Dickens is implying that Scrooge had lost sight of the core benefits of having family. Fred mirrors his questions with “What right have you to be dismal? https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Victorian-Workhouse/, English teacher, lover of books, life-long learner, enthusiastic and excitable about teaching His nephew, Fred, is rejected by Scrooge and he shows that he has no desire to be kind towards him either. Part I: The Social and Historical Background of Victorian SocietyDickens wrote A Christmas Carol in the early Victorian period, which was a fearful time for the British population. As their circumstances stand Tim is stoic and endures his suffering well and charitably. Scrooge is apathetic about the plight of the poor. This is shown through scrooge’s character, and how he treats people somewhat below him in the social hierarchy as a man quite high in society and how he treats them after he has been visited by the spirits. Includes: 1. He cares little for his employees or anyone else. Summary. Related Historical Events:The impoverished state of London in Dickens’ lifetime is a big influence of the story. You’re poor enough.” showing Scrooge feels that money should be a key factor in making people happy. Fred arrives full of Christmas wishes and Scrooge greets him in his characteristic cold hearted and unkind manner, repeating questions without giving Fred any chance to respond “What right have you to be merry? With this in mind, I’ve written about social responsibility here and hopefully there is something interesting to take away from this. In stave four, we are shown the uncaring way the businessmen behave about the death of Scrooge, although the dramatic irony here means that Scrooge is unaware. What I love… Education based blog by @susansenglish. That expression was used by Ebenezer Scrooge in Dickens’ 1843 novella “A Christmas Carol” because he hates Christmas – it disrupts his business and profits. In this era, the welfare state, was not in existence and this meant that families like the Cratchit’s were offered no assistance from the state, their only option would have been to fall back on the workhouses, which as recognised earlier would have been a shameful, degrading and embarrassing experience. Finally, when the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come arrives we see that social responsibility is everyone’s business, which links beautifully to Marley’s initial recognition that “mankind was my business”. Scrooge is downright rude in his tone and his accusatory questioning of them shows that he believes poverty is the fault of the person who is poor (a widely held belief of the time). 9 grade 9 model answers 4. When the Ghost of the Present arrives, we see the utter misery but juxtaposing joy that the Cratchit family suffer from as a result of their poverty, which reinforces the message Dickens wanted to give to the upper and middle classes about being humane to their employees. This shows the negative attitude of the middle classes towards the poor. Start studying A Christmas Carol - Social Responsibility Quotes. "Never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket""has done me good" - Fred emphasises that there are more important things than money However, Dickens not only shows us the collective social responsibility through the presentation of Scrooge, but also in the way other character behave by using character foils to demonstrate to the reader that we all need to look out for each other. "Dismal little cell" - Scrooge mistreats his employee Bob who has to work in terrible conditions but can't get out of it as he wouldn't be able to survive. Get Revising is one of the trading names of The Student Room Group Ltd. Register Number: 04666380 (England and Wales), VAT No. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Analysis. Scrooge at the end is deserving of redemption and if someone with such little regard for humanity and low scruples can change, then perhaps Dickens is telling his audience, you too can change. Within ‘A Christmas Carol’, Scrooges redemption, as initiated by the Ghost of Jacob Marley, is central to Dickens’ message regarding the importance of social responsibility. The greatest pleasure in A Christmas Carol is watching Scrooge's transformation from money-pinching grouch to generous gentleman. The Ghost of Christmas Present shelters under his robe two pathetic figures that look like starving children. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. (Macbeth + Christmas Carol) », WJEC EDUQAS English Litrature 2017 Paper 2 My predictions », Macbeth and a Christmas carol. Context match up sheet 3. A Christmas Carol is part of the Dickens’ work often called “the Christmas Books.” Like other writers of his time, Dickens released a number of his stories at Christmas time – I suppose, in the same manner that films today are released to advantage during this period. The Ghost of the Past shows Scrooge what it is like to live in a warm-hearted, kind and caring way and that it is not or has not been beyond him previously. The wealthy must take responsibility for the poor The Ghost of Christmas Present gives a clear warning - he says that ignorance will lead to the "Doom" of society. 806 8067 22, Registered office: International House, Queens Road, Brighton, BN1 3XE, AQA English Literature - A Christmas Carol Themes, The complete guide to grade 9 A Christmas Carol gcse, The theme of Christmas in A Christmas Carol », Predictions for tomorrows Literature Paper 1? Dickens felt that every individual had a responsibility for those around him or her: Fred describes Christmas as a time when men and women 'think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys' (p. 5). Dickens uses the novel to get across his message that the rich must help the poor in order for the world to be improved, and that it is the rich's responsibility to help the poorest in society. I’ve been working on A Christmas Carol with Year 10 and thought it might be interesting to look at social responsibility. He exposes the unfair treatment of the poor, and shows that the stereotypes that the poor are lazy are untrue, which he does by using the Cratchits, in order to show what living in poverty is like. He makes money and goes home every night. Scrooge's aggressive tone brings to light the harsh reality of early 19th century … The welfare state would arguably have been a reform that Dickens embraced as it brought about support and a safety net for families in times of dire need, such as his own had