Themes - AQA Social injustice in a Christmas Carol
The main ideas in a text are called themes. In A Christmas Carol these include Christmas, redemption and social injustice. Dickens also deals with the themes of family and forgiveness.
Part of English Literature A Christmas Carol
Social injustice in a Christmas Carol
Dickens felt strongly that Victorian society ignored the poverty of its underclass. On the one hand were the rich who enjoyed comfort and feasting at Christmas, and on the other were children forced to live in dreadful conditions in workhouses.
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How is the theme of social injustice shown in the novella.
In A Christmas Carol Dickens shows the theme of social injustice through:
- Scrooge refusing to give money to the poor
- the characters of Ignorance and Want
- thieves dividing up Scrooge's belongings
| How does Dickens show this? | Evidence | Analysis | |
| Scrooge refuses to give money | In Stave I Scrooge is asked to make a donation for the 'Poor and destitute' of society. | . Instead of creating a community in which life can be enjoyed by all, Dickens highlights the injustice of wealth distribution. | |
| Ignorance and Want | Dickens uses . | The children that hide under the robes of the Ghost of Christmas Present are 'pinched' and 'twisted' rather than being happy and joyous as we would like children to be. The Ghost tells Scrooge that . | |
| Thieves dividing up Scrooge's belongings | Dickens uses the thieves dividing up Scrooge's belongings to show how his death is received. | As the thieves sort through Scrooge's possessions they comment on how miserly he had been in life. This makes him, and the reader, appreciate the . |
| Scrooge refuses to give money | |
|---|---|
| How does Dickens show this? | In Stave I Scrooge is asked to make a donation for the 'Poor and destitute' of society. |
| Evidence | |
| Analysis | . Instead of creating a community in which life can be enjoyed by all, Dickens highlights the injustice of wealth distribution. |
| Ignorance and Want | |
|---|---|
| How does Dickens show this? | Dickens uses . |
| Evidence | |
| Analysis | The children that hide under the robes of the Ghost of Christmas Present are 'pinched' and 'twisted' rather than being happy and joyous as we would like children to be. The Ghost tells Scrooge that . |
| Thieves dividing up Scrooge's belongings | |
|---|---|
| How does Dickens show this? | Dickens uses the thieves dividing up Scrooge's belongings to show how his death is received. |
| Evidence | |
| Analysis | As the thieves sort through Scrooge's possessions they comment on how miserly he had been in life. This makes him, and the reader, appreciate the . |
Social and historical context
The Poor Law was amended in 1834 to reduce the cost of helping the poor. Those desperate for assistance and having no other option were sent to workhouses.
The novella shows these contrasts by presenting poverty in the Cratchit household, in the characters of Ignorance and Want who are sheltered by the Ghost of Christmas Present and also in the scene of thieves going through the dead Scrooge's possessions.
Analysing the evidence
What elements of social injustice does Dickens highlight in this novella?
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- Scrooge insists that the Poor Law, prisons and workhouses should deal with the destitute.
- 'Ignorance' and 'Want' highlight the unfairness of Victorian society.
- The thieves show how people were driven to steal from the dead.
More guides on this topic
- Plot summary - AQA
- Plot summary quiz
- Characters - AQA
- Characters activity
- Themes quiz
- Form, structure and language - AQA
- Form, structure and language quiz
- Sample exam question - AQA
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A Christmas Carol
Charles dickens.
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Inequality, Ignorance & Want
Social inequality and justice.
Charles Dickens uses A Christmas Carol to address how much Victorian England ignored the poverty of the lower class. He felt that the suffering experienced by the lower class was wrong, especially when compared to the luxurious lives of the upper class.
Highlights inequality
- The wealthy man, Scrooge, is cruel and refuses to help the poor.
- He also almost attempts to make Cratchit work on Christmas Day. He is shown as being unkind and selfish.
- The poor man, Cratchit, works hard but suffers because he is lower class. He is a good, kind-hearted man, but is doomed to live in poverty and watch helplessly as his child dies – unless the upper-class man helps him!
Mood of the classes
- However, Dickens shows the upper-class character (Scrooge) to be unhappy despite his station and wealth, whereas the lower-class family (the Cratchits) are nice, loving, kind people, despite having very little.
Lesson to classes
- Dickens attempts to show Victorian England that everyone’s lives can be improved if they help one another – Scrooge’s life is much more well-rounded when he starts giving to other people, whilst the Cratchits are much happier with a bit of support from Scrooge because it means their son can be healthier.
- Both classes gain from working together.
Ignorance and Want
Dickens used the characters of Ignorance and Want (hidden under the robes of the Ghost of Christmas Present) to highlight a lot of the problems in the world.
- “Two children; wretched, abject, frightful, hideous, miserable” .
- These children are allegories of two social problems (they represent these problems in human form – this is also why their names have capital letters).
