3.1.1

Inequality, Ignorance & Want

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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

Highlights inequality

  • Dickens highlights social inequality in a number of ways:
    • 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

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

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.

Allegories

Allegories

  • “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”.
Ignorance

Ignorance

  • 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.
Want

Want

  • 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

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”.
Jump to other topics
1

Plot Summary

1.1

Plot Summary

1.1.1Outline1.1.2Introducing Scrooge & Marley1.1.3Stave 11.1.4Stave 21.1.5Stave 31.1.6End of Topic Test - Staves 1-31.1.7Stave 41.1.8Stave 51.1.9End of Topic Test - Staves 4-51.1.10Diagnostic Misconceptions - Belle
2

Key Characters & Quotes

2.1

Ebenezer Scrooge

2.1.1Outline & Stave 12.1.2Stave 22.1.3Stave 32.1.4Stave 42.1.5Stave 5 & Key Quotes2.1.6End of Topic Test - Ebeneezer Scrooge2.1.7Diagnostic Misconceptions - Scrooge
2.2

Other Characters

2.2.1Bob Cratchit2.2.2Tiny Tim2.2.3Fred2.2.4The Ghosts Pt 12.2.5The Ghosts Pt 22.2.6End of Topic Test - Other Characters2.2.7Diagnostic Misconceptions - Bob Marley2.2.8Diagnostic Misconceptions - Two Ghosts2.2.9Diagnostic Misconceptions - Ghost of Christmas2.2.10Diagnostic Misconceptions - The Cratchits
2.3

Grade 9 - Key Characters

2.3.1Grade 9 - Key Characters2.3.2Grade 9 - Extract Analysis
3

Key Ideas

3.1

Key Ideas

3.1.1Inequality, Ignorance & Want3.1.2Duality, Family & Love3.1.3Christianity & Redemption3.1.4End of Topic Test - Key Ideas3.1.5Grade 9 - Key Themes
4

Context

4.1

Context

4.1.1Dickens & Victorian England4.1.2Poverty & Victorian Christmas4.1.3Exam-Style Questions - Poverty4.1.4Gothic Fiction4.1.5Gothic Fiction & Victorian England4.1.6End of Topic Test - Context4.1.7Diagnostic Misconceptions - Dickens & Socialism4.1.8Diagnostic Misconceptions - Misanthropy
5

Authorial Method

5.1

Structure & Techniques

5.1.1Structure & Time5.1.2Time Frame & Pace5.1.3Narrative Voice & Tone5.1.4Settings, Similes & Metaphors5.1.5End of Topic Test - Authorial Method
6

Recap: Main Quotes

6.1

Recap: Main Quotes

6.1.1Scrooge Quotes6.1.2Bob & Tiny Tim Quotes6.1.3Fred & Ghosts Quotes6.1.4Ignorance & Want Quotes6.1.5Other Quotes

Practice questions on Inequality, Ignorance & Want

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  1. 1
    Ways in which Dickens highlights inequality:Fill in the list
  2. 2
    Quotes about Ignorance and Want:Fill in the list
  3. 3
    What are Ignorance and Want allegories of?Multiple choice
  4. 4
    Which of these characters represents Victorians who ignored the huge social problems of the time?Multiple choice
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Grade 9 - Extract Analysis

Duality, Family & Love