...Representation of the poor in A Christmas Carol In A Christmas Carol Dickens put in an element of entertainment for his readers, but he also found it necessary to alert them to the urgent need for social reform in the Britain of 1840s. He achieves this aim by depicting a range of different types of poverty and by inviting both Scrooge and his readers to consider how these might be relieved. In this essay I shall examine Dickens’ various depictions of the poor and their living conditions, paying particular attention to the differences between the ‘virtuous’ working poor and those who are nearly at the point of starvation. Dickens represents different degrees of poverty in A Christmas Carol. In the first instance he introduces his readers to the ‘acceptable’ face of extreme poverty in the form of Bob Cratchit and his family. Although they occupy only four rooms and have hardly enough food to go around, they work hard to earn a living, keep themselves clean and are honourable and decent. The narrator’s pronouncement that due to Scrooge’s intervention, Tiny Tim ‘did NOT die’ makes it clear that the young boy’s state was the result of a poor diet and difficult living conditions. The fact that the two young Cratchits delight and amuse one another with commentary on the goose and the Christmas pudding also suggests that these children’s stomachs are empty and that they daydream about things that would now all be taken for granted in current society. Bob and his family, who are clearly...
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...A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Stave by stave Before you read the book … 1. Find out ten interesting facts about Charles Dickens. 2. Find out what these words / writing techniques mean: Allegory Novella Time travel narrative Gothic elements When you have read Stave 1, complete the following activities. 1. Complete a similar table, describing Ebenezer Scrooge and his nephew Fred, using words from the opening Stave. Scrooge Tight-fisted Cheerful Covetous old sinner 2. Fred Glowing Find evidence from the text that supports the following points relating to Jacob Marley, Marley’s Ghost: The effect the chains have on Scrooge and the reader The words he uses to appeal to Scrooge The torment that Marley is experiencing. When you have read Stave 2, complete the following questions. Comprehension style questions: 1. Why is the Ghost of Christmas Present described as both a child and an old man? 2. How does Dickens use this Ghost to reflect Scrooge’s childhood and his memories associated with this time in his life? 3. How is this Ghost dressed and does it symbolise anything? 4. Why is the Ghost also a source of light and what does light symbolise? 5. How does the Ghost communicate with Scrooge? 6. How do we learn about his childhood and his sister, Fan? © www.teachit.co.uk 2014 23383 Page 1 of 3 A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Stave by stave 7. What are his first...
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...‘A Christmas Carol’ covers a period of 24 hours from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day. It is a simple morality tale of the radical change in the character Ebenezer Scrooge from being bitter, iron fisted and miserable to becoming a new, openhearted and charitable man. The novel was first published in 1843, a time when many of the wealthy people neglected the old Christmas spirit of charity. In addition, the Industrial Revolution had further done away with the simple pleasures of the season. Dickens’ intentions in writing ‘A Christmas Carol’ were not only linked to his own childhood and sympathy for the poor, but he was also making an appeal to the rich people of society to mend their selfish ways. Dickens is able to show the change in Scrooge’s character by establishing what Scrooge is like at the very beginning of the story with the first two words he says: ‘“Bah! Humbug!’’ ’It is clear from the dismissive tone and the two exclamation marks that Scrooge has no patience with the idea of Christmas as a special time. At the start of the novel, Dickens is using Scrooge, someone who associates happiness with nothing but money, as a classic example of a wealthy person in the 19th Century. He does this with Scrooge inquiring of his nephew ‘“What reason have you to be merry? You’re poor enough.”’ Scrooge’s manor in saying this reveals certain elements of his character such as his shallowness and uncaring nature. In Scrooge saying this it demonstrates to the reader that Scrooge does...
