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What is Dickens social Commentary of Victorian England in "A Christmas Carol" Christmas is a time of thanks giving and happiness. The religious significance of Christmas is birth, life and death and so should be celebrated by thanking for what they have got. At Christmas people give presents and have a service in church but in Victorian England things were very different to these days because back then food and presents were only given because of some people's generosity. Dickens is saying through the character of Scrooge that Christmas is a time of spending time with the family but in the modern days people are very capitalist and worry about how much profit they make rather then spending time with the family. Christmas is a time of giving and being generous but Charles Dickens explores the 19th century by showing the poverty and that there were no benefits for the poor so if you didn't work you didn't get. Today life is very different because benefits are available and other welfare schemes to help the poor. In the 19th century the Industrial Revolution took place so more money came into the economy but the poor were still left hungry, without shelter but the rich got richer. In A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens is criticizing the rich who do not treat the poor well by showing that the rich cannot live apart from society because everyone plays their part and that respect is very important. Dickens shows this through Scrooge and the ghost of Christmas future when no one will care when you die. ...read more.


Scrooge's money was used as a weapon to get over his emotion, to show that he didn't need anyone when he really did. He also used money as a weapon by controlling other poor people such as the Cratchits so they did almost what he told them to so they could get a better living. Scrooge's father also used money as a weapon by making sure that Scrooge stayed in boarding school and stopped Scrooge from getting a good quality life. Dickens shows that greed for money can destroy lives and being a very poor was better off in Victorian times than being rich because if you are poor you can sleep peacefully whilst the rich selfish people just want more and don't want to lose a penny. Scrooge is woken up by his remembrance of his youth, his happy and dark days. Dickens shows this with: 'A bright clear jet of light' This shows that Scrooge is realizing what he once was, a cheerful, loving person. The light represents a sense of alertness to show that Scrooge has done great harm and hope. This quote also opens the sight to the audience of Scrooge's past time and why he is the way he currently is. The Cratchit's are an example of the impoverished people who, Dickens felt, were very honest. The poor people were never too worried about getting more than enough but just wanted something decent to live on. The clothes they whore were past down from parents or older siblings. The food was shared equally so that no one would be left too hungry, all these actions make the poor increase their love for each other. ...read more.


In the following century society had many improvements such as benefits for the elderly and disabled. Most of these improvements were made into society after World War 2. This was mainly due to that in the world war, both the poor and rich fought together as one nation. Therefore the rich got to know the poor better and money was shared to provide for all the people so they could help in the war. Food rations were one of these schemes, so the world wars had a huge impact on how society was treated. In the modern society we live in there are many changes due to everybody contributing such as taxes. However in the Victorian times society was very closed and the message Dickens was trying to get over was that everyone should help each other whether poor or rich. There are many modern day Scrooge's we can refer to even though it's been over a century since Dickens era. However the Scrooge's we can refer to in this century have been the more clever, sneaky one's. An example of this is when DNA was discovered. The men who were seen as discoverer's were Watson and Crick. However the real people behind the scenes actually made this discovery but the credit and glory was all given to Watson and Crick. Unlike in Dickens times, the modern society's can get hold of money easily but nowadays it is more about pride and glory. Similarly of how poverty was present in Victorian England it still exists in the third world such as Africa but the Scrooge's are known as the politicians however the poor are still the public. ?? ?? ?? ?? Lukman Hussain Candidate no. 3265 ...read more.

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