Dickens teaches us a great deal about Victorian poverty, in London. The extract and novella as a whole illustrate the hardship and stigma the poor endured, which Dickens experienced himself as a child giving us a more vivid and accurate description. The novella was written, by Dickens, to verbalise the inequality and class division in Victorian society or else there was to be a revolution, like in France. Dickens conveys this through his use of language, literary devices, speech and characterisation. In this extract given we learn a lot about poverty through Scrooge’s clerks family; the Cratchits. We are first encountered with the Crachits poverty, through Dickens depiction of the family’s attire. Bob Cratchit’s wife, Mrs …show more content…
This is also portrayed when Mrs Cratchit and Belinda Cratchit are described as being ‘brave in ribbons’. Peter Crachit the family’s eldest son is wearing ‘Bob’s private property’ in ‘honour of the day’ which even ‘nearly chocked him’, again indicating the family does not have excess money to buy new clothes for occasion and are most probably on a tight budget for essential requirements only. We learn the family comprises Bob Cratchit, his wife and their six children, this means a lot of mouths to tend for, for a not so wealthy family. However, as there was no form of contraception during the time, this was the case for many families in Victorian society. Despite this, the family still tend to their best efforts with their Christmas dinner. They are shown to be cooking a great deal of cheap foods such as potatoes, sage and onion. This would …show more content…
Scrooge is confused by this as he felt Marley was always‘ “a good man of business” ’ Marley is distressed by this insisting ‘ “Mankind was my business” ’. As the after life in Victorian society was very much associated with Christianity beliefs, Dickens may be suggesting here how the upper class no longer hold any christian values as they have all been pushed aside by money. This could also be represented by Scrooge when he is reluctant of giving his clerk the day off work for Christmas day; this is putting money over a Christian celebration of christ. When the ghost of Christmas past shows Belle breaking off her engagement with Scrooge, we are again reminded of how money had over taken society, replacing love and relationships. Dickens shows us the contrast of the extreme wealth and extreme poor when the ghost of Christmas present flies Scrooge over London, creating a panoramic over view of all the lives of different people being lived, some celebrating the occasion with all life can offer and others with nothing. The ghost of Christmas present also shows us Fezziwig, Scrooge’s employer as an apprentice, he is a foil for Scrooge. He showed compassion for others, and did not put himself on a pedestal because of his class. This is shown when he has a Christmas party and invites even the most vulnerable in society. It was charity like
One out of every seven people in America live under the poverty line. Even though the Christmas Carol is fictional novella it still illustrates examples of poverty, its effects and what can be done to stop it. Throughout the Christmas Carol different characters who either live in poverty, or are ignorant of it completely. This is a Scenario is applicable to real life. Many people believe that poverty is the fault or problem of those afflicted by it.
In this extract, Dickens presents Scrooge’s character as mean, greedy and rude. The extract initially shows us that Scrooge is an important person, with the evidence being that the gentlemen ‘bowed to him’ and ‘took their hats off.’ It is interesting that these are ‘gentlemen’ but they still feel the need to ‘bow’ to Scrooge, showing how highly regarded he is. We also learn that Scrooge thinks that business is the most important thing in life, thanks to the conversation about ‘Scrooge and Marley’s’ as the name of the business. Scrooge has not changed the business name as he wants to maintain its reputation.
Before the visits of the spirits, Scrooge was at work with his clerk Bob Catchits, and after being visited by his nephew and the portly gentleman, Scrooge knew that Bob would share the same idea as them and ask for the evening. Scrooge believe that Christmas was “ a poor excuse for picking a man’s pocket every twenty-fifth of December!” (Dickens 11) as he discussed with Bob. His idea of Christmas portrayed the tightfisted man he is and how his meaning of Christmas showed that he has not in favor of the Holiday. As a business man who defines Christmas with a negative connotation, it contrasted with the experience he had as kid working for a miser like him.
In A Christmas Story by Charles Dickens Ebenezer Scrooge is a wicked old selfish man. In the beginning of the story he is shown being a hater towards Christmas spirit and refusing to donate to charity even though this man is very rich. Later on Scrooge arrives home and is welcomed by the ghost of Jacob Marley(Dickens,8). After that three spirits are sent which are named Christmas Past, Present, and Future.
