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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did shovelers do?

2. What kind of low lodging house segregated the renters by sex?

3. To whom did some merchants loan stock at no cost?

4. What did one of the young thieves who belonged to a gang tell Mayhew?

5. What did Mayhew say all blind musicians had in common?

Short Essay Questions

1. What area of trade did the Jewish traders dominant and what did Ragmen do?

2. What was the usual marriage and family situations like with costermongers?

3. What caused a class hierarchy in immigrants in London?

4. Who normally held a crossing sweep position and how was that job viewed? How did the crossing sweep have to eat sometimes?

5. What were some of the circumstances in the better lodging houses for the street people?

6. What did the patterers do who could be classified as entertainers?

7. About how much coal was used in London in a year and who was responsible for cleaning the aftermath of coal use?

8. How much money did sifters make, what did they do and why did they do it?

9. What were some of the positive aspects of being a costermonger?

10. What did mudlarks do and how did they bathe?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Recent immigrants look down on the newly arrived, especially if there is a difference in race, nationality or religion. This is illustrated in Mayhew's attitude towards the Jewish residents, and their mutual disdain for recent Irish immigrants.

1. What emotional motivations might be given for recent immigrants to look down on newly arrived immigrants? Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

2. What financial motivations might be given for recent immigrants to look down on newly arrived immigrants? Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

3. Discuss some ways in which the prejudice of one nationality or religion against another might be ended. Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Mayhew seems to genuinely believe that certain occupations like mudlark or dustman are hereditary, rather than learned.

1. Discuss why you think Mayhew was wrong or right in his belief about the occupations being hereditary. Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

2. Discuss how Mayhew's belief of lower level occupations being hereditary shows prejudice towards his research subjects. Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

3. How do you think Mayhew's prejudices affected his ability to research the lives of the mudlarks or dustmen? Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Vagrants were those who loitered in the streets with no work or occupation. Mayhew described them as, "Youths, prostitutes, Irish families and professional beggars." Many were young men between 12 and 20 years old, whom Mayhew described as budding criminals.

1. How does Mayhew's statement about vagrants demonstrate his tendency to generalize groups of people. Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

2. Do you think all vagrants were budding criminals? Why or why not? Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

3. Why do you think Mayhew specifically mentions Irish families in his writing about vagrants and budding criminals? Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,250 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample