A Christmas Carol :: English Literature

A Christmas Carol Christmas CarolA secular story of Christmas time in an urban setting, With a Christmas carol in mind, dickens set out to create a process in the minds of the Americans imagination. As a result of the industrial evolution and the growth of the families who were forced from their homes in the country and into the city, a whole new lifestyle for them? And as industrialization continued for many people in the city, working conditions got no better. As this increased, the social concern for reform also did. After the publication of the ‘Christmas Carol’ the ideas and concerns for many reform bills, sparked and increased debate over political and social issues. Whether or not dickens has a Christmas carol in mind for this, but it is however clear that the ‘industrial evolution’ has a greater part in making this story a tale for the times. Dickens was concerned with the working conditions of the people who suffered whilst trying to make a living; this is reflected upon the character of Ebenezer scrooge, a ghastly, old and mean owner who is hated by almost everybody, even by his workers. He did not care for them, or show them pity, he paid them minimum wage and if they didn’t like it, it wouldn’t matter, they would resign and there would be a queue for people wanting to work there as a replacement, scrooge therefore saw it as no loss. He knew this because during the industrial evolution there were more people than their were jobs, and people back them had to grab anything they could get, whether or not they would suffer or die earning their money, there were a limited amount of jobs. We also see scrooge making a rather harsh remark on the lives of the poor, where we see two men knocking on scrooge’s door for donations. He says that it would be alright for them to die as it would help the population problem. Also we focus upon the character of Bob Cratchit, who is one of scrooge’s workers. He is paid a meagre salary and can barely afford to feed and care for his own family, his son is dieing and he is too poor to afford proper medication for him. Even through all this, he still manages to have a Christmas dinner with his family and not let his situation destroy the spirit of Christmas. Bob Cratchit represents the working class that do their best to live on what they get paid and are thankful for their health. While some still argue to this day that dickens motivation for the