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...A Christmas Carol, written by Charles Dickens, is not only a highly regarded form of literature in telling a story, but also in teaching moral values. Dickens used detailed adjectives and a rhythmic style of writing in many of his stories to make his readers feel a full range of intense emotions; this including A Christmas Carol. The story begins with Ebenezer Scrooge sitting in his workplace on Christmas Eve. Scrooge receives a visit from the ghost of his old work partner, Jacob Marley. Marley explains that Scrooge will receive a ghost for the next three nights in order to help change his miserable life. From this point, the reader ignites a journey following Scrooge and the ghosts of Christmas. A common denominator found in all of Scrooge’s...
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...A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Ebenezer Scrooge acts as the main character within this novel in which he is depicted as a “squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, old sinner as self-contained and as solitary as an oyster”. He is incapable of relationships. However, throughout his life of suffering he is guided by the Ghosts of Christmas past, Christmas Present and of Christmas future. A Christmas Carol is a celebration of Christmas and the good it inspires. Scrooge was a cold and old disgruntled man that saw no purpose in life, wouldn’t accept changes, and wished to be alone. The heaviest rain, snow, hail and sleet were just like any other days that had no effect on him. Nobody ever stopped him in the streets to greet him or even ask what time of the day it was. The only relationship he had was with his lifelong business partner Marley, who had been dead for seven years when the novel began. He despises the poor and hates any part of life that is in relation to happiness or spending money. Scrooge’s appearance has been made very “cold and bitter”. For example, “his thin lips blue”. Scrooge’s personality attitude towards the poor is horrible, for example, when the charity guys come into the room and asked Scrooge if he wishes to make a donation he replies no, this makes the readers dislike Scrooge and disagree with the points that he has to make like, “it is a good thing that the Union work houses are still in operation”. Scrooge is a cold-hearted...
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...well defined so as to construct scenes of frost covered brick alleyways in London, England, around Christmastime. The plot, which many are extremely well acquainted with, follows the miser Ebenezer Scrooge, who not only neglected to celebrate Christmas himself, but also expressed spitefulness to those who could not pay off investments. Ignoring his worker’s, Bob Cratchit, ill young child and poor family, more poverty across and beyond the city, and those who needed consolation, Scrooge was visited by the ghost of his late working partner, Jacob Marley, seven years to the day after his death, falling on Christmas Eve, and told to mend his ways, so as to avoid a miserable fate like his. Scrooge was consecutively visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past, (specifically of Scrooge’s), the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Future, where he saw how he had once had happiness, and of how there was much suffering in the world. This corresponds to the theme of the book, which is of how a moral transformation can occur when one sees others in need, or reflects on his wrongdoings in life with repentance. This internal drive to change for the better was demonstrated when Scrooge observed Bob Cratchit’s house with the Ghost of Christmas Present; at first, he commented on Cratchit’s slovenly behaviors and inefficiency, but after he regarded an ordeal with his family, he saw the tension he had caused them, and felt remorse. Second, the setting to the novel was also of surprising...
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...hy did Scrooge agree with the board members? How were they going to make the payments? How will he face poverty again? Cratchit hoped Scrooge had a plan, because he didn’t. Although Christmas was two days away, it seemed so far now that the meeting had took place. Worries had replaced the joy and happiness in his heart. He was extremely tired from his day at work, and all he wanted to do was lie in bed. When he got home, he went straight to bed and immediately fell asleep. After a few hours, his wife woke him up. “Bob, you haven’t eaten. Come eat dinner,” Mrs. Cratchit said. “If you insist,” Cratchit replied. They ate together with their children as a family, and Bob Cratchit told them about his current situation with the financial problems....
