‘A Christmas Carol’ Charles Dickens Background Context

Reason…. In your essay you have to talk about either the setting of, or the characters in, the novella. You will need to understand what life in London and England was like at the time Charles Dickens wrote the book. You will also need to know about how well the book uses techniques from Gothic writing.

Charles Dickens Born in 1812. His father was imprisoned for debt. Dickens was very passionate about the poor. He was a lower middle class boy, he worked in a factory when his family needed extra money.

Life experiences informed his writing As in his previous novels, real social concern motivated Dickens to write A Christmas Carol. In this instance, he was inspired to write a Christmas story highlighting the plight of the poor as an appeal for charity from those better-off . Such charity was desperately needed during the severe economic depression of the 1840s. Having suffered considerable hardship and poverty during his upbringing, the passionate feelings evoked in Dickens' writings by social inequalities were based on bitter experience. Indeed, it is suggested that the Cratchit's house is modelled on the small four-room house at 16 Bayham Street in Camden Town where Dickens lived at the age of ten: the six Cratchit children correspond to the Dickens children of that time, the character of Tiny Tim being echoed in Charles's youngest, sickly brother who was known as "Tiny Fred".

The Poor Law In 1833 Earl Grey, the Prime Minister, set up a Poor Law Commission to examine the working of the poor Law system in Britain. In their report published in 1834, the Commission made several recommendations to Parliament. As a result, the Poor Law Amendment Act was passed. The act stated that: (a) no able-bodied person was to receive money or other help from the Poor Law authorities except in a workhouse; (b) conditions in workhouses were to be made very harsh to discourage people from wanting to receive help; (c) workhouses were to be built in every parish or, if parishes were too small, in unions of parishes; (d) ratepayers in each parish or union had to elect a Board of Guardians to supervise the workhouse, to collect the Poor Rate and to send reports to the Central Poor Law Commission; (e) the three man Central Poor Law Commission would be appointed by the government and would be responsible for supervising the Amendment Act throughout the country.

Life in Victorian England At this time the gap between poor and rich was much, much bigger than it is today. The contrast between those who were rich and poor was shocking.

Those who were poor lived in squalor, deprivation, dirt and misery. They barely had enough money or food to survive. Child mortality was very high. There was no healthcare. If you got ill, and could not work, your whole family was at risk of death. The workhouse was the only option for many families, where at least they would be fed and housed. However, at the workhouse, families were split up, and often conditions were no better.

Workhouses Workhouses were the only places where people who were too poor to survive could get help. Conditions in the Workhouse were made deliberately harsh in order to discourage people from having to go there.

Workhouses

Those who were rich lived in the exact opposite way. They had enormous houses, luxury clothes and servants. The rich people in Victorian England (most of them, anyway) took little interest in helping the poor. They felt that poverty was their fault, or a punishment, or something that could be avoided.

To summarise… Dickens felt very strongly about the gap between rich and poor. He wrote ‘A Christmas Carol’ to try and highlight the difference, and make people think differently about their actions. Why do you think he chose to set his book at Christmas time? What does Christmas mean in our society?

Creating Character Similes Metaphors Pathetic Fallacy Use of adjectives Gothic techniques

Gothic Techniques Gothic fiction combines features of horror and romance. The key features are: Extreme emotion Fear Awe and fear of religion and/or the supernatural Very strong atmosphere

General characters to look for… General features to look for… Mystery, the supernatural, ghosts, haunted houses, castles, darkness, death, madness, secrets. General characters to look for… Tyrants, villains, maniacs, heroes, persecuted women, magicians, demons, angels, ghosts.

Victorian Gothic Before Victorian times the setting for Gothic novels was generally a castle, or somewhere in the countryside that was dark, creepy and lonely. In the Victorian times it became popular to place Gothic novels in an urban setting, particularly in London.

One of the most common themes… ….and one to bear in mind when reading ‘A Christmas Carol’, is the idea of sins having the power to curse and affect you or your family in the future.

How Charles Dickens did this… Mainly by comparing and contrasting the big difference between rich and poor. He showed wealthy society as being pleasant, ordered and extravagant. He contrasted this by presenting poor society as disordered, barbaric and unhappy.

How is the character of Scrooge conveyed in ‘A Christmas Carol’? If this was your essay how would you analyse how the character of Scrooge is conveyed in Stave 1 of Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’. When was ‘A Christmas Carol’ written and by whom? What is the novel about? Who are the main characters? How do they contrast each other?

Section 1- The writer’s attitude. The writer conveys his vision of England through character and setting. What is the genre of the novel and why is this important? Why is this novel considered to be an ‘allegorical tale’? What does the audience learn at the end of the novel? Charles Dickens’ father was imprisoned for debt. How might this have influenced the writer’s attitude within the novel? Why would Dickens set this at Christmas? What relevance does this novella have in the 21st century?

Section 2- writer’s use of language Charles Dickens creates character in a number of different ways… What poetic techniques are used to describe Scrooge’s character? How does Charles Dickens use of pathetic fallacy create character and atmosphere? Give two examples. copyright 2007 www.englishteaching.co.uk

Section 3- Implications and relevance of text Charles Dickens wanted to change the attitude of the middle classes towards the poor. Do you think ‘A Christmas Carol’ achieved this? Support your answer with quotes from the text. Why is knowledge of ‘The Poor Laws’ useful when reading this novel? What is Scrooge’s attitude towards the poor? How does Scrooge support the poor? copyright 2007 www.englishteaching.co.uk

Use of language continued… Charles Dickens uses ‘vivid adjectives’ to describe Scrooge. How does this create character? The writer also uses ‘evocative adverbs’ how does this juxtapose the characters of Scrooge and his nephew or the charity workers copyright 2007 www.englishteaching.co.uk

Section 4- Discussion of text How are the characters’ depicted? Think about clothing, how they speak and compare your ideas to the ways in which Scrooge is depicted. How does Scrooge change at the end of Stave 1? Support your answer with quotes. copyright 2007 www.englishteaching.co.uk

Now let’s start reading…!