What does the language of this extract reveal about Dr. Grantly and the way he treats his fellow men?

instead of ‘I want’, although I do not think he is trying to be rude, but shows that, as mentioned above, he unconsciously regards himself as above the bedesmen. The next part of the passage that is revealing about Dr. Grantly is when he stops speaking for a moment “Expecting that some murmurs of applause would show that the weakest of the men were beginning to give way; but no such murmurs came.” First of all, this shows that he holds his own oratory skills in high esteem, because he “Expects” a few of the bedesmen to applaud. However, I think it again shows the way in which he regards the bedesmen, because he expects that at least some of them will have had their opinions swayed by only his opening remarks. I think that this shows his contempt for them, because he thinks they are so weak. This attitude towards the bedesmen is demonstrated again when he repeats the words “My men.” He then domes to the main part of his speech where he lays out his views. He uses rhetorical questions a lot here and in them says things like “Worn-out old men, worn-out labouring men, infirm old men past their work, cripples, blind, bedridden, and such like”, which are veiled insults if not blatantly obvious insults. I think that the fact that Dr. Grantly has stated what he thinks so bluntly shows that he thinks the men need things ‘spelled out’ for them, probably because he thinks that they are not at all clever. I think it also shows that the Archdeacon can say what he likes to the men without any fear of reprisals. I think that he feels he can say what he likes to the men without any of them questioning it, because it is ridiculous for him to say that he knows what John Hiram intended as Hiram died centuries ago, and if he was arguing against more learned opponents, he would almost certainly not have said this. I think that the short paragraph where the reactions of the almsmen to the speech are described shows that Dr. Grantly has the reputation of being someone that you do not want to argue with, because the bedesmen do not “Express by word or sign, the and disgust to which such language was sure to give rise.” I think that Dr. Grantly takes their silence to mean that he is slowly winning the men over to his opinion because he carries on speaking again immediately. During the next part of Dr. Grantly’s speech, he asks the men more rhetorical questions, but then goes on to make the statement that the almsmen will “Never get a hundred pence a year more than what you have now.” I think that this bold statement shows that he assumes that he will have won over all the men to his point of view by now because he is offering them a way out from their actions if they accept that they were misguided by “Wicked men who are acting for their own ends.” I think that the final part of the passage that shows something about Dr. Grantly’s character is in the last paragraph. He is clearly not used to being interrupted before he finishes a speech, as he even regards Harding’s brief input as an “Ebullition”, which means a sudden, violent outburst. This last paragraph also shows that Dr. Grantly regards his own dignity as very important to uphold because he felt that “He could not recommence with dignity after this little ebullition.”         -  -