Preview

A Christmas Carol Vs. The Industrial Revolution

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
954 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
A Christmas Carol Vs. The Industrial Revolution
A Christmas Carol vs. The Industrial Revolution
Rewrite
Almost all of America has some point on Christmas Eve or even Christmas Day sat down in front of the TV and watched A Christmas Carol on one of the local channels. It’s like a tradition at my house and probably is at many other households as well. Charles Dickens created the modern Christmas, the Christmas we all know and celebrate today. When we watch the movie or read his book, people mainly focus on the story of Christmas and how Dickens creates that image in our head. One major story we miss by just thinking about the Christmas season is what the economy and society was like during his lifetime. Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol after the British government changed the welfare system
…show more content…
Another hardship during this time was the use of child labor for work in many factories and mines. Dickens’ novel personified the industrial revolution in a story with characters. This novel suggests two questions; what were people’s views of society during the revolution and what can be done about it? Dickens’ was in utter disgust of the lifestyle conditions for the working class. He portrays how the quality of life is complete polar opposites between the upper class and lower class in his diction. The well-to-do citizens live contented with their big pockets behind them, either holding a high position at a company or simply from inheritances. The working class, on the other hand, lives on edge with the stress of not knowing whether or not they will have enough money to put food on the table for their families each night. Dickens’ main character, Scrooge, symbolized the ignorance owners and managers of big companies had towards their employees’ well-being. Scrooge, like the managers, believe that because they are …show more content…
The capitalists had the idea that “time is money” so the more workers they had working, the faster things would get done, so the more money big companies would make. They believed that “Industry enables men to earn their living; it should also enable them to learn to live.”1 Supporters of capitalism believed that men should work for “self worth”, that putting the lower class to work builds character and develops a since of discipline for people. They thought of it to be a form of nationalism. Men were made to work to elevate their social status… that is unless they were already born into one. Marxism represented those seeking revolutionary change in the economy. Marxist’s believed that to help with the number of child labor laws, poor families should stop having children. They believed the industrial revolution was bound to happen, it was the “product of a long course of development, of a series of revolutions in the modes of production and exchange”. Marxism had economics always as their main concern, which they shared with capitalists. A main belief of theirs was the “class of labor workers only live as long as they find work, and those who find work will only work as long as their labor increases capital”2. Christians on the other hand wanted to help those who were less fortunate. William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army in 1879, and his wife “devoted themselves to rescuing and rehabilitating the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    During the Industrial Revolution work conditions were dreadful in every way. There was no protection for jobs or injury, the pay was little, conditions were harsh, and punishments were severe and detrimental. The only reason people, including children, continued to work in these conditions was for…

    • 787 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” paints a bleak world of 19th century industrial society with the stark division of classes. Despite this miserable, poverty stricken setting, Dickens portrays a range of characters that have been affected by this social cataclysm, illustrating each of their responses to it in order to illuminate what the important things in life are, and how they can be measured through non tangible sources. The Cratchit family act as an accurate epitome of the values that are family and gratitude, whilst Fezziwig is the antithesis to Scrooge as an employer and measures the important things in his life on the basis of his employees’ satisfaction. Through humanizing Scrooge, Dickens develops a connection between him and his past, realizing that his forgotten self was the important thing in his life, ultimately measuring it through the amount of remorse he has now.…

    • 1380 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    ‘A Christmas Carol’ is a short powerful novel written by Charles Dickens in 1843 and tells the story of how one man, Ebeneezer Scrooge, changes his ways from a cruel, money-obsessed miser to a good, honest Christian after terrifying visitations from three ghosts. During this period, Victorian readers were thoroughly convinced of the supernatural and omnipotent power of God, making this oval socially embraced through the population. Arguably, this novel was a way to generate awareness about the lives of the poor, true to Dickens’ philanthropic philosophy, as many upper class families would read the book and show compassion for the terrible conditions they were living in. At this time, poverty was predominant in London so the Poor Law was put in place so that each parish had to give money to its poor. However, many were still forced to go to workhouses and work in the terrible conditions for long hours in exchange for meagre amounts of food, resulting in many poor dying anyway- a consequence that both Scrooge and the victorian reader has to witness in Stave 4 with the death of Tiny Tim caused by poverty.…

    • 1271 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The novella, A Christmas Carol, by author Charles Dickens, talks about Ebenezer Scrooge, an old man known for his miserly ways. Scrooge is visited by several ghosts on Christmas Eve, starting off with his business partner, Jacob Marley. As the ghosts take Scrooge on many different scenes/memories, he learns lessons on the way. As a result, Scrooge is given a chance to change and make up for his miserly ways. Charles Dickens wants us to understand that the ‘business’ of being human is not always the amount of wealth or money that is our ‘business’ but it’s the “common welfare” of others, sharing happiness with one another.…

    • 880 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Christmas Carol Money

    • 269 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Within A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens incorporates numerous themes by using the character Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge is a unsympathetic pennypincher that does not give any thought to helping others. He is a complicated fellow who cares about money and business more than anything else. The author Ebenezer Scrooge as a way to convince readers that money should not always be the first priority. Making Scrooge realize that family is more important helps prove the theme: money should not be the only focus in life in the story.…

    • 269 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles dickens first published by Chapman and Hall on 19 December 1843 and adapted for film in 1938. The film tells the story of bitter old miserly protagonist Ebenezer scrooge who does not give to others and is only concerned with his own money and affairs. The film tells of his transformation resulting from ghost visits by Jacob Marley and the ghosts of Christmases’ past, present and future. As the years go by, he holds true to his promise and honors Christmas with all his heart.…

