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Life during the Victorian era
Poverty vs wealth
Life during the Victorian era
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The Victorian Era is the period of Queen Victoria and also it is the period, which social classes were divided. The people from the upper class had a lot of money, which their life were always happy, comfortable, healthy and also their children were educated and had enough food to eat. However, the people who came from the lower class, their life were different from the upper class’s people. They lived in a small house, which was uncomfortable, unhealthy. They also work hard. This essay will discuss how the different life between wealthy and poor people. The wealthy victoria people life was much different and much better life than poor victoria people. They were comfortable, parents taught their children, healthy and their children were educated. …show more content…
The poor Victorian did not eat enough, no money to buy food or clothes, were uneducated and also did not have new clothes to wear. Firstly, they did not have enough food to eat or did not have money to buy food; they had to work long hours and also lived in filthy places with small house. According to “ Rich and Poor Victorians”, (n.d.), poor Victorian ate food that they could afford to buy. Poor people in the Victorian Era worked long hours and lived in damp, filthy conditions, “ Rich and Poor Victorians”, (n.d.). Secondly, they were uneducated and did not hire the nanny. The poor children did not attend school; they need to find public jobs and work to help their families, “ Victorian Children”, (2012). Poor Victorian parents looked after or raised their children by themselves without hire a nanny, “ Victorian Children”, (2012). Thirdly, the poor Victorian people wore or bought the second-hand clothes or passed down through the family and did not have money to buy shoes. According to “ Rich and Poor Victorians”, (n.d.), many outfits were bought second hand and were pass down through the family. Not at all families could afford shoes for their children so some had to go barefoot, “ Rich and Poor Victorians”, (n.d.). Finally, Poor Victorian life was quite difficult and uncomfortable; they did not have a nice house to live, clothes, or enough food to
They were often forced to steal the clothes from the store because of not having money to buy new clothes. “I would create a ruckus to distract the clerk while Mom hid a dress under a raincoat she would be carrying on her arm “(Walls, 70). The authors’s life as a kid was different as compared to other kids. She just had three dresses and so had to wear them two or three times each week. She use to look pretty dirty because of the worn clothes. “They called me poor and ugly and dirty, and it was hard to argue the point “(Walls, 87) but like Erma said, “ Beggars can’t be choosers “(Walls, 82), she had no choice than to wear those dirty clothes. There were times, when they didn 't care about their health. "Mom, that ham 's full of maggots," I said. "Don 't be so picky," she told me. "Just slice off the maggoty parts. The inside 's fine “ (Walls, 106). Thus, this clearly shows how poverty left them no choice but to eat the ham full of
Victorian rich life out to be less than what it seems. I think it was
One Victorian sentiment was that a civilized individual could be determined by her/his appearance. This notion was readily adopted by the upper classes and, among other things, helped shape their views of the lower classes, who certainly appeared inferior to them. In regards to social mobility, members of the upper classes may have (through personal tragedy or loss) often moved to a lower-class status, but rarely did one see an individual move up from the abysmal lower class. Although poverty could be found almost anywhere in Victorian London (one could walk along a street of an affluent neighborhood, turn the corner, and find oneself in an area of depravity and decay), most upper-class Londoners, who tended to dwell in the West End, associated the East End with the lower class.
A main factor in the storyline is the way the writer portrays society's attitude to poverty in the 18th century. The poor people were treated tremendously different to higher classed people. A lot of people were even living on the streets. For example, "He picked his way through the hordes of homeless children who congregated at evening, like the starlings, to look for the most sheltered niche into which they could huddle for the night." The writer uses immense detail to help the reader visualise the scene. She also uses a simile to help the reader compare the circumstances in which the children are in. This shows that the poor children had to live on the streets and fend for themselves during the 18th century. Another example involves a brief description of the city in which the poor people lived in. This is "nor when he smelt the stench of open sewers and foraging pigs, and the manure of horses and mules" This gives a clear example of the state of the city. It is unclean and rancid and the writer includes this whilst keeping to her fictional storyline.
The working class of Victorian England was a group that worked hard to stay out of poverty as well as off the streets Unlike the upper class they had minimal recreational time. Many different people have tried to account for the working class conditions and what they did in their spare time: “he could attend evening courses on scientific subjects or Latin or shorthand at a Mechanics’ Institution, or at one of the Working Men’s Colleges” (Picard The Working Class and Poor). This imposes that the men could take an educational course to get a better job. Also in their spare time, people would go to street vendors as opposed to markets so they could get food for a more affordable price (Picard The Working Class and Poor). W.J. Reader, a
The Cunninghams were the poor family they were so poor they couldn't afford shoes for the family and they also never had any food. "Walter Cunningham's face told everybody in the first grade he had hookworms. His absence of shoes told us how he got them." Page 19. This quote shows that the Cunningham's don't have a lot of money at all. This quote also shows that the Cunningham's are so poor they cant even afford a pair of shoes. "Walter Cunningham was sitting there lying his head off. He didn't forget his lunch, he didn't have any. He had none today nor would he have any tomorrow or the next day. He had probably never seen three quarters together at the same time in his life." Page 20. This quote shows that the Cunningham's are so poor they can't even take care of there own child. This quote also shows that the Cunningham's never have any money and they cant afford food. The Cunningham's would be a very hard family to be, because you would have nothing you own right now, you would be flat broke.
