Charles Dickens Poor Law Analysis

In the nonfiction articles about Charles Dickens, it explains how The Poor Law affected
his life as well as his writings. First, Charles Dickens was an amazing author, and the Poor law
contributed to this. The Poor Law “was the first comprehensive legislation to the poor.” The poor
laws were created and set in 1601. The earlier laws divided the poor people into different
classes.The first class was the deserving poor, “ those people are too old/sick to work.” The next
class is the deserving unemployed, “ those who are willing and able to work, but were unable to
find a job.” The last class is the undeserved poor, “ those who could work but instead turned to a
life of crime of begging.” This article states “The workhouse was an institution to

provide
employment for paupers and sustenance for the infirm.” (pg 2)
Second, the poor law affected Dickens life. Charles Dickens lived alone because his
whole family is in prison due to debt. He was pulled from school to work in a factory at a young
age. The article states “Feeling lonely and abandoned, he lived alone in a garret.” (pg 3)
Dickens worked all day in a factory, and he had nobody to come home too. He had to take care
of himself and provide himself food and water. He was only allowed to visit his family one day a
week, and it was usually Sunday.
Lastly, The Poor Law also affected Dickens writing. He wrote novels that presented the
Poor Law, like “Oliver Twist” and “ A Christmas Carol”. He used and incorporated a lot of
information about this topic in his writings. From the book “A Christmas Carol” Scrooge states
“ Are there no prisons………...and aren't the Union workhouses still in operation……..the
treadmill and the poor law are in full vigor, all?” He also talks about the Poor Law in his other
book “Oliver Twist”. The main Character Oliver Twist spends most of his time when he was
younger in a workhouse. As you can see the Poor Law has had a huge affect on Charles
Dickens life as well as his writing.