Social Injustice
Of all the themes in A Christmas Carol, social injustice is probably its most important. Dickens firmly believed that the world he was living in wasn't fair, and that, if that unfairness wasn't addressed, it would come back and bite humanity.
Of all the themes in A Christmas Carol, social injustice is probably its most important. Dickens firmly believed that the world he was living in wasn't fair, and that, if that unfairness wasn't addressed, it would come back and bite humanity.
In this respect, Dickens is expressing some very firm socialist ideals - he was, arguably, one of the leading voices for socialist ideas at the time he was writing.
In this respect, Dickens is expressing some very firm socialist ideals - he was, arguably, one of the leading voices for socialist ideas at the time he was writing.
It is true that there was an enormous gap between the rich and poor in Victorian England - and it's also true that the gap is growing again in the world we live in.
It is true that there was an enormous gap between the rich and poor in Victorian England - and it's also true that the gap is growing again in the world we live in.
With Scrooge, Dickens creates an iconic capitalist: someone who believes that the money they've earned is theirs and should remain theirs. The ghosts arrive with the spirit of socialism, and teach Scrooge the error of his ways.
With Scrooge, Dickens creates an iconic capitalist: someone who believes that the money they've earned is theirs and should remain theirs. The ghosts arrive with the spirit of socialism, and teach Scrooge the error of his ways.
Put like this the message seems very clear: there are lots of poor people who work hard, and a few rich people - like Scrooge - who hoard their wealth. Dickens is saying that this isn't fair.
Put like this the message seems very clear: there are lots of poor people who work hard, and a few rich people - like Scrooge - who hoard their wealth. Dickens is saying that this isn't fair.
The counter argument is also pretty clear: Scrooge earned his money, so why shouldn't he keep it?
The counter argument is also pretty clear: Scrooge earned his money, so why shouldn't he keep it?
However, Dickens - like Priestley in An Inspector Calls - didn't just think that it was unfair for some people to hoard the wealth while others worked for barely enough to survive, Dickens and Priestley both thought that it was an unworkable system that was sure to fail.
However, Dickens - like Priestley in An Inspector Calls - didn't just think that it was unfair for some people to hoard the wealth while others worked for barely enough to survive, Dickens and Priestley both thought that it was an unworkable system that was sure to fail.
In A Christmas Carol this idea is best expressed in the iconic scene with the Ghost of Christmas Present and the two children Ignorance and Want. "Beware them both," the ghost says, "but more of all beware this boy (Ignorance) for on his brow I see written that which is Doom, unless the writing be erased."
In A Christmas Carol this idea is best expressed in the iconic scene with the Ghost of Christmas Present and the two children Ignorance and Want. "Beware them both," the ghost says, "but more of all beware this boy (Ignorance) for on his brow I see written that which is Doom, unless the writing be erased."
The order of words here is interesting, as it echoes some of the language used in The Bible - and particularly in Revelations, which is the last chapter of the Bible that tells the story of the apocalypse which marks the end of days. Here, the ghost is saying that unless the Ignorance of society is fixed, then the end of days will come.
The order of words here is interesting, as it echoes some of the language used in The Bible - and particularly in Revelations, which is the last chapter of the Bible that tells the story of the apocalypse which marks the end of days. Here, the ghost is saying that unless the Ignorance of society is fixed, then the end of days will come.
Though this might simply be an allusion to the judgement that came at the end of the Bible, Dickens was also very aware of the events of the French Revolution, which took place only sixty years before the book was written. During the revolution, the poor - sick at being downtrodden - rose up and murdered thousands of rich aristocrats, dragging them into town squares and publically beheading them. Here, really, Dickens is threatening that same fate will befall the English unless changes are made.
Though this might simply be an allusion to the judgement that came at the end of the Bible, Dickens was also very aware of the events of the French Revolution, which took place only sixty years before the book was written. During the revolution, the poor - sick at being downtrodden - rose up and murdered thousands of rich aristocrats, dragging them into town squares and publically beheading them. Here, really, Dickens is threatening that same fate will befall the English unless changes are made.
Economic Injustice in A Christmas Carol
Economic Injustice in A Christmas Carol
The key message from this book is simple: it's not fair that some people have enormous amounts of wealth while other people starve. Throughout the book, we are constantly reminded of the gap that existed between the rich and the poor, and Dickens reinforces this by creating characters like Bob, who is hardworking, decent and thoroughly deserving of more financial support.