- “They were a boy and a girl. Yellow, meagre, ragged, scowling, wolfish”.
- Dickens uses Ignorance to chastise the Victorian reader, attempting to make them realise that they were ignoring the problems in their own society.
- The readers then (and still somewhat now) were pretending to be ignorant about the problems faced by their fellow humans.
- Scrooge is a good example of a man who ignores the huge social problems of the time.
- Through the Ghost, Dickens tells the reader: “They are Man’s” , encouraging readers to take some responsibility for other people.
- In Victorian England, a large proportion of the population was poor and, therefore, had to go without things (they ‘wanted for’ basic things like food and shelter).
- Want, combined with Ignorance of the upper-classes, creates enormous social problems.
Message for society
- Dickens wanted to show that, by ignoring these issues, society would produce children like this – they are shown to be dirty, with no hope of a good future.
- This could then lead children like this into a life of crime, which would cause even bigger issues for society: “Where angels might have sat enthroned, devils lurked, and glared out menacing” .
1 Plot Summary
1.1 Plot Summary
1.1.1 Outline
1.1.2 Introducing Scrooge & Marley
1.1.3 Stave 1
1.1.4 Stave 2
1.1.5 Stave 3
1.1.6 End of Topic Test - Staves 1-3
1.1.7 Stave 4
1.1.8 Stave 5
1.1.9 End of Topic Test - Staves 4-5
2 Key Characters & Quotes
2.1 Ebenezer Scrooge
2.1.1 Outline & Stave 1
2.1.2 Stave 2
2.1.3 Stave 3
2.1.4 Stave 4
2.1.5 Stave 5 & Key Quotes
2.1.6 End of Topic Test - Ebeneezer Scrooge
2.2 Other Characters
2.2.1 Bob Cratchit
2.2.2 Tiny Tim
2.2.4 The Ghosts Pt 1
2.2.5 The Ghosts Pt 2
2.2.6 End of Topic Test - Other Characters
2.3 Grade 9 - Key Characters
2.3.1 Grade 9 - Key Characters
2.3.2 Grade 9 - Extract Analysis
3 Key Ideas
3.1 Key Ideas
3.1.1 Inequality, Ignorance & Want
3.1.2 Duality, Family & Love
3.1.3 Christianity & Redemption
3.1.4 End of Topic Test - Key Ideas
3.1.5 Grade 9 - Key Themes
4.1 Context
4.1.1 Dickens & Victorian England
4.1.2 Poverty & Victorian Christmas
4.1.3 Exam-Style Questions - Poverty
4.1.4 Gothic Fiction
4.1.5 Gothic Fiction & Victorian England
4.1.6 End of Topic Test - Context
5 Authorial Method
5.1 Structure & Techniques
5.1.1 Structure & Time
5.1.2 Time Frame & Pace
5.1.3 Narrative Voice & Tone
5.1.4 Settings, Similes & Metaphors
5.1.5 End of Topic Test - Authorial Method
Jump to other topics
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Grade 9 - Extract Analysis
Duality, Family & Love
Social Injustice
Of all the themes in a christmas carol, social injustice is probably its most important. dickens firmly believed that the world he was living in wasn't fair, and that, if that unfairness wasn't addressed, it would come back and bite humanity., in this respect, dickens is expressing some very firm socialist ideals - he was, arguably, one of the leading voices for socialist ideas at the time he was writing., it is true that there was an enormous gap between the rich and poor in victorian england - and it's also true that the gap is growing again in the world we live in., with scrooge, dickens creates an iconic capitalist: someone who believes that the money they've earned is theirs and should remain theirs. the ghosts arrive with the spirit of socialism, and teach scrooge the error of his ways..
Put like this the message seems very clear: there are lots of poor people who work hard, and a few rich people - like Scrooge - who hoard their wealth. Dickens is saying that this isn't fair.
