The world of Charles Dickens "If they would rather die,…they had better do it and decrease the surplus population." - Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol This is a quote from the book A Christmas Carol, said by a character named Scrooge. Scrooge was the main character and was created by Charles Dickens to basically portray what most people during that time thought of the poor and unfortunate people. Scrooge doesn’t think twice about the poor and unfortunate, and frankly doesn’t care, but one Christmas eve night the ghost of Christmas past, present, and future come to visit him and completely changes his mind on the poor and unfortunate and he ends up helping them.
1) In one of Charles Dickens’ most famous stories, A Christmas Carol, he drops hints about his views on society during Victorian England, which was the period that Dickens lived in. 2) Throughout the novella, Dickens implies his thoughts on social justice that was around him; several pieces of evidence are provided and they all paint a picture of the way the higher class citizens overlooked and disregarded the poorer members of society. In addition, Dickens indicates the way of change that he desired for the rich. 3a) Initially, Dickens uses Scrooge as an example of the wealthy civilians throughout his time due to the fact that Scrooge refuses to donate to the poor and suggests the prisons, Union workhouses, The Treadmill and Poor Law as options
Juan Luis Vives, a Spanish humanist, demonstrates a perfect example of an individual who has faith in humanity and believes that we as a whole can do better. Juan believes that no one knows what the ideas of a the poor are or under what circumstances they are living, but people don’t help because,”others withdraw because their good intention is embarrassed by the great number” (Doc 1). Since Luis was a Humanist and he wrote this in a book, he must have meant it and wanted to spread the word to others that it is not a sin to help the poor. Another person who witnessed the poor would have to be Rembrandt van Rijn, in his painting Beggars Receiving Alms at the Door (Doc 6).
Through the use of the supernatural, as well as natural world, Dickens manages to employ a reason for change by arguing that greed is an inhumane tool of power utilised by the wealthy. Moreover, Dickens argues that generosity is a quality that is severely lacking throughout humanity, before concluding by reassuring his audience that change is achievable. Thus, it is a profound message throughout ‘A Christmas Carol’, that despite the doings of the Industrial Revolution, an assertive effort must be made to bring an end to the social injustice present in their
From this sight, it is evident that covetousness still exists in our society. The first example of greed we can recognize is Scrooge’s reaction to the newspaper. Ebenezer Scrooge shows no compassion despite how tragic this is for those who are surrounded by poverty. As a rich man, the issue in the paper does not affect him negatively. Instead of feeling bad about what is happening to the penniless, It warms his heart that he will soon be more prosperous.
Another thing people say, “it is the person’s fault for being poor” and “don’t help them out.” Well, in a podcast I listened to, it talked about Benjamin Franklin’s sister and how she was poor her whole life. She was forced into a marriage with a sick guy and had kids who also wound up sick. She worked so hard to get herself out of poverty and failed to do
In the nineteenth century, Dickens was writing a forgettable epic works. "Dickens beliefs and attitudes were typical of the age in which he lived” (Slater 301). The circumstances and financial difficulties caused Dickens’s father to be imprisoned briefly for debt. Dickens himself was put to work for a few months at a shoe-blacking warehouse. Memories of this painful period in his life were to influence much of his later writing, which is characterized by empathy, oppressed, and a keen examination of class distinctions.
Those we help is not a far-off issue. God sees our efforts for helping the poor as a means of sustaining our relationship with him. And for upholding a vision of morality, with special care to the poor and concern for the most vulnerable and needy. Nevertheless, we should not stop here, we ought to delve deep into Scripture for guidance and direction. The authority of Scripture helps measure our ethics and decision making.
In one circumstance, we may feel the need to give to those who are poor to keep them from getting in our personal space; and in other circumstances we feel that we give to others out of the kindness of our heart. I completely agree with Ascher and her views on compassion, because I have been in similar situation where I have questioned why people give money, and whether they give with a whole heart or out of necessity. Furthermore, this essay can teach us plenty of lessons that can be utilized throughout our lives so we can teach others and make them aware of the need to be more
For Instance, one of his best novel was “A Christmas Carol”, which was written in a third person narrator, also he explains with precision why the industrial revolution turned off the sense of humanity of some people in Great Britain. Dickens, was one of the authors that were affected by the industrial revolution in good way, because this event helped him as an inspiration to his work and helped him think about his moral values. He used this period in his novel to recreate and portrait the attitude of rich people towards others with necessities. So his goal was to make others think about their moral values again. To take case in point, this novel is about a man called Ebenezer Scrooge, that was a selfish and self-centered person.
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. Poverty affects all types of people in many varying ways. It can lead to malnutrition, hunger, heath problems, lack of education and increase in crime. Most of these themes are represented in the Christmas Carol by an array of characters.
Scripture speaks about the poor, "For you always have the poor with you; but you do not always have Me.” (Matthew 26:11) This simply means that there will always be people in need of something, whether it is monetary, food, shelter, jobs, encouragement, or prayer. As believers, we should
“The law is not being fulfilled unless it is obeyed as a way of giving and showing love to God and others.” (pg. 146) Money being a tool, does not define who you are. It doesn’t matter who you are, rich or poor, Christ came to serve
Stave One, Dickens uses a lot of different quotes and conversations to tell the readers how Scrooge really is, most of these quotes are found in the first few pages and describe how much of a horrible, cold hearted person Scrooge is.
Charles Dickens is an influential author for all ages. He has written many books that children know very well, including A Christmas Carol, with the character, Ebenezer Scrooge, finding his love for Christmas again. Dickens has also written some more mature books with topics that relate to our world today, such as Great Expectations, were the young boy, Pip, deals with an abusive family. In Charles Dickens books, we read many different themes that all have one thing in common: good v.s. evil. Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812 in Portsmouth, England, United Kingdom to his parents John and Elizabeth Dickens, and was their second child, they would go on to have eight children.