suffered when his dad was sent to debtor’s prison and Dickens himself as an 11 year old was sent to work in a blackening factory. Dickens, as a campaigner for social justice and advocate for the rights of man, would perhaps have welcomed the reforms that were brought about as a result of the Beveridge Report. AQA Power and Conflict. On Christmas Day Tim said “he hoped that people saw him in church, because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant to then to remember upon Christmas Day, who made lame beggars walk and blind men see.” which reinforces through the eyes of the innocent that we all have a social responsibility to remember those less fortunate than ourselves. Bob Cratchit and his family clearly represent the sacred nature of Christmas throughout the novella, but again Dickens highlights a major failing in the Victorian era of employers in relation to employees in several important ways. "The common welfare was my business" - Marley shows that we all have to help each other, the rich helping the poor, and because he didn't he is now suffering and regrets not doing it. © Copyright Get Revising 2021 all rights reserved. social christmas essay A carol responsibility, write a one paragraph essay about how one of these conditions will affect your life if you have. Greed, Generosity and Forgiveness. 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Registered office: International House, Queens Road, Brighton, BN1 3XE, Christmas Carol - poverty and social responsibility. How does dickens explore the theme of social responsibility in Victorian England? A Christmas Carol has attracted generations of readers with its clear parable-like structure and compelling ghost story. A term's worth of ready-to-teach resources created for the 2021 examination on A Christmas Carol. What reason have you to be merry? Social Dissatisfaction and the Poor Laws. Scrooge, not only rejects his social responsibility towards unknown poor people, he rejects his social responsibility towards family too. Dickens in ‘A Christmas Carol’ implies, as well as actually telling his Victorian audience that they must take their social responsibility much more seriously through his portrayal of a range of characters. We later see the Cratchit family and the suffering that the whole family endure at the hands of Scrooge’s poor employment in stave three “such a goose” is the exaggerated way the whole family discuss the small goose that feed them all but the description by Dickens of “sufficient dinner” belies the fact that it was a paltry amount of food for the whole family to enjoy. Looking at the themes of money, poverty, and social responsibility in Dickens' novella, and how the Cratchit family is used to discuss this theme. Dickens here appears to show Scrooge throughout the stave that he has a social responsibility to be good, kind, charitable and benevolent in life, or in death there will be no-one to remember you or to grieve for you. Essay about road bullying. Are there no prisons?” show that Dickens understands the power of the poor law at the time and uses Scrooge to highlight the way social responsibility was being passed on to others by the individuals within society. This highlights how money was deemed much more important by employers than the health, happiness or prosperity of their employees. This responsibility of one man for another is clearly a major trope for Charles Dickens and is exemplified fully in A Christmas Carol, which evinces much social criticism. A Christmas Carol was written by Dickens after the Industrial Revolution (1843), when England was rapidly developing Industrialisation The focus shifted to towns, particularly in the North, away from typical land, and an agarian economy - this was reflected by a large movement of people to towns In the beginning of the play, Scrooge takes no social or moral responsibility. Poverty, like that of the Cratchit family, was commonplace for the working classes and this also led to them being unable to properly care for their children (through lack of money as opposed to not desiring to care for them). Here he explains the identities of the figures, or at least what they represent metaphorically: Ignorance and Want. In the novel "A Christmas Carol" we see an old stubborn man named Scrooge who hates other people and Christmas and only cares about himself and his business, he is then visited by 3 ghosts, the ghost of Christmas past, present, and future. Social responsibility is highlighted through Scrooge’s actions towards those trying to help the poor, his behaviour as an avaristic and cruel employer and his behaviour towards anyone who he should love (Fred and Belle as examples). Dickens creates a supernatural allegorical tale to impress upon the Victorian audience the need for them to be kinder, more charitable and to take their social responsibility seriously. Mrs Dilber, the laundress, the undertaker’s mand and Old Joe reinforce the suffering of the poor and the lows that they have to stoop to in order to survive. The “two portly gentlemen” although minor characters with a fleeting appearance in stave one represents societies wider ignorance of the plight of the poor and their willingness to turn a blind eye, while also highlighting that not everyone was doing this. As an author, he made it his goal to reform England as best he could. Perhaps the most chilling revelations from A Christmas Carol is the acknowledgement from London’s wealthy (and not so wealthy) citizenry to perceive themselves as very fine people by ignoring those less fortunate. He visited a school in 1843 and was appalled by what he saw there. Family. 3.5 / 5 based on 2 ratings? It's clear from the very beginning of Charles Dickens 's A Christmas Carol that Ebenezer Scrooge has disavowed any personal responsibility whatsoever for his fellow man. It was a school for the poorest children to teach them basic reading … This system was designed by the amendment to the Poor Law in 1834, which has sought to make conditions better for the poor, did not actually achieve this and thus in the Victorian Era the workhouses became synonymous with hard labour and cruelty. I’ve written about the different staves previously and how I’m approaching this in a slightly different way based on the exam board feedback. Marley, who was “dead to begin with” sets Scrooge out on a journey of rediscovery and while his own journey appears to be futile, it seems that he is the first warning to Scrooge that he needs to change and to become more socially aware.