The counter argument is also pretty clear: scrooge earned his money, so why shouldn't he keep it, however, dickens - like priestley in an inspector calls - didn't just think that it was unfair for some people to hoard the wealth while others worked for barely enough to survive, dickens and priestley both thought that it was an unworkable system that was sure to fail., in a christmas carol this idea is best expressed in the iconic scene with the ghost of christmas present and the two children ignorance and want. "beware them both," the ghost says, "but more of all beware this boy (ignorance) for on his brow i see written that which is doom, unless the writing be erased.", the order of words here is interesting, as it echoes some of the language used in the bible - and particularly in revelations, which is the last chapter of the bible that tells the story of the apocalypse which marks the end of days. here, the ghost is saying that unless the ignorance of society is fixed, then the end of days will come., though this might simply be an allusion to the judgement that came at the end of the bible, dickens was also very aware of the events of the french revolution, which took place only sixty years before the book was written. during the revolution, the poor - sick at being downtrodden - rose up and murdered thousands of rich aristocrats, dragging them into town squares and publically beheading them. here, really, dickens is threatening that same fate will befall the english unless changes are made., economic injustice in a christmas carol, the key message from this book is simple: it's not fair that some people have enormous amounts of wealth while other people starve. throughout the book, we are constantly reminded of the gap that existed between the rich and the poor, and dickens reinforces this by creating characters like bob, who is hardworking, decent and thoroughly deserving of more financial support., dickens's point is relatively clear: those who are capable of helping out their fellow humans should do. he reminds us that we're all in this together, and that we should look at other humans as being "fellow passengers to the grave, and not some other race of beings on other journeys." he also argues that there is an enormous amount of personal joy and satisfaction that can come from sharing what we have, and so - through sharing - we can make our own journeys happier., there is an interesting anomoly with scrooge though: yes, he isn't particularly generous with bob, and forces him to warm himself by a candle rather than giving him some extra coal; but, scrooge doesn't give himself the extra coal either. scrooge doesn't help make other people merry at christmas, but neither does he make himself merry. in this respect, scrooge isn't like a lot of the victorians who were enjoying the spoils of their wealth while ignoring those less fortunate than them; scrooge is a different breed altogether. he's not hoarding his wealth to enjoy it, he's just hoarding his wealth in a way that suggests he has no understanding of how to enjoy anything. and i suspect that for dickens - who loved and celebrated people with real joy in all his novels - this was a strange kind of crime itself., emotional responsibility in a christmas carol, though scrooge is criticised in the book for not taking economic responsibility for others, there is a thread that runs through parts of the book which suggests that the responsibility for making people like scrooge lies within wider society itself., scrooge, as i've said before, was not someone who hoarded wealth so that he could enjoy it himself. he was, really, the worst kind of rich person: someone who hoarded wealth for wealth's sake. he didn't want the things that money could buy, he just wanted the money. the problem is that people like this become vacuums, hoarding society's money and doing nothing with it. if he'd been a little more happy to spend his money, he would have helped out local businesses, or restaurants, or tailors... as it is, he just absobs money like some kind of fincancial black-hole, and does nothing with it., rather than criticising him for this, however, dickens makes scrooge into a victim. during his time with the ghost of christmas past, scrooge is presented as someone who was neglected by his family and went on to become so terrified of poverty that he grew into the monster we see at the opening of the book., scrooge's recovery, however, is managed with a combination of fear and compassion. the fear of dying alone relies on the idea that, in his heart, scrooge does want to be loved - something dickens thought was true for everyone. but it was the compassion shown to him - by fred, belle, bob, fezziwig, and his sister - that really gives him a reason to love the world again., so on one level this book is saying that people like scrooge should be more responsible for those less financially successful that they are. but on another level dickens is saying that - as a society - we should be more responsible for those whose upbringings have left them less emotionally or socially successful than others. scrooge learnt to be a social outcast because of his upbringing, and he learns to accept society as a result of people's charitable behaviour. as a result of their emotional charity, he learns to become financially charitable., dickens the socialist, charles dickens's father was a good man, or so history recalls. but he was imprisoned for debt, and was forced to take his whole family - except dickens - to prison when dickens was just 12 years old. it's difficult to imagine the impact that this would have had on the young man, though through his writing we can see it pretty clearly: dickens was a passionate advocate for treating people fairly and decently, and this runs through all his books., at the time when dickens was writing, questions about how money should be managed in society were common. adam smith had written the wealth of nations 75 years previously - and that went on to become the go-to philosophy of the right wing; while karl marx and friedrich engels wrote the communist manifesto - the left qing equivilant - not long before dickens wrote a christmas carol., in wealth of nations, adam smith argued that to make a successful society, businesses should be allowed to compete freely and wealth should be kept by those who earned it. this way, he said, society would evolve with the strongest being able to succeed. at the time, because so much welath was being kept by the aristocracy, this was a radical idea and it was embraced., after 75 years of adam smith's ideas taking hold, marx countered them by arguing that the free market created a society where a small number of people controlled far too much wealth, while good, hard working people were still being downtrodden. marx argued that the state needed to intervene and protect the working people., at the heart of this debate - which is still arguably the central debate of politics today - is the question of social justice. how do we create a just and fair society where talent, ability and hard work are rewarded dickens's whole family were imprisoned because his father fell into debt to someone who - presumably - had money to spare., though what happened to dickens's father was well within the rules of society, punishing people who have nothing in order to protect people who have more than they need doesn't seem like a very fair thing to do. and who knows - maybe it was dickens's younger sibling who was the real literary talent in the family, but they never picked up a quill since they spent their formative years languishing in jail....
