ipl-logo

The Plight Of The Poor In A Christmas Carol By Charles Dickens

1003 Words5 Pages

“Christmas is a poor excuse every 25th of December to pick a man’s pocket.”

-Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol From the words of Ebenezer Scrooge, one can see the greed of the rich. The book, A Christmas Carol, showcased the plight of the poor for people in Victorian England. Dickens himself grew up poor, so he wanted to make sure other people did not have to face the same challenges as him. He wanted to give other people a chance at a better life. The world of Charles Dickens is best understood through his own life, industrialized London, and scriptures regarding the poor.

Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812, to a poor family (Biography). …show more content…

God wants His followers to help the poor, to give and not receive. “No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it to anyone else.” –Charles Dickens. God commands us to be friendly to everyone, even our enemies. Orphans and widows need to be looked after too. “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” –James 1:27. God loves the poor and the rich the same. He calls upon us to defend the poor and help them. “Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” –Proverbs 31:9. The poor in spirit will have the Kingdom of Heaven. “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.” Matthew 5:3. In the time of Charles Dickens, many people did not care about the poor. (History) The poor were treated badly, and Charles Dickens knew that. (History) He raised awareness for the poor through his books and spoke out against poverty. He gave some of the poor a home. “Home is a name, a word, it is a strong one; stronger than magician ever spoke, or spirit ever answered to, in the strongest conjuration.” –Charles Dickens. (History) He helped the poor and set an example for other people by giving to the poor. An interview in 1851 with a street seller named Henry Mayhew told London that some of the poor thought of him as the champion of the poor. Charles Dickens’s work about the poor teaches us to have compassion for the

Show More
Related

  • How Is The Christmas Carol Scrooge's Changing Perspective

    322 Words  | 2 Pages

    Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens in 1843 where there was a lot of poverty in England. Charles was poor growing up so his dad got sent to prison and Charles got sent to a workhouse. This is a story about a man that changes personalities in a little time. Charles wrote the Christmas Carol to show people to be kind and give to all people no matter what and to also treat the poor as equal.

    Read More

  • How Does Ebenezer Scrooge Change In The Crucible

    960 Words  | 4 Pages

    Michael Eybs Mrs. Gallucci English 11- Period 2 October 31, 2014 The Crucible As depicted in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, Ebenezer Scrooge is characterized as a selfish and self absorbed individual who only cares about himself. He thinks poorly of the lower class and is disgusted by them. He even refuses to donate to the poor knowing that they may die from starvation. When this is brought to his attention, he responds by saying, “they had better do it and decrease the surplus population.” From the beginning of the play to the end, Scrooge makes a drastic change into becoming a generous and caring person.

    Read More

  • Ap Lang Keller Chapter 1 Dialectical Journal

    291 Words  | 2 Pages

    “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

    Read More

  • Summary Of Chapter 6 By Philip Yancey

    283 Words  | 2 Pages

    Instead, Jesus welcome anyone when they needed him. Jesus welcomed the poor, prostitutes, tax collectors, leprosy victims and also the rich to his life. Jesus was not picky with his surrounding. He loved each and every one of them. People in his friend group also enjoyed spending time with Jesus because he was a great friend to them.

    Read More

  • What Does Turkey Mean In A Christmas Carol

    295 Words  | 2 Pages

    Charles Dickens, author of the novella, A Christmas Carol, published on December 19, 1843, impacted Christmas in a way none of us can forget. Most people don’t give credit to Dickens for traditions we thought were normal! Such as how before A Christmas Carol, turkey was infrequently found on the table for Christmas dinner. However, Dickens didn’t want credit for Christmas traditions, he merely wanted people to be less self-centered on Christmas, and be more generous to the poor and the needy, and to each other. “They were not a handsome family; they were not well dressed; their shoes were far from being water-proof; their clothes were scanty; and Peter might have known, and very likely did, the inside of a pawnbroker’s.

    Read More

  • Barbara Lazear Ascher's 'On Compassion'

    820 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • How Did Charles Dickens Write A Christmas Carol

    437 Words  | 2 Pages

    He was the second of eight children born to John and Elizabeth Dickens. Charles’s father, John, worked as a clerk in the pay office of the Royal Dockyard. ”(Page one of dickens fellowship ‘Infancy in Portsmouth and London’) As a young boy, Charles was very poor.

    Read More

  • American Dream Is Achievable For All Essay

    856 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Christian And Aztec Religion

    1297 Words  | 6 Pages

    Leviticus 25:35-37 states, "if your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you. Take no interest from him or profit but fear your God, that your brother may live beside you. You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit". This verse shows, that when something happens to your family member or friend where they can't support themselves anymore, you have to do what you can to help them without expecting anything back from them or any benefit in return. Christians try their best to live by these types of quotes in the bible.

    Read More

  • Charles Dickens Influence On A Christmas Carol

    1149 Words  | 5 Pages

    Charles Dickens, an author in the victorian era, brought to light the horrors of working in factories. He is best known for his works of Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, and David Copperfield. Charles’s life did not start out easy, but through hard work, he became a successful author who has influenced literature today. Charles was born in Portsmouth, England on February 7, 1812 and given the name Charles John Dickens. Charles’ family was very poor; His father worked as a clerk a don his mother wanted to be a teacher.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Social Justice In A Christmas Carol

    369 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Psalms And Song Of Solomon Research Paper

    549 Words  | 3 Pages

    "For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death." Psalm 72:12-13 (Old Testament). “12 I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor” 5. "I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy."

    Read More

  • Charles Dickens Research Paper

    194 Words  | 1 Pages

    David experienced a rough childhood, he began in the middle class, fell to the working class, and then he went to work on the Thames River in a warehouse (Warren 133). All of these events happened to Dickens, they shaped him into who he was, this led him to infuse his life into his writing.

    Read More

  • Charles Dickens Research Paper

    476 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dickens was born into a family of a father named John Dickens, who was a naval clerk and aimed to be rich and a mother named Elizabeth Barrow who aspired to be a teacher and school director. Charles Dickens had seven siblings, and was born the second of the eight children. Even with his parents’ best efforts of becoming rich, the family still endured on being poor. One day Dickens father showed him this old castle saying that if Charles Dickens thinks big in the future, he can one day be able to afford that castle, and ever since then Dickens never forgot what his father told him. Dickens father ended up going to prison for debt, which led to Dickens being forced out of school at the age of twelve and working in a boot-blacking factory.

    Read More

  • Charles Dickens Research Paper

    1917 Words  | 8 Pages

    Charles Dickens was an amazing writer with a rich life and many stories influenced by his family background, education, achievements, and other life experiences that lead him to become very successful in his

    Read More

More about The Plight Of The Poor In A Christmas Carol By Charles Dickens

Open Document