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...“Men's courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which if persevered in, they must lead . . . But if the courses be departed from, then ends will change”. Discuss. Set against the backdrop of nineteenth century London, Charles Dickens' timeless novella “A Christmas Carol” illustrates the transformation of the protagonist Ebenezer Scrooge from a cruel and and greedy miser to a kind and benevolent human being. Throughout this “ghostly” tale, Scrooge is placed on a psychological continuum that allows readers to observe his gradual progress from a recluse to a man of compassion to highlight the abundance of life's riches when material gain does not become one's “golden idol”. Through characters such as Jacob Marley, Dickens not only emphasises on the inevitable doom of those who act selfishly as they will lead a life full of regret and isolation from those they love but also highlights how selfish actions can lead to devastating consequences that not only affect one's life but also the lives of those less fortunate. However, Dickens also conveys the moral message to his readers that through guidance and the willingness to be enlightened by others, we all have the capacity to change ourselves, and in the process better our lives and the lives of others. Fixated with materials goods at the expense of human connection, Scrooge's lack of morality is evident in the novella through his Malthusian mindset regarding the poor, as he claims that “if they be like to die, then they had...
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...In Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol Ebeneezer Scrooge learns valuable lessons about life and how to appreciate the love people have for him. Scrooge gets a chance to see how he was as a young boy, the way he is now, and how his life will end up in the future. Scrooge grew up in times of poverty in Britain. He was sent to boarding school, he was alone at that time and his father was a mean man. While in boarding school Scrooge felt alone and empty all his friends had abandoned him. They never really mentioned his mother in the book so we assume she is deceased. He was engaged to Belle, the woman he fell in love with. They both had this strong connection with each other, they were so in love that’s how everyone saw them at least. Scrooge loved her more than anything in the world he did everything for her. Until Scrooge started getting money, that is where things took a big turn. He appreciated his money more than his soon to be wife, he didn’t show that same love he had for her. So she ended the engagement because she knew things weren't going to work if he continued to be the way he was, Scrooge was still Scrooge, he loved getting all the money that he got engaged or not he was still the same. Everyone tried to get Scrooge to change his...
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...Dr. Taylor World Literature 14 April 2012 Charles Dickens Charles Dickens is one of the most known and famous authors from the 1800’s. He is better known as that guy who wrote A Christmas Carol . He is the most famous author born in the year 1812. He had a normal early childhood, but strange adolescence and young adulthood, and a strange adulthood. Charles John Huffam Dickens was born on February 7th, 1812. His parents were John and Elizabeth Dickens. Fred Kaplan says that even though Charles had the two middle names, he never used them and never forgave his parents for them (19). His father worked as a clerk in the payroll office for the Navy. He was born in No. 1 Mile End Terrace, Landport, Portsmouth England. “He was baptized on March 4th in St. Mary’s church near the modest, narrow house on the mile end terrace that his family rented” (Kaplan 19). His parents were not very good with money and had a lot of problems with debt. In fact, his father was sent to debtor’s prison when Charles was twelve years old. Even though Charles Dickens is a world famous author, he had very little formal education and was primarily self-taught. He did attend William Giles’ school in Chatham, Kent between the ages of nine and eleven. He loved to read and perform. In the fall of 1821 at the age of nine, he wrote a tragedy called Misnar, the Sultan of India and liked the attention he got for being an author (Kaplan 28). When he was twelve, Charles was forced to leave school and work...
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...Charles John Huffam Dickens (/ˈtʃɑrlz ˈdɪkɪnz/; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's most memorable fictional characters and is generally regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian period.[1] During his life, his works enjoyed unprecedented fame, and by the twentieth century his literary genius was broadly acknowledged by critics and scholars. His novels and short stories continue to be widely popular.[2][3] Born in Portsmouth, England, Dickens was forced to leave school to work in a factory when his father was thrown into debtors' prison. Although he had little formal education, his early impoverishment drove him to succeed. Over his career he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas and hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education, and other social reforms. Dickens sprang to fame with the 1836 serial publication of The Pickwick Papers. Within a few years he had become an international literary celebrity, famous for his humour, satire, and keen observation of character and society. His novels, most published in monthly or weekly instalments, pioneered the serial publication of narrative fiction, which became the dominant Victorian mode for novel publication.[4][5] The instalment format allowed Dickens to evaluate his audience's reaction...
