Through his allegorical novella- A Christmas Carol, Dickens pushes forward his message of social obligation
and encourages Upper-class Victorian readers to confront the necessity of stepping up and taking responsibility
for the less fortunate in society for the sake of personal growth, societal progression and the common humanity
all members of society shared.
In Act 1, Dickens first presents Scrooge as lacking social responsibility for the impoverished , contrasting his
attitudes with individuals of a philanthropic mindset, paving way for his message of collective responsibility.
Scrooge is established as a misanthropic miser when he questions “are there no prisons?” or “workhouses” for
which the poor could go to when the portly gentlemen endeavoured to aid those “in need of common
necessities”. The noun “prison” of his hostile rhetoric links to the New Poor Law of 1834 - which punished
those of poverty deliberately - and were perceived by ignorant Upper classes as effective and “[costing] enough”
of their money-implying that they believed they had fulfilled their part of social responsibility. The noun also
discloses the criminalization of poverty as societal stereotypes reinforced the misconception that the poor were
lazy. Through the philanthropic mindset of the charity workers, Dickens educates the miserly Upper class
victorians on the necessity of social responsibility. The charity workers understand that the impoverished are
“in need of common necessities”; The noun “Necessity” refers to essential human needs that the impoverished
of Victorian society had lacked- confronting the prejudice that the Poor were ungrateful or greedy.
Furthermore, Dickens utilises the adjective “common” to not only highlight the universality of want, appealing
to the common humanity in “fellow passengers to the grave”, but also to refer to the abundance present in
london- criticising the disparity of resources and manipulation of Malthus’s theory that avaricious Upper-class
individuals used to withhold power and resources.
Further into stave 1, Marley’s spirit and his remorse presents the importance of social responsibility through the
consequences of not taking care of society when in a position of wealth. Marley claims “I wear the chain I
forged in life”. The noun “chain” suggests Marley’s spirit is weighed down to suffer in purgatory due to his
greed. He states it was made of “my own free will”. The repetition of this phrase implies he personally chose not
to take up social responsibility by only staying in his counting house- as some avaricious Victorian men had
done in the Victorian Era. Dickens uses the phrase “my own free will” to encourage wealthy but neglecting
Upper Class victorians to care for the impoverished as the repeated phrase implies the ability to change and
become philanthropic, as characters such as Fred, charity workers and Scrooge eventually have done. By using
and encourages Upper-class Victorian readers to confront the necessity of stepping up and taking responsibility
for the less fortunate in society for the sake of personal growth, societal progression and the common humanity
all members of society shared.
In Act 1, Dickens first presents Scrooge as lacking social responsibility for the impoverished , contrasting his
attitudes with individuals of a philanthropic mindset, paving way for his message of collective responsibility.
Scrooge is established as a misanthropic miser when he questions “are there no prisons?” or “workhouses” for
which the poor could go to when the portly gentlemen endeavoured to aid those “in need of common
necessities”. The noun “prison” of his hostile rhetoric links to the New Poor Law of 1834 - which punished
those of poverty deliberately - and were perceived by ignorant Upper classes as effective and “[costing] enough”
of their money-implying that they believed they had fulfilled their part of social responsibility. The noun also
discloses the criminalization of poverty as societal stereotypes reinforced the misconception that the poor were
lazy. Through the philanthropic mindset of the charity workers, Dickens educates the miserly Upper class
victorians on the necessity of social responsibility. The charity workers understand that the impoverished are
“in need of common necessities”; The noun “Necessity” refers to essential human needs that the impoverished
of Victorian society had lacked- confronting the prejudice that the Poor were ungrateful or greedy.
Furthermore, Dickens utilises the adjective “common” to not only highlight the universality of want, appealing
to the common humanity in “fellow passengers to the grave”, but also to refer to the abundance present in
london- criticising the disparity of resources and manipulation of Malthus’s theory that avaricious Upper-class
individuals used to withhold power and resources.
Further into stave 1, Marley’s spirit and his remorse presents the importance of social responsibility through the
consequences of not taking care of society when in a position of wealth. Marley claims “I wear the chain I
forged in life”. The noun “chain” suggests Marley’s spirit is weighed down to suffer in purgatory due to his
greed. He states it was made of “my own free will”. The repetition of this phrase implies he personally chose not
to take up social responsibility by only staying in his counting house- as some avaricious Victorian men had
done in the Victorian Era. Dickens uses the phrase “my own free will” to encourage wealthy but neglecting
Upper Class victorians to care for the impoverished as the repeated phrase implies the ability to change and
become philanthropic, as characters such as Fred, charity workers and Scrooge eventually have done. By using