He is excited to learn it is Christmas day, wishes others on the street a merry Christmas, and even fetches a young boy to go purchase a turkey for the Cratchit family. ” In these pieces of text, Dickens is showing us how Scrooge changed or redeemed himself. He was a greedy, grumpy man at the beginning of the story with no Christmas spirit. By the end of the story, he was exhilarated to be celebrating Christmas and was greeting people with cheer and spreading cheer by giving to others. A third example that Dickens utilizes
In Staves 3 and 4 of A Christmas Carol, Scrooge undergoes a drastic change in personality due to the events shown by the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come. At the end of the novella, Scrooge is found to be a better man. He learns to be charitable and to value family and companionship. PARAGRAPH 1 Stave 3 affects Scrooge immensely as it shows him that Christmas is a time to be shared with loved ones and that it should not matter whether the person is rich or poor. An example being the Cratchit family as they have little in the way of money but they abound in love and joy.
This heightens the impacts of the more vivid descriptions that follow, when Dickens describes the children as “wretched, abject, frightful, hideous, miserable.” The juxtaposition of these terms to the traditional view of children as vulnerable creates a sense of shock in the reader. Furthermore, the use of asyndetic listing alongside the negative adjectives creates a semantic field of horror. In this way, the description of Ignorance and Want as children is used by Dickens to increase the atmosphere of pessimism.
Taking Scrooge on a journey down Memory Lane, the spirit helps Scrooge recollect a few times in his past when the light of Christmas truly shone. Moreover, they observe Scrooge when he was a child reading in a room concealing hidden delightful memories. Accordingly, Scrooge recalls, “‘There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door last night. I should like to have given him something.’” Furthermore, after scrutinizing himself when he was an apprentice and perceiving how his boss acted toward him, he, consequently, explicitly, states, ‘‘‘I would like to say a word or two to my clerk right now.’”
In the place of Ebenezer Scrooge’s outlook on life, he feels no joy. Ever since his lifelong business partner, Jacob Marley, kicked the bucket, Scrooge became more stingy than he ever was. A time of useless giving, robbery, is what Scrooge sees Christmas as.
He realizes that just because they don’t have a job or make a lot of money, they still contribute to the world in their own way. Scrooge is learning how to move past materialistic things and see people for who they really are. The teachings of the Ghost of Christmas Present shows Scrooge the true meaning of the spirit of
Charles Dickens argues in his writing A Christmas Carol that the poor was being treated cruelly and the rich does not care for the poor. Pg 34 “We should make some slight provisions for the poor and destitute, who suffer greatly at this present time”. This statement shows that the poor and destitute were not provided with anything and they suffered a lot. ”If they would rather die they better do it, and decrease the surplus population”.
One night, in a dream, he is warned by his deceased friend, Marley, that three spirits would come to him. The first spirit is the spirit of Christmas past, and it shows him an event from his past. In the event, Scrooge is seen leaving his lover because she is too poor. Scrooge regrets this decision greatly. The next spirit tells him about the present, and it shows him how his employee, Bob Cratchit, is suffering.
Scrooge’s Transformation Essay In the Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by three spirits, past, present, and future. When the spirits take Scrooge to the past present and future, Scrooge undergoes a major transformation Dickens demonstrates this by showing that Scrooge changed from a lonely, greedy man, that didn’t like Christmas and dislike people to a generous man that likes Christmas and was more accepting of other people. Dickens shows this change through Scrooge’s actions while traveling through time with the spirits.
What he experiences with the ghosts changes his perspective to be a more kind and generous person to himself and others. Throughout the Christmas Carol, Scrooge experiences a traumatic, and life changing moments and changes himself into a kind, generous, and merry person. Before Christmas, Scrooge displayed his nastiness in two ways, Scrooge clearly has no good emotions or feelings. Scrooge is a businessman who runs a company with his partner, but unfortunately he passed away,“ Scrooge was not so cut up by the sad event of my death, but that he was an excellent man of business on the very day of my funeral, and solemnized it with an undoubted bargain.
“A Christmas Carol”, by Charles Dickens is a story about Ebenezer Scrooge an old greedy miser who is visited by three spirits the day before Christmas because he is selfish and he needs help from the spirits to alter his cruel-hearted ways so he doesn’t end up paying for his uncharitable behaviour towards others when he is dead. The ghosts show him his past, his present, and his future, to show him that Christmas is really about giving and to help him realize he needs to change his ways. Throughout the novel multiple themes are displayed that categorize the importance of the novel. However, giving is the most important notion because Fezziwig makes his employees and family happy,