Beginning in England in the late eighteenth century, the Industrial Revolution changed the face of the country's economy. Despite becoming a center of wealth and production for the world, the majority of the capital rested firmly in the hands of wealthy capitalists who had little regard for the suffering endured by millions of working-class individuals. In "A Christmas Carol"(1843) by Charles Dickens, this theme of industrial suffering is illustrated through the historical and symbolic characterization of Bob Cratchit and his family, juxtaposed against Scrooge's heartless capitalist ideals. Through this powerful theme of industrial suffering, Dickens permits the reader to visualize the suffering of the poor during the mid-Victorian period. Similarly, the theme of industrial suffering may be defined as the suffering of the lower class individuals under the capitalists. In "A Christmas Carol" Bob Cratchit embodies this theme by toiling strenuously for a heartless capitalist (Scrooge) who does not reward Bob's dedicated work with enough money to provide the necessities for his family. This industrial suffering fosters a sense of sympathy, thus enlightening the reader to the plight of working-class families during the mid-Victorian period.
From factories, to mines, to counting houses, all working-class individuals were treated poorly. Bob Cratchit is a clerk in a counting house who makes "15 shillings"(Dickens, 7) per week; a sum of money which is not enough to support his wife and children. According to Landow and Skipper, sixteen shillings was equal to four-fifths of a pound sterling, and "poor vicars at mid-century earned as little as 40-50£/year". Via extrapolation, Bob Cratchit makes roughly 39£/year. Similarly, his d...
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...ate the economy and control society.
Works cited and consulted
Collins, Philip. "The Reception and Status of the Carol". The Dickensian 89.3 (1993): 170-176.
Dickens, Charles. "A Christmas Carol". English 101-N2 Custom Courseware. Ed. M. van Woudenberg. Edmonton: University of Alberta, 2000. 30-70.
Green, D.R. and A.G. Parton. "Slums and Slum Life in Victorian England: London and Birmingham in Mid Century - Urban Change and Slum Formation" Leicester: Leicester University Press, 1990. 53-83.
Landow, G.P. and J. Skipper. Wages, the Cost of Living, Contemporary equivalents to Victorian Money. Hp. 1999 [Copyright]. Online. Houston, Texas. Available: http://landow.stg.brown.edu/victorian/economics/wages.html. Accessed on April 1, 2001.
Tillotson, Kathleen. "A Background for A Christmas Carol". The Dickensian 89.3 (1993): 165-169.
point shows this as Jake says, "it's no fun when the rabbit has a gun
big this party is going to be and how many people are invited by the
Agriculture was still the primary employer in England. In 1851 the English estimated that there were about One million people working in agriculture in Britain. This amounted to twenty-eight percent of the countries families were involved in the industry. Early on in the century life for the agricultural laborers was slightly better than their brethren in the emergent factories. However the situation was changing. A Parliamentary report of 1824 put the wages of farm workers at about 3 shillings(s.) a week. By 1840 this had increased to only 8s. to 9s. a week. But this was not much when considering that a half-gallon loaf of bread cost 1s. Ten years later England's economy had shifted from agriculture to industry(Burnett, 31). Men working in factories could make between two to three times more than they could as farm workers.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was written by Robert Louis Stevenson during the Late Victorian era. Although "this horror story owes its allegiance to Gothicism rather than realism, many critics suggest that Robert Louis Stevenson 's tale of a man split between his respectable public identity and an amoral secret self captures key anxieties of the fin de siècle" (Norton 1669). The Late Victorian era was “the state of mind prevailing during the final decades of the nineteenth century” (Norton 1668). In the story of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, there are some reflects of the breakdown of Victorian values that took there undergo of their citizen responsibility as a whole.
In this essay I will be talking about how Dickens presents Scrooge’s fear in A Christmas Carol. It is about how Scrooge’s change throughout the novel through various techniques Dickens uses to convey this.
In the novel “The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” a number of
It’s December of 1801 and the whole town is decorating, dancing, singing, and laughing as they get ready for a near holiday: Christmas. All but one pessimistic, obdurate cripple of a man. His name is Ebenezer Scrooge, an undermined old male swathed in dark clothing. He is typically found strolling the streets on Victorian London with poor posture, eyes locked on the cracked sidewalk beneath the soles of his shoes. Slumping along, carolers cease to sing near him and nobody speaks when in his presence. Scrooge is a prejudging business man who hurries to be left alone and disregards cheer. He is obdurate and blind to the consequences of his actions. Sudden wealth brings a snobbiness when his business partner dies, and as a result, his one true love divorces him, sending him into a state of hatred and regret. With this evidence to back it up, Scrooge can be perceived as a negative, crippling man with little tolerance to change. However, things are bound to change with the visitation of the wraiths: the Spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come, an inevitable change that be...
At first glance, Ebenezer Scrooge is a strange man. In his old age, he lives alone in a manor that was once owned by his deceased business partner, the only person he ever interacted with. His thoughts are always cruel and thoughtless as it is displayed when Scrooge says, “ 'If they would rather die,' said Scrooge, 'they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population' ”(10). At the story's start, Scrooge is an antisocial person who avoids interactions with people claiming that they are useless. He is viewed by others as a demeaning figure who is to be shunned because of his uninviting manner. People who were content with their lives were surrounded by their peers and neighbors and never encour...
Families during the Victorian era tended to be large, and it was evident during this time that families could not survive if the children did not work. There was an immense “increase in population” during this period, by the end of the century most lived in cities rather than the country (Bristow 5). Due to economic conditions at this time only a...
Scrooge is a great example of the wealthy, who never gave to the poor and would rarely put money into charities. Dickens was appalled by the conditions the working class had to endure. “Dickens felt that self-interest, uncontrolled, subject to the passions and desires
In “ The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” begins with a mysterious third person narration with Mr. Utterson a quiet “scanty and unsmiling” lawyer yet lovable, walking through the streets of London with a companion Mr. Enfield. The novels, suspense is conveyed through Enfield 's
Carswell, Beth. “11 Charles Dickens Facts.” Abe Books’ Reading Copy. 1996. Web. 28 March 2014.
The reader is drawn to the plot of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde through the literary devices Stevenson employs. Foreshadowing displays the sense of mystery throughout the novel, the foreshadowing of the actions of Mr. Hyde leaves the reader wondering what will happen next. The ironic nature of Dr. Jekyll relates to the reader as a person, no person is completely perfect and Dr. Jekyll exhibits the natural wants and desires of humans. The irony behind Mr. Hyde adds an enigmatic side to the plot. These two devices expose the readers to the complexity of the novel and reveal the inner meaning of the hidden details.
Hobsbaum, Philip. A Reader’s Guide to Charles Dickens. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1972.
Dickens had the cold hearted character Scrooge portray someone who changed his lifestyle and brought several families together to get through a time of great poverty. He planted several characters in the novel to represent impoverished people during the 19th century and what generosity of the wealthy could do to them and the town(Gevatheatre). Dickens never had someone take care of him as a child and he went his whole life with a feeling of abandonment(Gevatheatre). Dickens used realism in his novel to inspire change in the way that the wealthy treat the impoverished families and children, particularly by making the child Tiny Tim’s life rest in the hands of Scrooge in The Christmas Carol