Question

Which sentences in this excerpt from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens reflect the author's satirical tone? "Goodness gracious! Is that you, Mr. Bumble, sir? " said Mrs. Mann, thrusting her head out of the window in well-affected ecstasies of joy. "(Susan, take Oliver and them two brats upstairs, and wash 'em directly.)—My heart alive! Mr. Bumble, how glad I am to see you, sure-ly! " Now, Mr. Bumble was a fat man, and a choleric; so, instead of responding to this open-hearted salutation in a kindred spirit, he gave the little wicket a tremendous shake, and then bestowed upon it a kick which could have emanated from no leg but a beadle's. "Lor, only think," said Mrs. Mann, running out,—for the three boys had been removed by this time,—"only think of that! That I should have forgotten that the gate was bolted on the inside, on account of them dear children! Walk in sir; walk in, pray, Mr. Bumble, do, sir. " Although this invitation was accompanied with a curtsey that might have softened the heart of a church-warden, it by no means mollified the beadle. "Do you think this respectful or proper conduct, Mrs. Mann," inquired Mr. Bumble, grasping his cane, "to keep the parish officers a waiting at your garden-gate, when they come here upon porochial business with the porochial orphans? Are you aweer, Mrs. Mann, that you are, as I may say, a porochial delegate, and a stipendiary? "

Answer 1

Satirical tone talks about how the character deliver his line in a way using humor to show that someone or something is weak, bad or foolish.

"Are you aweer, Mrs. Mann, that you are, as I may say, a porochial delegate, and a stipendiary? "

"only think of that! That I should have forgotten that the gate was bolted on the inside, on account of them dear children!"

Answer 2

The correct answers are: “said Mrs. Mann, thrusting her head out of the window in well-affected ecstasies of joy." “He gave the little wicket a tremendous shake, and then bestowed upon it a kick which could have emanated from no leg but a beadle's." “Although this invitation was accompanied with a curtsey that might have softened the heart of a church-warden, it by no means mollified the beadle.”

Indeed, for the first sentence, the compound adjective “well-affected” clearly makes very explicit that Mrs. Mann is not joyful about been called upon by Mr. Bumble. Such ironic description of her attitude helps create a contrast between her obsequious deference and her actual feelings for Mr. Bumble.

The second sentence is also quite ironic about the lack of strength of Mr. Bumble, implying it is due to a life of privileges that help him avoid physical labor. In other words, a beadle’s kick is completely harmless and laughable and it is also a futile attempt to assert an authority that is quite unstable.

Finally, the noun curtsey, implies that Mr. Bumble expects some kind of deference due to his position in the parish. Such deference is actually denied to him and replaced by the hypocritical, mocking curtsey of Mrs. Mann. The fact that Mr. Bumble is not “mollified” by the gesture implies that he is not satisfied with the level of deference he receives, which does not match the level he thinks he deserves. It also implies that he is a hard person, incapable of compassion.