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...of wealth in New York City compared to non Hispanic White, Black, and Asian city residents. The socio economic lower income levels among Latinos maybe at least partially because of lower education attainment compared with Asian, Black and non Hispanic whites. Approximately two thirds of New York City Latinos over the age of 25 reported having no college education, which is higher than Asian, Black and non Hispanic. Puerto Ricans are also the only national group in the Latino population where the majority of respondents were born in the United States. For all other national groups being Latino generally also means being an immigrant. (Howard Caro-Lopez center for Latin American, Caribbean and Latino studies). In addition, in comparing poverty within the Latino groups. Puerto Ricans is facing a major economic crisis it has been characterized as being largely poor and part of the urban underclass in the United States. Studies and...
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...Felicia Mcdonald Gero 2400 TTH-12:30 Carol Jenkins November 15, 2012 Volunteer Paper I recently had the honor of completing my volunteer hours at Cypress Glen Retirement Community. This facility is located in Greenville, NC off of 100 Hickory Street. Cypress Glen was established in 1987. This facility has several levels of quality care ranging from long term, rehabilitative skilled nursing, assisted living and on-site dementia care. The employees take pride in distinguishing this facility from a nursing home. They immediately highlighted the fact that Cypress glen offers independent living apartments, and cottages, assisted living apartments, and a memory care cottage with 12-rooms for patients suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia related illnesses. The facility is filled with numerous amenities such as an indoor swimming pool, a full library, a hair salon, and a calm room. The residents are a family and depend on one another for support and conversation. Each room is equipped with its own bathroom. Each room comes fully furniture. They are encouraged to decorate their rooms to their liking to reflect their individual personalities. Cypress Glen is a faith-based facility sponsored by United Methodist Retirement Homes Inc. A chapel is provided to enrich their religious practices when needed throughout the day. They are given monthly entertainment options, such as bingo and arts and crafts. They celebrate various holidays throughout the facility as well...
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...In the Frontline documentary, “The Meth Epidemic,” it stated that in 2004, Oklahoma had passed a law requiring that cold medicines containing methamphetamine precursors be placed over the counter (Baker, 2006). But what the documentary did not explain, was that the political will to enact such a law, also known as the Nikki Green law, had come on the day after Christmas the year before. On that day, as part of a nationwide manhunt, peace officers all over the country watched a video tape of Oklahoma Trooper Nikki Green pleading for his life on behalf of his “3 little girls,” to Ricky Ray Malone, and for him to, “think it through.” A few minutes earlier, Trooper Green had interrupted Malone on a lonely dirt road as he cooked methamphetamine from out of his car in what is commonly known as a “Nazi Meth Lab.” The Trooper had subsequently lost a fight to Malone, who was larger than the Trooper and had been aided by the extra energy given him by the drug....
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...Sketches by Boz “The Streets - Morning” The Victorian London streets is a familiar setting of Dicken's works with “Oliver Twist” and “A Christmas Carol” being some his most memorable works. In this passage Dickens offers the reader an alternative London, one without the energetic crowds but instead a much more disquieting place where the streets are dull and lifeless. We are met with a silent neighbourhood before the sun has risen and through the use of characters, setting and comparisons the reader receives a rich picture of the sunless streets. The passage begins with the introduction of the Victorian London scene on a summer morning. The reader is taken by surprise by the opening sentence where “The streets of London on a summer's morning” are described to be “most striking”. Dickens' interesting choice of words places the pre-dawn London scene in the summer, a time of warmth and sun, however we are offered a nineteenth century London that is typically portrayed with a bleak, grey backdrop. Few people roam this neighbourhood apart from those “whose unfortunate pursuits of pleasure, or scarcely less unfortunate pursuits of business, cause them to be well acquainted with the scene.” This leads to the belief that each summer's morning starts off like this, colourless and melancholy; the people who happen to be awake at this dreary hour are the rogues who remain. Each just as depressed as the other, and both's search for something more than the blind acceptance of a morose...
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