The Beating: Reading Adventure & Quiz

Mr Murdstone had threatening black eyes. I always felt frightened when I looked at him, and wondered what he was thinking about. His hair and whiskers were black and thick. The paleness of the lower part of his face, and the strong black beard he shaved close every day, reminded me of a wax-work.

One morning when I went into the study with my books, I found Miss Murdstone sitting in the corner as usual and Mr. Murdstone binding something round the bottom of a cane – a slender, flexible cane. He left off binding when I came in, and poised and slashed the cane in the air. I felt apprehensive as Mr. Murdstone’s eyes stared at me.

‘Now, David,’ he said, ‘you must be far more careful today than usual.’ He gave the cane another slash, and another swipe. He laid it down beside him, with a nasty look, and took up his books.

I felt the words of my lessons slipping away, not one by one, or line by line, but by the entire page. I tried to remember all that I had learned, but all my knowledge seemed to skim away. We began badly, and went on worse. I had come in with an idea of distinguishing myself, believing that I was very well prepared. But it turned out to be quite a mistake. Book after book, subject after subject, was added to the heap of failures.

Miss Murdstone watched me fiercely all the time. She was a gloomy-looking lady; dark-haired like her brother, whom she greatly resembled in face and voice. She had very heavy eyebrows, nearly meeting over her large nose. She always carried a hard steel purse, which she kept in a jail of a bag which hung upon her arm by a heavy chain. I had never, at that time, seen such a metallic lady as Miss Murdstone.

David tells us that Mr Murdstone has threatening black eyes, black thick hair and whiskers, and a pale face that reminds him of a wax-work — all details that make Murdstone seem cold and frightening.
Murdstone deliberately prepares the cane in front of David, then slashes it through the air. This is an act of intimidation — he wants David to be afraid before the lesson even begins.
The fear causes David’s knowledge to slip away. He describes it vanishing “not one by one, or line by line, but by the entire page” — a powerful image of total memory failure caused by anxiety.
Miss Murdstone is described using metallic imagery: a hard steel purse, a jail of a bag, and a heavy chain. Dickens uses these cold, hard objects to suggest she is an unfeeling, prison-like person.
The phrase “a metallic lady” is a metaphor — she is not literally made of metal, but Dickens compares her to metal to show she is cold, hard, and completely without warmth or kindness.

Apprehensive — Feeling anxious or fearful that something bad is about to happen.
Poised — Held something balanced and ready to use; here, Murdstone holds the cane ready to swing.
Distinguishing — Standing out by performing exceptionally well; David hoped to impress.
Resembled — Looked similar to someone or something else.
Wax-work — A model of a person made from wax, often found in museums; suggests something lifeless and unnatural.
Metallic — Resembling metal; here used as a metaphor to suggest Miss Murdstone is cold and hard.

1. What about Mr Murdstone's appearance frightens David? Choose the answer that includes three correct details.

2. Why does David forget all his lessons when the test begins?

3. Why does Dickens describe Miss Murdstone as 'a metallic lady'?

4. What is the purpose of Murdstone slashing the cane in the air before the lesson begins?

Finally, when I made yet another mistake, I saw him wink, solemnly, at his sister. He rose and took up the cane: ‘David, you and I will go upstairs, boy.’

He walked me up to my room slowly and gravely. I am certain he took delight in that formal march, as if he were escorting a criminal to the gallows. When we got to my room, he suddenly twisted my head under his arm.

‘Mr. Murdstone! Sir!’ I cried to him. ‘Don’t! Please don’t beat me! I have tried to learn, sir, but I can’t learn while you and Miss Murdstone are both watching me. I can’t!’

‘Can’t you, indeed, David?’ he said. ‘We’ll see about that.’

He had my head in a stranglehold, but I twisted round him somehow, and stopped him for a moment, begging him not to beat me. He paused, then he hit me hard. By chance, I caught his hand in my mouth, between my teeth, and bit right through it. It still sets my teeth on edge to think of it.

He beat me then, as if he would have beaten me to death. Above all the noise we made, I heard my mother running up the stairs, and crying out. But Mr Murdstone commanded her not to enter the room. Finally he stopped beating me, and left. The door was locked and I was lying, fevered and hot, and torn, and sore, and raging in my pathetic way, upon the floor.

