poor' were sent to the House of ______________________ or even ____________________________."
Next Website Quote:
"This concern about the poor was at it greatest in Elizabeth’s time. What did the government do? It made every parish responsible for the poor and unemployed within that parish. The Justice of the Peace (JP’s) for each parish was allowed to collect a tax from those who owned land in the parish. This was called the Poor Rate. It was used to help the poor. This had two benefits. First, it made the poor feel that something was being done for them and made them feel less angry about the situation they were in. Secondly, some good work could be done by the poor within the parish to help that parish."
1. The poor in England were supported by a Poor Rate Tax. The primary people who were required to pay this tax were those who owned
_____________________________.
Question: Do you think it was fair that those who had more money were required to support those who were poor paupers? Sometimes these richer people only inherited their land and did not work to become wealthy. They became rich because their fathers and grandfathers worked hard to leave them their riches. Was this a fair system? (in your opinion)
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Next website:
1. (Fill in the blanks) "Often Children as young as __________________________ might be apprentices."
2. Although they were given food and lodging, how old would the apprentices be before they were "paid for their work?"
They were not paid for their work until they were _______________ or ________________ years old.
Next Website:
https://www.ego4u.com/en/read-on/literature/prince-and-pauper/excercises
Put here your score for the comprehension quiz: (this will not affect the your grade on this assignment)
My score was ________________________.
The remainder of this webquest is devoted to a comprehension check to see how well you are understanding the story:
1. True/False Tom had a "hard, wretched life" and he knew that his life was miserable because he was different from everyone who lived around him.
2. True/False Father Andrew used to tell Tom about magic castles and he started thinking of himself as princely and dreaming of the day when he would meet a real, live prince.
3. What is the first question that King Henry the eighth asked of his son when he came into the throne room?
a. Have you gone mad?
b. Do you not know me?
c. Do you know who you are?
d. Are you studying too much?
4. Tom "drank the rosewater" that was supposed to be used to wash his _________________________.
5. Tom's wish came true to see a "_____________________ prince."
6. When questioned by the King, what language did Tom not know that shocked the king?
He did not know the _______________________ language.
7. Although he didn't want to complain, Tom thought that the Royal Taster "should be a __________________."
8. T/F While Tom switched places with the Prince he was compassionate and took pity of people who were suffering.
9. Although the Prince was dressed in rags, he still maintained a regal bearing. Go to the following website to find out what his means.
https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/183168/how-to-use-the-word-regal
To be regal means to be ___________________________________________________________________________________
10. Choose either Tom or the Prince and state one thing that they have learned since they traded places with each other.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
***I always ask for your opinion on reading materials, so that I plan for future classes. How do you like this story so far?
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Process
Please complete the webquest under the Task page and share with me. This story may take us a few days to complete, but it is well worth the effort to complete. Our reading journey takes us all the way back to Edwardian England.
"The journeys never end when you have reading as your friend."
Evaluation
You will be evaluated with normal grading techniques for Test grade on the Canvas platform synced to PowerSchool Portal.
Conclusion
I hope you have enjoyed this webquest as we add to the background knowledge that makes this story more meaningful.