The key message from this book is simple: it's not fair that some people have enormous amounts of wealth while other people starve. Throughout the book, we are constantly reminded of the gap that existed between the rich and the poor, and Dickens reinforces this by creating characters like Bob, who is hardworking, decent and thoroughly deserving of more financial support.
Dickens's point is relatively clear: those who are capable of helping out their fellow humans should do. He reminds us that we're all in this together, and that we should look at other humans as being "fellow passengers to the grave, and not some other race of beings on other journeys." He also argues that there is an enormous amount of personal joy and satisfaction that can come from sharing what we have, and so - through sharing - we can make our own journeys happier.
Dickens's point is relatively clear: those who are capable of helping out their fellow humans should do. He reminds us that we're all in this together, and that we should look at other humans as being "fellow passengers to the grave, and not some other race of beings on other journeys." He also argues that there is an enormous amount of personal joy and satisfaction that can come from sharing what we have, and so - through sharing - we can make our own journeys happier.
There is an interesting anomoly with Scrooge though: yes, he isn't particularly generous with Bob, and forces him to warm himself by a candle rather than giving him some extra coal; but, Scrooge doesn't give himself the extra coal either. Scrooge doesn't help make other people merry at Christmas, but neither does he make himself merry. In this respect, Scrooge isn't like a lot of the Victorians who were enjoying the spoils of their wealth while ignoring those less fortunate than them; Scrooge is a different breed altogether. He's not hoarding his wealth to enjoy it, he's just hoarding his wealth in a way that suggests he has no understanding of how to enjoy anything. And I suspect that for Dickens - who loved and celebrated people with real joy in all his novels - this was a strange kind of crime itself.
There is an interesting anomoly with Scrooge though: yes, he isn't particularly generous with Bob, and forces him to warm himself by a candle rather than giving him some extra coal; but, Scrooge doesn't give himself the extra coal either. Scrooge doesn't help make other people merry at Christmas, but neither does he make himself merry. In this respect, Scrooge isn't like a lot of the Victorians who were enjoying the spoils of their wealth while ignoring those less fortunate than them; Scrooge is a different breed altogether. He's not hoarding his wealth to enjoy it, he's just hoarding his wealth in a way that suggests he has no understanding of how to enjoy anything. And I suspect that for Dickens - who loved and celebrated people with real joy in all his novels - this was a strange kind of crime itself.
Emotional Responsibility in A Christmas Carol
Emotional Responsibility in A Christmas Carol
Though Scrooge is criticised in the book for not taking economic responsibility for others, there is a thread that runs through parts of the book which suggests that the responsibility for making people like Scrooge lies within wider society itself.
Though Scrooge is criticised in the book for not taking economic responsibility for others, there is a thread that runs through parts of the book which suggests that the responsibility for making people like Scrooge lies within wider society itself.
Scrooge, as I've said before, was not someone who hoarded wealth so that he could enjoy it himself. He was, really, the worst kind of rich person: someone who hoarded wealth for wealth's sake. He didn't want the things that money could buy, he just wanted the money. The problem is that people like this become vacuums, hoarding society's money and doing nothing with it. If he'd been a little more happy to spend his money, he would have helped out local businesses, or restaurants, or tailors... as it is, he just absobs money like some kind of fincancial black-hole, and does nothing with it.
Scrooge, as I've said before, was not someone who hoarded wealth so that he could enjoy it himself. He was, really, the worst kind of rich person: someone who hoarded wealth for wealth's sake. He didn't want the things that money could buy, he just wanted the money. The problem is that people like this become vacuums, hoarding society's money and doing nothing with it. If he'd been a little more happy to spend his money, he would have helped out local businesses, or restaurants, or tailors... as it is, he just absobs money like some kind of fincancial black-hole, and does nothing with it.
Rather than criticising him for this, however, Dickens makes Scrooge into a victim. During his time with the Ghost of Christmas Past, Scrooge is presented as someone who was neglected by his family and went on to become so terrified of poverty that he grew into the monster we see at the opening of the book.
Rather than criticising him for this, however, Dickens makes Scrooge into a victim. During his time with the Ghost of Christmas Past, Scrooge is presented as someone who was neglected by his family and went on to become so terrified of poverty that he grew into the monster we see at the opening of the book.
Scrooge's recovery, however, is managed with a combination of fear and compassion. The fear of dying alone relies on the idea that, in his heart, Scrooge does want to be loved - something Dickens thought was true for everyone. But it was the compassion shown to him - by Fred, Belle, Bob, Fezziwig, and his sister - that really gives him a reason to love the world again.
