Pros And Cons Of The Working Class

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The Working Class and its Unique Lifestyle The working class was known as the poor in the Victorian Era, struggling to stay alive as a result of their low income. This resulted in a sparse diet, ragged clothes, a limited education, and limits to what they could do in terms of literature, music, and theater. Also, as the Industrial Revolution progressed, finding work became more complicated as the working class population had increased putting many people into poverty. Consequently, the people of the working class labored constantly to not only keep their job but to pay for their family expenses. The working class of Victorian England was a group that worked hard to stay out of poverty as well as off the streets Unlike the upper class they had minimal recreational time. Many different people have tried to account for the working class conditions and what they did in their spare time: “he could attend evening courses on scientific subjects or Latin or shorthand at a Mechanics’ Institution, or at one of the Working Men’s Colleges” (Picard The Working Class and Poor). This imposes that the men could take an educational course to get a better job. Also in their spare time, people would go to street vendors as opposed to markets so they could get food for a more affordable price (Picard The Working Class and Poor). W.J. Reader, a …show more content…

Sally Mitchell explains how elementary schools and Sunday Schools offered low-cost instruction for the poor which were run by charitable organizations (165-167) Although these schools offered low-cost education, they were in bad conditions: “868 children taught by one master” (Mitchell 169). These schools were charitable which also meant they were “ragged”. The poor could not afford secondary school so most working class members had 2-3 years of education. Education was an aspect that was low in cost but resulted in bad conditions for the working

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