The Fifth Child

Introduction : The fifth child, written by Doris Lessing, reads about Harriet & David Lovatt, who decide to start a large family which will be wonderful. Harriet is an old-fashioned woman attached to the family's values ; & as for David, he is a very determined man who knows what he want, that is, a home full of children. They are in a sense, in the same view about the conception of a family. But the happiness is short-lived & things take a turn for the worse... I-The nightmare grows up

I have chosen to study The Fifth Child with my students in terminales the coming year. I have found difficulty in finding much related to its analysis. Pity there are no cliffnotes or sparknotes. The following I came across in what is known as Library thing. Hope you find it helpful. Harriet and David Lovatt are a happy upper-middle-class couple, living in the house of their dreams during the 1960s. Their world is filled with visiting family who stay for weeks at a time and with their four

Episode List The Fifth Child runs in an uninterrupted flow from beginning to end, without any apparent chapters dissecting reading. To make it easier for my pupils to read through the text, I have split the novel in several episodes. This is just a suggestion. Others may find the text fits in more suited frames. 1. pp. 7-9 “Harriet and David met each other at an office party” to “David was an architect" THE OFFICE PARTY 2. pp 9-11 “So what was it about these two” to “They were made for

WORKSHEET N°1 – FROM THE BEGINNING TO PAGE 4 (….David was an architect) 1) LANDMARKS. 1- This passage is the very beginning of the Fifth Child. It is the introductory scene. The first pages of a novel are very important because they present/ introduce the main characters and the setting of the action/ the plot. They also set the atmosphere of the plot. 2- The beginning of the fifth child brings us information about the 2 main characters of the story, Harriet and Harry Lovatt: we learn

The Fifth child, passage 2 Passage 2: From page 14, l.8:”on the afternoon the house became theirs” to page 16,l.15:”This grip said ,Be quiet.” A. Words Bough: branche Glisten: briller Chilly: frisquet Rug,carpet: tapis Lock: verouiller # unlock Thud: battre à tout rompre Capacious : vaste Previous : précedent Owner : propriétaire Pull down : abattre Accomodate :loger, contenir Settee :canapé Sprawl : s’affaler Landing : palier Marvel at : s’émerveiller Smallish : tout petit Suburbia : banlieue Attic

.SPE ANGLAIS. commentaire 1 This extract is the first scene of Doris Lessing's novel The fifth child, a book published in 1988, dealing with Ben, a monster-like child whose birth makes his parent’s life become hell. This passage is descriptive, because it’s where the reader learns how the two characters are. This first scene introduces the two mains characters, David and Harriet and to the general tone of the story to come. In this extract we are given details about David and

 THE FIFTH CHILD VOCABULARY p.9 a freak un monstre, un phénomène an oddball un excentrique an affair une liaison reluctanly à contrecoeur to joke plaisanter to reckon estimer, penser lace de la dentelle witty spirituel, plein d'esprit to wrap up emballer a layer une couche p.10 unkindly méchamment contempt le mépris enlightened éclairé childhood enfance indeed en effet unfortunate malchanceux misfit inadapté old-fashioned démodé towards en direction de, vers to smile sourire

THE FIFTH CHILD DORIS LESSING The passage is about when dog which arrived in the family. One day, the dog does suddenly, and Harriet doesn’t know how he die. I- The evil in Ben - Harriet is puzzled hut has her suspicious. The life at home is destroyed. His behavior is strange: quirky laugh and an angry look -He’s really violent; he kills the dog and the cat. He’s like a wild animal in cage, he wait all day long like a predator -Ben is like a psychopath: watches, follows his victims. He wants

Go back to your desk and wait until the conversation is over. b) Interrupt their conversation and ask the question. c) Stand there and watch them until the conversation is over. 4. You are invited to a wedding reception that is going to begin at 3:00 pm. What time should you arrive? a) Anytime—it doesn’t matter. b) At 3:00. c) Between 3:00 and 3:30. 5. You’ve been married for 10 years, but you’ve never worn a wedding band. Should you wear one in the United States? a) No. b) Only at

"We have tried". David explained what had happened with the three amiable and indifferent girls. "Doesn't surprise me. Who wants to do an honest job these days? " said Dorothy. 'But you have to get someone. and i can tell you i didn't expect to end my days as your and Sarah's skivvy." Here Luke and Helen gave their grandmother incredulous looks and burst into tears. After a pause, Dorothy controlled herself and began consoling them. "All right, it's all right', she said "And now I'm going to