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AQA A Christmas Carol Example on Poverty
Subject: English
Age range: 14-16
Resource type: Assessment and revision
Last updated
25 March 2019
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This is a model answer based on the Ignorance and Want extract. The question is ‘Starting with this extract, how does Dickens present society’s attitude to poverty?’ and the answer is pitched towards Level 6 of the mark scheme.
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IMAGES
COMMENTS
Ignorance and Want Dickens uses two wretched children, called Ignorance and Want, to represent the poor . a stale and shrivelled hand, like that of age, had pinched, and twisted them, and pulled ...
The Ghost identifies them as the boy Ignorance and the girl Want. They represent human misery, a misery caused by a lack of education and by extreme poverty. They cling to the Ghost, for they have ...
This image is probably the most symbolic and dramatic of the whole story. The vices of ignorance and want are personified by these two cowering children. The children are poor and ragged, showing how the vice that Scrooge has indulged in—Ignorance-- has a real effect on the children in the workhouses and on the streets.
Highlights inequality. The wealthy man, Scrooge, is cruel and refuses to help the poor. He also almost attempts to make Cratchit work on Christmas Day. He is shown as being unkind and selfish. The poor man, Cratchit, works hard but suffers because he is lower class. He is a good, kind-hearted man, but is doomed to live in poverty and watch ...
The children are not given names. Dickens refers to them as 'monsters' and the Ghost names the boy 'Ignorance' and the girl 'Want'. Dickens presents them in this impersonal way to show that they are symbolic of the problems in society. They remain in ignorance because they have no right to education, and want because nobody is ...
Dickens uses a similar adjective to describe the hands of the children Ignorance and Want. The word 'shrivelled' is used here, which compares these children, who are also victims of the struggles of poverty [sic] to Tiny Tim. It creates a similar image of premature decay to highlight the neglect of lower classes in society.
Social Injustice. Of all the themes in A Christmas Carol, social injustice is probably its most important. Dickens firmly believed that the world he was living in wasn't fair, and that, if that unfairness wasn't addressed, it would come back and bite humanity. In this respect, Dickens is expressing some very firm socialist ideals - he was ...
These skinny, ragged children represent Want and Ignorance. The boy and girl are "yellow, meagre, ragged, scowling, [and] wolfish." They represent the poverty that surrounds Scrooge, which he ignores.
Poverty. Stave One, p. 7: The charity collectors explain the desperation of the poor. Stave Two, p. 35: The younger Scrooge tells Belle why he thinks it is wise to get money. Stave Three, p. 63: Scrooge is appalled at the appearance of the children, Ignorance and Want.
Summary: Ignorance and Want are significant in influencing Scrooge's character in A Christmas Carol as they symbolize the dire consequences of society's neglect of the poor. Their depiction as ...
The character of ignorance and want are personified as two hideous children that Scrooge points out beneath the robe of the Christmas present. The ghost of Christmas present tells Scrooge to be aware of these two creature that are made by the man kind, especially ignorance. Dickens uses these two children to represent the poor in the Victorian era.
In his infamous short story called A Christmas Carol, Dickens illustrated the meaning of a true Christmas spirit. Two of the minor but most important characters are ignorance and want. In relation to the story, ignorance and want symbolize the causes of many social conflicts and the effects that lead to abundant poverty and needs in the world.
In 'A Christmas Carol', Dickens presents Ignorance and Want in a metaphorical fashion, depicting them as children. This is done in such a manner as to shock and appall the reader, leading to greater emotional investment. Throughout the extract's entirety, Ignorance and Want are depicted as children, increasing the atmosphere of pessimism ...
• Metaphorically, Ignorance and Want are the children of mankind. As the children of mankind, they represent the traits that filter through the generations because of the negligence of the wealthy. •The boy "Ignorance" is "Doom". This communicates that the wealthy must change their way for the betterment of society.
Terms in this set (8) Symbolic of the poor. *More specifically the industrial poor who work away in worships and factories, struggling to make ends meet and, so very often, the victims of extreme deprivation. *Come from under a ghost symbolises how the poor are forgotten. Literally hiding away, forgotten, neglected by the wider society.
AQA A Christmas Carol Example on Poverty. Subject: English. Age range: 14-16. Resource type: Assessment and revision. File previews. docx, 16.26 KB. This is a model answer based on the Ignorance and Want extract. The question is 'Starting with this extract, how does Dickens present society's attitude to poverty?' and the answer is pitched ...
The boy is Ignorant...But most of all beware of the boy. Above all ignorance is the main driving force that is the root of the problem. If we choose not to be ignorant then we can educate the poor then they will continue to live in the cycle of poverty. Monsters half so horrible and dread. Society has created a monster.
Original post by epicalesha786. Dickens uses social commentary as a critique of Victorian society to show how the higher class has abundance whereas the lower class has nothing; they are in the needs of basics like food, water and shelter. He does this by illustrating poverty by personification. 'this boy is ignorance, this girl is want ...