Murdstone’s wink at his sister shows this beating was planned in advance. They had agreed beforehand that David would be beaten — the lesson was just a pretext.
The simile “as if he were escorting a criminal to the gallows” compares the walk upstairs to a death march. Murdstone “took delight” in this, suggesting he enjoys the power and cruelty.
David’s desperate plea — “I have tried to learn, sir, but I can’t learn while you and Miss Murdstone are both watching me” — shows he understands that fear is the real cause of his failure.
The bite happens by chance, not as a planned attack. David is struggling to escape a beating and Murdstone’s hand ends up in his mouth. It is an act of self-defence and desperation.
The list of adjectives — “fevered and hot, and torn, and sore, and raging” — piles up David’s physical and emotional suffering. The word “pathetic” is heartbreaking, showing how small and helpless he feels.
David’s mother runs upstairs but is commanded not to enter. Murdstone has complete control over the household — even David’s own mother cannot protect him.

Solemnly — In a serious, grave manner; here it suggests the wink was a deliberate, pre-arranged signal.
Gravely — In a serious, solemn way; Murdstone walks slowly and seriously to draw out David’s fear.
Gallows — A wooden frame used for executing criminals by hanging; the place where condemned prisoners were taken to die.
Stranglehold — A tight grip around someone’s neck or head that restricts movement; here, Murdstone pins David’s head under his arm.
Fevered — Feeling extremely hot and unwell, as if suffering from a fever.
Raging — Feeling intense anger; David is furious but too hurt and powerless to do anything about it.

5. What does the simile 'as if he were escorting a criminal to the gallows' suggest about Murdstone's attitude?

6. Why does David bite Murdstone's hand?

7. What evidence is there that the Murdstones have taken control of David's mother's household?

When I became quiet an unnatural stillness seemed to reign through the whole house. I sat listening for a long while, but there was not a sound. I crawled up from the floor, and saw my face in the glass. It was so swollen, red, and ugly that it almost frightened me. My cuts and bruises were sore and stiff, and made me cry every time I moved; but a sense of guilt for biting my tutor began to creep up on me. I felt like a criminal.

It had begun to grow dark, when finally the key was turned, and Miss Murdstone came in with some bread and water. These she put down upon the table without a word, glaring at me in angry silence. She then left, locking the door after her. I was once more alone in my prison.

Long into the night I sat there, wondering whether my mother would come and comfort me. But she did not appear. The Murdstones had probably ordered her not to see me. Finally, I undressed, and went to bed. I began to wonder fearfully what would be done to me. Was it a criminal act that I had committed? Would I be arrested by the police, and sent to prison? Was I at all in danger of being hanged?

After the beating, an “unnatural stillness” fills the house. The word “unnatural” suggests something is deeply wrong — the whole household has been silenced by the violence.
David sees his swollen, red face in the mirror and is frightened by his own reflection. This shows how badly he has been hurt — he barely recognises himself.
Despite being the victim, David begins to feel guilty for biting Murdstone. This is deeply ironic — the adult who beat a ten-year-old child should feel guilty, not the child who acted in self-defence.
David calls his room “my prison”. Three details support this metaphor: the door is locked, he is given only bread and water (like a prisoner), and Miss Murdstone acts as a silent, glaring jailer.
David’s fears at the end — being arrested, sent to prison, even hanged — show how a child’s mind can magnify guilt into terror. Dickens uses these rhetorical questions to make the reader feel sympathy for David.
David’s mother does not come to comfort him. He guesses that “the Murdstones had probably ordered her not to see me” — further proof of their total control over the household.

Reign — To rule or dominate; here the stillness ‘reigns’ as if silence has taken over the whole house like a king.
Unnatural — Not normal; the silence feels wrong and disturbing, not peaceful.
Committed — Carried out or performed (an act, especially a crime); David wonders if biting counts as a criminal act.
Glaring — Staring in an angry, hostile way.
Fearfully — In a way that shows great fear and anxiety.

8. David describes his room as 'my prison'. Which three details from the passage support this metaphor?

9. David goes through a range of emotions after the beating. Which two emotions does he experience, and what causes each?

10. Why is it ironic that David feels guilty after the beating?

Reading: The Beating

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