CLASS 6 LITERATURE

1. TREASURE
SEEKERS
E.NESBIT

2. EDITH NESBIT

3. KNOW YOUR AUTHOR!
Edith Nesbit was an English author and poet; she published her books for
children under the name of E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on more
than 60 books of children's literature. She was also a political activist and
co-founded the Fabian Society, a socialist organisation later affiliated to
the Labour Party. Wikipedia
Born: 15 August 1858, Kennington, London, United Kingdom
Died: 4 May 1924, New Romney, United Kingdom
Movies: The Railway Children, Five Children and It, The Treasure Seekers,
The Phoenix and the Magic Carpet

5. CHAPTER I
THE COUNCIL OF WAYS AND MEANS
http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/vwwp/view?docId=VAB7177&chunk.id=d1e681&toc.id=d1e671&brand=vwwp;query=#docView

6. CHAPTER II
DIGGING FOR TREASURE
http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/vwwp/view?docId=VAB7177&chunk.id=d1e881&toc.id=d1e671&brand=vwwp;query=#docView

7. THEMES

9. The Great Recession
In late Victorian times, Britain was in the throes of a Great Recession
that was responsible not just for a fall in the fortunes of the House of
Bastable, but a fall in the fortunes of many other houses as well (such
as the Bastables' neighbors.) The effects of this fall in fortune is one of
the main themes of the novel. The children's father has great difficulty
in keeping up with his financial obligations and everything that was
not completely necessary was cut out of the family's economy. The
country's recession also opened the door to con-men and swindlers
who were able to offer schemes to "get rich quick" that only made
things worse.

10. The Importance of Family
The Bastables are a close-knit and loving family and the importance
of this is one of the themes that runs throughout the novel. The
children work as a team and rather than feeling that their father is
responsible for restoring the financial well-being of the family, they
take responsibility for helping as well and try to solve the situation
themselves. This demonstrates their loyalty to both their father and to
each other, and the family unit. Oswald, as the narrator, never says
that his father's fortunes had failed, but that the family's have, which
also indicates the importance of thinking as a family unit rather than
as individuals. The children are always thinking of each other's well-
being which shows what a strong and united family they are.

11. CHARACTERS IN THE STORY

13. Dora Bastable
Dora is the eldest of the six Bastable children and is thought by
her siblings to be far too responsible and too much like an adult.
Dora knows this and it upsets her, as she is merely doing what
their mother asked her to do shortly before she passed away and
is taking her role as their moral guardian very seriously. Many of
the more outlandish exploits take place when Dora is otherwise
occupied because her siblings don't want her to put a damper on
their adventure. Dora is immensely supportive and maternal when
it comes to her brothers and sister but this is quite a lonely
position to be in as there is nobody acting in that mother role for
her.

14. Oswald Bastable
Oswald is the oldest boy and is also the narrator of the novel. He believes
that he is keeping his identity a secret but his habit of singing "Oswald's"
praises as the impartial narrator and this reveals his identity without him
really meaning to. From Oswald's narration we learn that he won the Latin
prize at school, that he is dazzlingly insightful for a boy of his age, that he
is far more considerate than most children and that he is given to having
far better ideas than his siblings. From the actual interactions between
the children we also learn that he is very fair, that he would not upset
them for the world and that he is the family peacemaker, generous with
mollifying words and willing to split toys, gadgets and rewards with the
others. Oswald is polite and believes manners are important and is
already aware that his behavior and gentlemanliness reflect on his
parents.

15. Alice Bastable
Alice is a tomboy and always picks our a male part for herself
in their games of adventure. She seems to identify with boys
more than girls, keeping her hair short and preferring to play
games with her brothers than join in more traditionally "girly"
pursuits with her sister. Alice loves the dramatic and her idea
to seek treasure using a divining rod appeals to her mainly
because she gets to wear a priestess costume. Alice is feisty
and brave and never hangs back behind her brothers.

16. Noel Bastable
Noel is a creative, sensitive soul who writes poetry and wants to
be a famous poet or an editor. Although his siblings are rather
skeptical about the treasure-seeking potential of his poetry, he
does have some success and manages to sell some poems to the
editor of ‘The Recorder’. Noel is a sickly boy who is not in the best
of health and prone to colds, chills and general weakness.

17. Dicky Bastable
Dicky is good at sums and likes facts, nicknamed "the definite article"
by his father.He can be disagreeable and quarrels quite frequently
with Dora because she disapproves of his most fun ideas. He doesn't
like to show his hand or contribute half-formulated ideas to the
conversatipn. Dicky is convinced that their best chance of finding
treasure is to invest in one of the work from home schemes advertised
in the evening paper. He is fairly patient in waiting for the others to
give his plan a try but when they do eventually do this their doubts
are justified as it doesn't bring in any treasures to the House of
Bastable at all.

18. H.O. Bastable
Horace Octvius is called H.O. by his family and friends and is
sometimes babied by his older siblings. Oswald is personally
concerned that H.O. is becoming a milksop and that he is acting
in a way that is far more babyish than he knows perfectly well is
expected of him. His treasure seeking scheme is becoming a
bandit which he knows is rather dubious and wrong but also feels
that if they are pretending to be bandits then it is not really bad
at all. He is always keen to participate and loves any scheme that
enables him to get muddy and dirty.

19. Father
The children's father is a widower and has lost both his wife
and a good percentage of the family's income at the same
time. He loves his children and although he expects a lot of
them he is also fair and loving. The exact nature of his
business is not specified but he is struggling to make ends
meet and it seems that the harder he works the worse his
financial situation becomes. He is unable to pay most of the
family bills but at the same time tries to shield the family.

20. Albert-Next-Door
Albert is the Bastable's neighbor and playmate but he is a very
soft boy prone to crying and screaming. He is not particularly
fun because he has no spirit of adventure, hates to get dirty
and is always more concerned about getting home in time for
tea than about playing or making friends. His lack of gumption
does not only frustrate the Bastable kids - he also frustrates
his uncle who thinks he needs to toughen up. His clothes are
also something that the Bastable children do not approve of.

21. Albert's Uncle
Albert's uncle is a writer and the children live the way he
talks like a character in a book as well. He always has time
for the Bastable children and is good at giving advice with
kindness whilst simultaneously keeping them I the straight
and narrow. He is generous, taking Noel to the coast to
help him recuperate from his cold, and dropping money in
the treasure hole in the garden to make the children
believe they actually struck gold.

22. THANK YOU!