As the middle class began to further divide, those who grew in wealth became known as a banking/industrial class. Along with their sudden economic prosperity there came a desire for social transformation- an aspiration for new aristocracy. They carried their traditional middle class values into prominence with their accumulation of wealth. They sought to achieve a merit oriented Society rather than social climbing, for their children's sake, into the existing one based solely on birth. This hindered the new class from ever attaining Aristocratic Social acceptance for their new wealth and deemed them the nouveaux riche. Despite obvious disapproval from the Aristocracy the nouveaux riche continued their economic ascent through "personal contact [which] was a crucial element in filling posts" (Loftus 5). This dependence upon others for mounting economic standing was contrary to the middle class value of independence. This industrial class was forced to rely upon the connections, potentially aristocratic, in order to succeed. Loftus explains that middle-class values were carved out in these attempts to define a society based on merit rather than aristocratic privilege. However, the importance of cultural capital and social networks to success in the period implies that the rise of the middle-classes in the Victorian period saw the replacement of one set of privileges with another (Loftus 4). However the Nouveaux Riche failed to fully assimilate into aristocratic society due to lack of pedigree.
Life for the poor in Elizabethan England was very harsh. The poor did not share the same luxuries and items as the wealthier families. There was no way for the poor to get help that they needed. Unlike today, welfare was not available to give help and support.
The highest social class in Victorian England was the Nobility or Gentry class. The members of this class were those who inherited their land, titles, and wealth . Popular opinion at the time asserted that the noble class women led lives of lavish luxury and wedded bliss. "Ladies were ladies in those days; they did not do things themselves, they told others what to do and how to do it."
...rations would not have been able to leave the working class. Since none of my father’s parents or grandparents had an education, they were unable to leave the family farms, even when times were extremely tough and they lost much of their land. However, I believe it was the ownership of land that kept my father’s family from becoming the working poor. Even when they lost much of their wealth, they still had the land to rely on. By contrast, since my mother’s family always relied on other people for their income, when that income was lost, more drastic measures had to be taken (such as sending a young girl to work in a factory). However, the ownership of land only allowed the family to stay working class. It was not until the children started to go to college that they found the Middle Class again. Education simply allows a person more earning power and flexibility.
Throughout the fifteenth to eighteenth century nearly half of Europe's population lived a life of poverty with tensions growing along with the increasing economic inequality. Social class impacted the extent in which people sympathized with the poor along with their overall views ranging from seeing the poor as nuisances, responsibilities or even leverage.
Sugar Gliders By:Tejah Thull Sugar gliders are not sweet. They have “sugar” in their name because of their desire for sweet tree sap. Also they have “glider” in their name because they can glide up to an entire football field in length. Sugar gliders are very unique due to their habitat, appearance, and life
The Victorian era was an extremely difficult time for women in Great Britain. They were subject to gross inequalities such as, not being able to; control their own earnings, education, and marriage. As well as having a lack of equality within marriage, women had poor working conditions, and an immense unemployment rate as well. Not only was the fact that women were viewed as second-class citizens and had limited rights compared to men during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries a major problem, but women were also held to a much different standard, and expected to carry out many
A Victorian lifestyle was a time period of when Queen Victoria lived. It was a time where social classes were based highly upon if you were wealthy or not. It was also a time when the woman had more dominance over the man than today. You can see were female dominance is portrayed in Lewis’s books such as the Queens and Alice in “Through the Looking Glass”.
Firstly, the Victorian lower class had fewer restrictions with regard to sex and marriage. The novel defines a member of the lower class Victorian society as an uneducated individual who had an insubstantial income, lived in the house of his or her employer, or on the street (Booker, 4). Unlike the upper class that had a strict code of conduct, the lower class had more freedom. Two of the lower class characters include Sam Farrow, Charles’ manservant, and Mary, Aunt Tranter’s servant who fall in love. Early in the novel, Sam confesses to Charles that he is “a bloomin’ Derby duck” (Fowles 110) as he has strong feelings for Mary. Although, the two servants are not married, the narrator explains that they have had pre-marital sex. It was much easier for two members ...