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is clear to the reader from the start of the novella that Dickens believes that a person like Scrooge is the type of person that Dickens dislikes. Right from the start of the novella, Dickens describes Scrooge as ‘self-contained, and solitary as an oyster’ which clearly outlines that Scrooge is a person who keeps to himself and does not really have another companion to share his life with. Dickens also uses the weather to show Scrooge in a way that is negative. He describes Scrooge in many ways, such as, ‘he carried his own low temperature always about with him’, which explains that Scrooge takes his bad manners and temper wherever he goes. Dickens also describes Scrooge as a man who does not get affected by anything, by saying ‘No warmth could warm, nor wintry weather chill him’. In contrast to Scrooge’s ‘cold weather’ attitude, Dickens uses another character, Fred, who is Scrooge’s nephew, to show just how bad Scrooge’s character really is. Dickens does this by describing Fred as ‘all in a glow; his face was ruddy and handsome; his eyes sparkled’ which are much are appealing to a reader as the visuals are much more warm and friendly, when…

    • 1140 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dickens used Scrooge as the main character to show that wealthy people always have a responsibility to help those less fortunate. He clearly shows this view at the end of the novel where he gives a young boy money to buy a turkey for the Crachit family. The family isn’t the richest but has a really warm heart. Crachit tries showing Scrooge that life is not all about money and also that he should try to move on and forget about Bella. Scrooge had a really bad experience when Bella marries someone else because she told him that he cares about money more than her. Scrooge somehow had to overcome this tragic event in his life and since then he has not been able to celebrate a successful eve without thinking of her for even a moment. In much earlier in the novel 3 old men come up to Scrooge asking for money to donate to people for Christmas, however Scrooge is a cold hearted person so instead of donating a few shillings he…

    • 867 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Factory Act Of 1800 Essay

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Although the Industrial Revolution brought much wealth for the upper class in Europe, child labor and poor working conditions became a huge debate throughout the country. Factories improved the standard of living and boosted the economy, but change came with a price. Factory owners, eager in their attempts to become wealthy, would stop at nothing to power their businesses. Therefore, many attempts were made by individuals and groups to stop the cruelty that this working class was facing.…

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Another moral message Dickens tries to communicate with the reader is charity. It is when the ghost of Christmas present takes him to the home of Bob Cratchitt one of his workers; “it is such a meagre feast” And this is where Scrooge sees the London’s poorest and he notices how grateful the family really are and appreciate each other for who they are and what they have got. He’s sees how little food they have got, and…

    • 2008 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    During the nineteenth century, Britain underwent a drastic change of technologies, techniques and energy sources, this was known as the Industrial Revolution. However, to power these industries, an increase of child labour was necessary. It may be argued that some children were beneficiaries of the era; however, through an examination of their conditions in both the textile factories and mines, and their quality of city life, it is revealed that the majority were victims. Nevertheless, it may be said that children were protected by reforms, despite the questionable effectiveness of them.…

    • 1341 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Victorian era became notorious for employing young children in factories and mines and as chimney sweeps. Child labour played an important role in the Industrial Revolution from its outset, often brought about by economic hardship; Charles Dickens for example worked at the age of 12 in a blacking factory, with his family in debtor's prison. The children of the poor were expected to help towards the family budget, often working long hours in dangerous jobs for low pay, earning 10-20% of an adult male's wage. In England and Scotland in 1788, two-thirds of the workers in 143 water-powered cotton mills were described as children,]In 19th-century Great Britain, one-third of poor families were without a breadwinner, as a result of death or abandoning of them.…

    • 442 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    “If they would rather die,… they had better do it and decrease the surplus population”. -Charles Dickens Charles Dickens often portrays the rich as cruel and uncaring towards the lower classes. Some of the common themes in Charles Dickens books are, a higher class child placed in a lower class situation and the rich being disgusted by the poor. Dickens family situation was less than ideal, but his experiences only increased his pity for the poor.…

    • 1048 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Minge-Kalman approaches her topic with fantastic information, making it a smooth and very interesting read. Her arguments were clear and she touched on every aspect of early industrialism to later times. Early signs of child labour were seen during this revolution and children were exploited and forced into adulthood far too early. The treatment of children is discussed in great length. The fact that it was believed to be fundamental for children to work in fields and factories, is such an unethical view for today’s standards. “Children were employed in the spinning wheels, hiring themselves out from about nine years of age” (Minge-Kalman). Children were leaving home at very young ages to work as servants in upper class homes. The paper notes that not only were children working at very early ages they were also left alone by their mothers for long periods of time and more than often, most infants were drugged to sleep the day away while her mother worked in the fields and factories. The neglect left the infant mortality rate very high. The author also states that even through slow periods of work, children who left at home with their parents still suffered different ranges of neglect and were cared for with little affection.…

    • 780 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Christmas Carol

    • 1720 Words
    • 5 Pages

    A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is one of the most beloved works of 19th century literature, and the story's enormous popularity helped make Christmas a major holiday in Victorian Britain. When Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in late 1843 he had ambitious purposes in mind, yet he could never have imagined the profound impact his story would have. Dickens had already achieved great fame. Yet his most recent novel was not selling well, and Dickens feared his success had peaked. Indeed, he faced some serious financial problems as Christmas 1843 approached. And beyond his own worries, Dickens was keenly attuned to the profound misery of the working poor in England.…

    • 1720 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays