Social Justice In A Christmas Carol

People say it is better to be poor and happy, than rich and miserable. The Victorian Era was a harsh and cruel time which discriminated and dehumanized lower social classes causing unfair living quarters within the rich and the poor. This is shown in the book, A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, because it takes place within the victorian era with evident themes such as, social class, childhood innocence, and Scrooge’s transformation. Charles Dickens was the most successful English author during the Victorian Era. Social class is the different class systems separating the rich and the poor causing a barrier between the differences needed in each other. Childhood innocence is the thought that all children, good and bad, were thought as angelic …show more content…

This quote is a confrontation between Scrooge and his clerk, Bob, “You’re poor enough”. “You’re rich enough” (Dickens 3). This quote shows social justice because the juxtaposition shows the difference between the attitudes of the rich and the poor. Moreover, knowing the difference of the social classes can help the reader determine the feelings each character has on the thoughts of Christmas. This shows that the less someone has, the more they appreciate the little things, and vice versa for the people with more. The next quote is about the difference between a rich Christmas, and a poor one. The rich have, “Holly, mistletoe, red berries, ivy, turkeys, geese, game, poultry, brawn, meat, pigs, sausages, oysters, pies, puddings, fruit, and punch, all vanished instantly. So did the room, the fire, the ruddy glow, the hour of night…”. As opposed to the poor whose, “house fronts looked black enough, and the windows blacker, contrasting with the smooth white sheet of snow upon the roofs, and with the dirtier snow upon the ground; ...thick yellow mud and icy water. The sky was gloomy, and the shortest streets were choked up with a dingy mist, half thawed, half frozen... There was nothing very cheerful in the climate or the town, and yet was there an air of cheerfulness abroad that the clearest summer air and brightest summer sun might have endeavoured to diffuse in vain” (Dickens 33). This quote supports the theme social …show more content…

Talking about Scrooge’s innocent sister, “But she had a large heart!” (Dickens 23). This quote is an example of Childhood innocence because the character being described is a child. This shows how the younger someone is, the more angelic, and innocent that person is. Moreover, it proves how the child has a large heart and her appearance and character is more innocent and angelic because she is young and hasn’t been exposed to horrific things. After the death of Scrooge the family was talking about the fortune coming because of his passing, “The children’s faces hushed, and clustered round to hear what they so little understood, were brighter” (Dickens 58). This quote supports the theme, childhood innocence because it shows the younger you are, and the less you are exposed to bad things causes you to be more innocent. Children do not understand the concept of death and other horrible tragedies because they are younger and more angelic. Furthermore, the younger the person is, represents the symbol of hope and kindness. The book shows us this by telling us the children do not understand what is going on and they have a more innocent understanding of the world. Therefore proving that kindness is represented in the theme childhood