Performance Task

CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE
Read the two sources, and then answer the question(s) or complete the task(s) given.

Source 1: Child Labor in 1830s England

(1) During the period we call the Romantic Era, burgeoning industry in England—much of it
in the form of textile factories—created remarkable wealth and cemented the place of a
prosperous middle class. However, life was far less rewarding for the lower classes, who not
only lost their traditional, agriculture-based social structure, but also were exploited by the
industrialists and did not share in the new wealth they were helping to generate. Most
exploited of all, perhaps, were children. In 1835, 43 percent of textile mill workers were
under the age of eighteen. Great numbers of children labored not only in textile mills, but
also in other dangerous locations such as coal mines, pottery factories, brickyards, and
chimneys. Conditions were often deadly.
(2) Employers saw children as cheap, quick-learning hands who were easily replaceable.
Children’s small size was an advantage—they could fit under machinery to clean or make
adjustments, for example, or squeeze up chimneys. In fact, young chimney sweeps were
commonly undernourished so that they would not grow too large for the job.
(3) Professor Jane Humphries of Oxford University researched child labor of the early
nineteenth century and concluded that, at that time, England had more than one million child
workers in the workforce. The number of children ages seven to ten was about 350,000. In
some cases, the children were not paid at all, rather given only food and shelter.
(4) As a result of widespread use of children in mines and factories, the British Parliament
launched inquiries into their conditions. The reports of low wages and poor conditions were
shocking to many. Many political leaders began to speak out against the practices.
(5) The plight of child laborers found its way into literature. William Blake mourned the fate of
poor
working children in “The Chimney Sweeper,” published around 1789, which begins with the
lines:
“When my mother died I was very young, / And my father sold me while yet my tongue, / Could
scarcely cry ‘weep,’ ‘weep,’ ‘weep,’ ‘weep.’ / So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep.”
(6) Similarly, Charles Dickens wrote about child labor in some of his most well-known classics.
In Oliver Twist, the title character escapes after working as an apprentice for a chimney-
sweep. The main character in David Copperfield works as a child at a factory, reflecting
Dickens’ own childhood as a 12-year-old factory worker.
(7) Works such as these raised the public’s awareness that children needed better protection
against inhumane practices. By dramatizing child labor in literature, Dickens and Blake may
have evoked sympathy for child laborers in ways that governmental reports could not.
(8) As the century progressed, outrage over child labor (sometimes labeled “child slavery”)
increased. Eventually, laws were passed to protect children. However, whereas the Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was established in England in 1824, the Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Children would not form until 1891.

GRADE 10 • UNIT 2 TEST

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Source 2: The Role of Literature in Social Policy

(1) There has often been disagreement over the role of literature in modern society. Should
art seek to change the policies of the society in which it is written, or should it instead reflect
society and reveal timeless truths about humanity?
(2) For some, social change can be one of the most important roles of literature. There are
many examples of literature impacting society. For example, Upton Sinclair’s novel The
Jungle exposed the horrors of Chicago’s meat-packing industry, leading to tighter regulation
on the way food was processed. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin changed
Americans’ views of slavery, while Charles Dickens and others influenced policy by depicting
child laborers.
(3) For many, however, the true value of literature is found in the way it reveals timeless
truths about humanity. They argue that Dickens’ work stands the test of time because it tells
complex tales of memorable characters, not because of any impact his novels had on
policies of the time. And today, The Jungle is seen by many as a historical artifact, not a
work of literature that can be appreciated for its literary merit.
(4) Following are the views of some writers on the role of literature in society:
(5) “A writer should concern himself with whatever absorbs his fancy, stirs his heart, and
unlimbers his typewriter. I feel no obligation to deal with politics. I do feel a responsibility to
society because of going into print: a writer has the duty to be good, not lousy; true, not
false; lively, not dull; accurate, not full of error. He should tend to lift people up, not lower
them down. Writers do not merely reflect and interpret life, they inform and shape life.” – E.
B. White
(6) “[The novel] may be a great force, that works together with the pulpit and the universities
for the good of the people, fearlessly proving that power is abused, that the strong grind the
faces of the weak....” – Frank Norris
(7) “Every writer, especially every novelist, has a ‘message,’ whether he admits it or not, and
the minutest details of his work are influenced by it. All art is propaganda.” – George Orwell
(8) “Fantasy is escapist, [Tolkien] said, and that is its glory. If a soldier is imprisoned by the
enemy, don’t we consider it his duty to escape? … If we value the freedom of mind and soul,
if we’re partisans of liberty, then it’s our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people
with us as we can!” – Ursula K. Le Guin
(9) “Literature is the most agreeable way of ignoring life.” – Fernando Pessoa
 1. What is the central idea found in each of the sources? Write your answer and
then add a comment describing how the two central ideas are related.