Bonfire Night: an English tradition and the death penalty Reading and writing a persuasive text, giving your opinion about the death penalty Warm-up work in groups Bonfire Night is celebrated on the 5 th of November and it is a popular English tradition. It brings everyone out into the streets to celebrate. Think of a Dutch tradition that brings everyone out into the streets.
Reading and writing a persuasive text individual assignment Step 1 Read the article called Bonfire Night in England. Step 2 Write a summary in English of 10 sentences about the article in your own words. Step 3 Create a vocabulary list of all the legal terms that you can find in the text. Step 4 Write a persuasive article of 300 words about the death sentence. Mention the following topics: Do you think it is effective Do you think it is fair Take into account for which crimes the death penalty could be given Give an alternative punishment that you think could be effective 1
Bonfire Night in England Introduction On the fifth of November, millions of people in Great Britain celebrate Guy Fawkes Night, which is also known as Bonfire Night, by setting off fireworks and lighting big fires called bonfires. Many will throw an effigy, a life-sized doll who looks very real of a man called Guy Fawkes, on the bonfire and burn it. To many people who are not British, this seems to be a very violent type of celebration or holiday. Here is some more information about Guy Fawkes and Bonfire night. An effigy or life-sized doll of Guy Fawkes ready to be put on the bonfire The history of Guy Fawkes Night Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire Night is a holiday that goes back to the seventeenth century. During the 17th century, Catholics were severely persecuted: they were hunted or followed and punished as criminals). King James I told all the Catholic priests to leave England in 1604 because he did not approve of Catholics. People who lived in England at that time had to go to the Protestant Church because King James I and his family were Protestant. If the people of England did go to a Catholic Church, they would get a money fine as a punishment because it was against the law to go to a Catholic Church. A small group of Catholic people were not very happy with the fact that they were illegal. They decided to do something about it. They wanted a rebellion but first of all they had decided to blow the Houses of Parliament and kill the King. The Houses of Parliament is where the government and sometimes the King always got together to discuss politics and to run the country. The group of Catholic people were all men. They decided to use gunpowder, a powder that is used to make things explode, and to hide it in the cellar, the rooms under the Houses of Parliament. These men planned to light the powder to blow up the Houses of Parliament on the 5 th of November 1605 2
because on that day the King would be in the Houses of Parliament attending a meeting with the government. A plan that went wrong Unfortunately for the Catholic men, someone who knew about their plans, sent an anonymous letter to a member of the government in the Houses of Parliament, telling him all about the plan to blow up The houses of Parliament with the king at the same time. The authorities searched the whole area and eventually found a member of the group of Catholic men, called Guy Fawkes, hiding in the cellar and guarding the gunpowder. Guy Fawkes and several other men were caught, arrested and tortured by the King and then they were sentenced to death. They had to die for trying to kill the King. The death sentence The death sentence was hanging to death. But that was not all. After the person was dead, they would quartered (cut up into 4 different pieces) and dragged through the town so that everyone could see what had happened to them. In the middle of this picture you can see a man who is being hanged. This was done in public, in the middle of town, so that everyone could see that someone was sentenced to death. Celebrating Guy Fawkes Day Guy Fawkes became a famous criminal, although now he would be described as a terrorist. Today, Guy Fawkes day is celebrated every 5 th of November by building a big fire called a bonfire. This celebration started the year after Guy Fawkes was caught and hanged, in 1605. Everyone comes outside to watch and to have drink. 3
A cartoon picture of Guy Fawkes doll on the bonfire and people watching the bonfire. That part of the celebration has not changed. At first, the people used to make a doll of the Pope, the head of the Catholic Church and burn that on the fire to show that they did not like Catholics. Today however, the Pope is no longer burnt on the bonfire. Children make a huge doll of Guy Fawkes and burn that instead. Children who make the doll use it to earn money. They walk around the streets with their doll and ask for money, saying a penny for the guy. School children who have made a guy, a doll of Guy Fawkes. A child asking for A penny for the guy 4