ttitudes towards poverty
A
In his didactic, moralistic, subverted Bildungsroman, Dickens utilises the
characters of Ebenezer Scrooge and the Cratchit family’s attitudes towards
poverty in order to not only extol the virtues of charity and debunk the commonly
conceived notion that the impoverished classes of Victorian society were
‘surplus’, but to also magnify the idea that ‘we are all fellow passengers to the
grave’.
. Scrooge’s attitude towards poverty in stave 1
1
- malthusian caricature; ‘decrease the surplus population’
- ‘squeezing wrenching grasping scraping clutching covetous old sinner’; 7
deadly sins, Scrooge is a microcosmic symbol for a contemporary society’s
hamartia: greed.
. Cratchit family
2
- rich in joy - ‘all in a glow’; Fred. associated with the motif of light, which
emblematises joy, ‘good[ness]’ and truth. subverted by Scrooge - ‘darkness
was cheap and Scrooge liked it’.
- although Scrooge is wealthy, he is ‘solitary’ and entirely ostracised from
society, away from joy and truth. Dickens utilises this to not only highlight
the misery Scrooge is living in but to also show that material ‘gain’ and
‘golden idol[s]’ are worthless in comparison to familial love and
compassion for their ‘fellow passengers to the grave’.
. Scrooge’s attitude towards poverty in stave 5
3
- Scrooge’s disdain for the lower classes is subverted later on in the novella
where he discovers the impoverished members of society are ‘light to
carry’.
- ‘light’ - multifaceted, light in regards to bright attitudes as they do not have
monetary ‘gain’ that can ‘displace’ their morality and gratitude, but also
‘light’ in terms of weight. physically Dickens is revealing the fact that caring
for the destitute members of society is not as difficult as many make it out
to be and there is no true excuse for treating our ‘fellow passengers to the
grave’ with disdain and unkindness.
A
In his didactic, moralistic, subverted Bildungsroman, Dickens utilises the
characters of Ebenezer Scrooge and the Cratchit family’s attitudes towards
poverty in order to not only extol the virtues of charity and debunk the commonly
conceived notion that the impoverished classes of Victorian society were
‘surplus’, but to also magnify the idea that ‘we are all fellow passengers to the
grave’.
. Scrooge’s attitude towards poverty in stave 1
1
- malthusian caricature; ‘decrease the surplus population’
- ‘squeezing wrenching grasping scraping clutching covetous old sinner’; 7
deadly sins, Scrooge is a microcosmic symbol for a contemporary society’s
hamartia: greed.
. Cratchit family
2
- rich in joy - ‘all in a glow’; Fred. associated with the motif of light, which
emblematises joy, ‘good[ness]’ and truth. subverted by Scrooge - ‘darkness
was cheap and Scrooge liked it’.
- although Scrooge is wealthy, he is ‘solitary’ and entirely ostracised from
society, away from joy and truth. Dickens utilises this to not only highlight
the misery Scrooge is living in but to also show that material ‘gain’ and
‘golden idol[s]’ are worthless in comparison to familial love and
compassion for their ‘fellow passengers to the grave’.
. Scrooge’s attitude towards poverty in stave 5
3
- Scrooge’s disdain for the lower classes is subverted later on in the novella
where he discovers the impoverished members of society are ‘light to
carry’.
- ‘light’ - multifaceted, light in regards to bright attitudes as they do not have
monetary ‘gain’ that can ‘displace’ their morality and gratitude, but also
‘light’ in terms of weight. physically Dickens is revealing the fact that caring
for the destitute members of society is not as difficult as many make it out
to be and there is no true excuse for treating our ‘fellow passengers to the
grave’ with disdain and unkindness.
