Explore how Dickens uses the Cratchit family to show the struggles of the poor.
Write about:
How Dickens presents the Cratchit family in this extract
How Dickens uses the Cratchit family to show the struggles of the poor in the
novella as a whole
The entire premise of ‘A Christmas Carol’ was that it was intended as a novella exploited to
elicit sympathy for the working classes from the middle classes who were getting richer at
the expense of the poor. Therefore, Dickens uses the novella as a microcosm and the
Cratchit family are used to represent the worthy poor. In this extract, we witness the
Cratchits struggling to hold a family Christmas feast but putting a positive front on the paltry
meal.
The extract opens with an exclamative from Bob Cratchit, bravely declaring the desert, ‘a
wonderful pudding!’ We hear later on that it was a ‘small pudding for a large family.’
Therefore, the exclamative seems to be a hyperbolic reaction used to emphasise that the
pudding is sufficient for the whole family. Conversely, Dickens, in the role of the intrusive
narrator, gives the reader the reality of the situation through antithetical adjectives that
emphasise the smallness of the pudding compared to the ‘large’ working class family of the
Victorian era. Large families were the norm and many children were lost in infancy as a
result of poor hygiene and malnutrition. We see the Cratchit family on the verge of
becoming malnourished.
Furthermore, we see the family drawing around the hearth to make a toast that emphasises
their poverty-stricken existence. The family display of glass symbolises that the family have
not enough glasses to drink from for the whole family. The ellipsis, ‘Two tumblers, and a
custard-cup without a handle’ exposes how poor Bob’s family is and reinforces the struggle
to provide for the whole family. Even at a time of year associated with excess, the family
does not have enough food or glasses. This scene provides a contrast with the mayor’s meal
at the start. ‘The Lord Mayor, in the stronghold of the mighty Mansion house, gave orders to
his fifty cooks and butlers to keep Christmas as a Lord Mayor’s household should’. This
represents a contrast how Christmas is presented for the rich and the poor. Dickens
contrasts this by the poverty experienced by the Cratchits. The number ‘fifty’ highlights how
extravagant the celebrations of the Mayor’s Household are.
Notably, the struggles of the poor are revealed through the depiction of Tiny Tim. Even his
name is a charactonym that exposes how malnourished he is. Dickens refers to him as ‘Tiny
Tim’ using the adjective to reinforce his size. Many children in the Victorian age were small
because they were malnourished and their size reflected their poor diet. Illnesses were
often a result of a poor diet and the families could not afford doctors. Healthcare came at a
cost and only rich families could afford to pay a Doctor. We see Bob hold Tim’s, ‘withered
little hand’. The description of Tim’s hand further emphasises the poverty and the poor
state of health as a result of Bob’s poor salary from Scrooge. Bob struggles to see his
youngest child suffer and cannot afford to feed his ailing child even at Christmas. The
adjectives ‘withered’ emphasises that Tiny Tim is underdeveloped as a result of a poor diet
and poor living conditions. Ultimately, through Scrooge’s intervention, financial support and
Write about:
How Dickens presents the Cratchit family in this extract
How Dickens uses the Cratchit family to show the struggles of the poor in the
novella as a whole
The entire premise of ‘A Christmas Carol’ was that it was intended as a novella exploited to
elicit sympathy for the working classes from the middle classes who were getting richer at
the expense of the poor. Therefore, Dickens uses the novella as a microcosm and the
Cratchit family are used to represent the worthy poor. In this extract, we witness the
Cratchits struggling to hold a family Christmas feast but putting a positive front on the paltry
meal.
The extract opens with an exclamative from Bob Cratchit, bravely declaring the desert, ‘a
wonderful pudding!’ We hear later on that it was a ‘small pudding for a large family.’
Therefore, the exclamative seems to be a hyperbolic reaction used to emphasise that the
pudding is sufficient for the whole family. Conversely, Dickens, in the role of the intrusive
narrator, gives the reader the reality of the situation through antithetical adjectives that
emphasise the smallness of the pudding compared to the ‘large’ working class family of the
Victorian era. Large families were the norm and many children were lost in infancy as a
result of poor hygiene and malnutrition. We see the Cratchit family on the verge of
becoming malnourished.
Furthermore, we see the family drawing around the hearth to make a toast that emphasises
their poverty-stricken existence. The family display of glass symbolises that the family have
not enough glasses to drink from for the whole family. The ellipsis, ‘Two tumblers, and a
custard-cup without a handle’ exposes how poor Bob’s family is and reinforces the struggle
to provide for the whole family. Even at a time of year associated with excess, the family
does not have enough food or glasses. This scene provides a contrast with the mayor’s meal
at the start. ‘The Lord Mayor, in the stronghold of the mighty Mansion house, gave orders to
his fifty cooks and butlers to keep Christmas as a Lord Mayor’s household should’. This
represents a contrast how Christmas is presented for the rich and the poor. Dickens
contrasts this by the poverty experienced by the Cratchits. The number ‘fifty’ highlights how
extravagant the celebrations of the Mayor’s Household are.
Notably, the struggles of the poor are revealed through the depiction of Tiny Tim. Even his
name is a charactonym that exposes how malnourished he is. Dickens refers to him as ‘Tiny
Tim’ using the adjective to reinforce his size. Many children in the Victorian age were small
because they were malnourished and their size reflected their poor diet. Illnesses were
often a result of a poor diet and the families could not afford doctors. Healthcare came at a
cost and only rich families could afford to pay a Doctor. We see Bob hold Tim’s, ‘withered
little hand’. The description of Tim’s hand further emphasises the poverty and the poor
state of health as a result of Bob’s poor salary from Scrooge. Bob struggles to see his
youngest child suffer and cannot afford to feed his ailing child even at Christmas. The
adjectives ‘withered’ emphasises that Tiny Tim is underdeveloped as a result of a poor diet
and poor living conditions. Ultimately, through Scrooge’s intervention, financial support and