Scrooge's recovery, however, is managed with a combination of fear and compassion. The fear of dying alone relies on the idea that, in his heart, Scrooge does want to be loved - something Dickens thought was true for everyone. But it was the compassion shown to him - by Fred, Belle, Bob, Fezziwig, and his sister - that really gives him a reason to love the world again.
So on one level this book is saying that people like Scrooge should be more responsible for those less financially successful that they are. But on another level Dickens is saying that - as a society - we should be more responsible for those whose upbringings have left them less emotionally or socially successful than others. Scrooge learnt to be a social outcast because of his upbringing, and he learns to accept society as a result of people's charitable behaviour. As a result of their emotional charity, he learns to become financially charitable.
So on one level this book is saying that people like Scrooge should be more responsible for those less financially successful that they are. But on another level Dickens is saying that - as a society - we should be more responsible for those whose upbringings have left them less emotionally or socially successful than others. Scrooge learnt to be a social outcast because of his upbringing, and he learns to accept society as a result of people's charitable behaviour. As a result of their emotional charity, he learns to become financially charitable.
Dickens the Socialist
Dickens the Socialist
Charles Dickens's father was a good man, or so history recalls. But he was imprisoned for debt, and was forced to take his whole family - except Dickens - to prison when Dickens was just 12 years old. It's difficult to imagine the impact that this would have had on the young man, though through his writing we can see it pretty clearly: Dickens was a passionate advocate for treating people fairly and decently, and this runs through all his books.
Charles Dickens's father was a good man, or so history recalls. But he was imprisoned for debt, and was forced to take his whole family - except Dickens - to prison when Dickens was just 12 years old. It's difficult to imagine the impact that this would have had on the young man, though through his writing we can see it pretty clearly: Dickens was a passionate advocate for treating people fairly and decently, and this runs through all his books.
At the time when Dickens was writing, questions about how money should be managed in society were common. Adam Smith had written The Wealth of Nations 75 years previously - and that went on to become the go-to philosophy of the right wing; while Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote the communist manifesto - the left qing equivilant - not long before Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol.
At the time when Dickens was writing, questions about how money should be managed in society were common. Adam Smith had written The Wealth of Nations 75 years previously - and that went on to become the go-to philosophy of the right wing; while Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote the communist manifesto - the left qing equivilant - not long before Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol.
In Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith argued that to make a successful society, businesses should be allowed to compete freely and wealth should be kept by those who earned it. This way, he said, society would evolve with the strongest being able to succeed. At the time, because so much welath was being kept by the aristocracy, this was a radical idea and it was embraced.
In Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith argued that to make a successful society, businesses should be allowed to compete freely and wealth should be kept by those who earned it. This way, he said, society would evolve with the strongest being able to succeed. At the time, because so much welath was being kept by the aristocracy, this was a radical idea and it was embraced.
After 75 years of Adam Smith's ideas taking hold, Marx countered them by arguing that the free market created a society where a small number of people controlled far too much wealth, while good, hard working people were still being downtrodden. Marx argued that the state needed to intervene and protect the working people.
After 75 years of Adam Smith's ideas taking hold, Marx countered them by arguing that the free market created a society where a small number of people controlled far too much wealth, while good, hard working people were still being downtrodden. Marx argued that the state needed to intervene and protect the working people.
At the heart of this debate - which is still arguably the central debate of politics today - is the question of social justice. How do we create a just and fair society where talent, ability and hard work are rewarded? Dickens's whole family were imprisoned because his father fell into debt to someone who - presumably - had money to spare.
At the heart of this debate - which is still arguably the central debate of politics today - is the question of social justice. How do we create a just and fair society where talent, ability and hard work are rewarded? Dickens's whole family were imprisoned because his father fell into debt to someone who - presumably - had money to spare.
Though what happened to Dickens's father was well within the rules of society, punishing people who have nothing in order to protect people who have more than they need doesn't seem like a very fair thing to do. And who knows - maybe it was Dickens's younger sibling who was the real literary talent in the family, but they never picked up a quill since they spent their formative years languishing in jail...
Though what happened to Dickens's father was well within the rules of society, punishing people who have nothing in order to protect people who have more than they need doesn't seem like a very fair thing to do. And who knows - maybe it was Dickens's younger sibling who was the real literary talent in the family, but they never picked up a quill since they spent their formative years languishing in jail...
