1. To understand the context of Charles Dickens and A Christmas Carol
Learning Objective
To understand the context of Charles Dickens and A Christmas Carol

2. Life in Dickensian England
What do you think life was like for the average child during Charles Dickens lifetime?
How would things be different from our lives now?
Let’s share our ideas with the class, and compile a group answer.

3. Watch the clips and make notes
Oliver Twist –
Great Expectations –
David Copperfield –
Industrial revolution
Child Labour
Children in Education

4. The Industrial Revolution
The Industrial revolution created lots of jobs
Before this, Britain used to be much more rural – farming was the most obvious way of making money
The Industrial revolution made many business men and factory owners extremely rich. It also created huge numbers of jobs, but workers lived in extreme poverty

5. What does industrial mean?
What does revolution mean?
What is the Industrial Revolution?
What did the industrial revolution do to British jobs?
What was Britain like before the Industrial Revolution?
What happened to the rich in the Industrial Revolution?
What happened to the poor in the Industrial Revolution?

6. Living Conditions. Many cities had terrible living conditions
In 19th Century, millions of people moved from the countryside to the cities in search of work in the factories
Population of cities grew rapidly, between 1800 and 1900, London’s population grew from 1 million to 6 million
Most people ended up living in slums of cheap, overcrowded housing which led to hunger, disease and crime
Many families had to share one tap and one toilet as there was often no proper drainage or sewerage system

7. What do we mean by ‘living conditions’?
How many people moved from the countryside to the city during the start of the 19th Century?
What happened to the population of London as a result of this?
What did this mean for people in terms of their quality of living?

8. Children in Victorian times
Children often suffered the most from the living and working conditions
Children who were unwanted or orphaned were either sent to the work house or baby farm to be fostered out. Those who didn’t survive were sold as cheap labour to mines, factories or other industries.
There was no idea of state responsibility for children’s welfare, but there were some charitable schools for those who were lucky enough

9. What happened to children who were orphaned or unwanted?
Why were children orphaned or unwanted?
How did ‘the state’ look after children?
What could happen to children IF they were lucky?

10. Thomas Malthus What does this graph mean?
The level of population will be higher than the food available to feed them
There will be enough food for everyone
There will be no food for anyone

11. Malthus and the 1834 Poor Law
Thomas Malthus – an economist of the time
He wrote that the human population would always grow faster than food supplies.
This would mean that over population would lead to many people, usually the poor, dying due to famine.
For Malthus, poverty was the inevitable result of over population because the worst off in society would get less and less.
Malthus argued that people should have families later in life and not to have lots of children to stop the population getting too large.
Do you agree or disagree?

12. Who was Thomas Malthus?
What did Malthus suggest about the human population growth and the food supplies in Britain?
What did Malthus suggest over population would lead to?
What did Malthus suggest was an inevitable consequence of overpopulation?
What did Malthus suggest to counter the issue?

13. Dickens and Malthus
Dickens believed that Malthus was wrong and there was plenty of food to go around, if the rich were more generous. He thought it was wrong that the poor should suffer because the rich were too selfish to share their wealth.
In Chapter 3, the Ghost of Christmas Present takes Scrooge to bustling shops where it shows him the huge amount of food on display. This lengthy, mouth watering description emphasises Dickens’ point that was plenty of food to go around – the problem was that it wasn’t shared.

14. 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 Comission made several recommednations to Parliament. As a result, the Poor Law Amaendment 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 work house.
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.

15. Who designed the Poor Law?
Name 5 things that were contained in the Poor Law.
What do each of these things mean for rich people?
What do each of these things mean for poor people?

16. Education
Dickens believed that many of the problems in Victorian Britain, such as crime, poverty and disease, were caused by a lack of education. The poor in Victorian Britain has little or no education and Dickens felt that education would help them gain self respect and improve their lives.
Dickens supported several projects to educate the poor, such as the ‘Ragged Schools’, which offered free education, clothing and food to children from poor families. They were called ‘ragged’ after the ragged clothes the children wore.
In Chapter Three, Dickens uses the child, Ignorance, to show how the poor are doomed to a life of want by a lack of education. The Ghost of Christmas Present suggests that without education, those who live in ignorance and want have no refuge except prisons and workhouses.

17. Dickens’ beliefs: The rich should help the poor
Poverty was a huge problem in Victorian society, particularly in over crowded cities like London.
Dickens was very concerned by this – his own experiences with poverty had taught him how unpleasant life could be.
He strongly believed that it was the responsibility of the wealthy to help those who were in poverty. He believed that ignoring this responsibility would eventually cause much bigger problems.
Dickens urged people to help the poor by providing them with education and by donating to, and working with, charities.
What does this tell us about what themes are likely to be important within his writing?

18. Religion and Christmas
Dickens’ idea of a good Christian was someone who did their best to help other people.
Christianity had a strong influence on many areas of everyday life in Victorian Britain, particularly amongst the middle and upper classes. The be good Christians, people believed they should live by a strict moral code; attending church, avoiding alcohol and avoiding sexual activity.
Dickens’ view of Christianity was different; he believed that to be a good Christian, people should seek out opportunities to do good deeds for other people. He thought that people should be humble, charitable, faithful and forgiving, rather than merely appearing religious.
It was a widespread Victorian practice to spend Sunday going to church and resting- this was known as Sabbatarianism. Dickens was opposed to this and was anti-Sabbatarianism because it meant that working poorer people couldn’t get a hot meal on their one day off because everything was shut.
In Chapter 3, Scrooge complains to the Ghost of Christmas Present that keeping Sunday as a day of rest denies the poor of ‘opportunies of innocent behaviour’ on the only day when they don’t have to work, and it will “deprive” them of a hot dinner.

19. Quiz time Which is correct?
The Industrial revolution led to more people working in farming.
The Industrial revolution led to more people working in manufacturing.
2. What happened to the population of many British cities in the 19th century?
3. Who was Thomas Malthus?
4. What did Malthus think people should do to avoid overpopulation in society?
5. Why were workhouses made deliberately unpleasant?
6. The Industrial revolution narrowed the gap between the rich and poor. True or false?
7. What was Dickens’ view of Malthus’ idea of overpopulation?

20. Timeline 1812 – Born on 7th February in Portsmouth
1824 His father is arrested for debt and send to prison. Dickens has to give up his education and work in a factory.
His father inherits some money so Dickens goes to private school for two years.
1827 Works as an office boy at a solicitor’s firm
1828 Starts work as a court reporter
1833 His first short story is published ”A dinner at Poplar walk”
1836 Marries Catherine Hogarth
His first novel “Pickwick Papers” is serialised
1843 ”A Christmas Carol” is published
1870 Dies of a stroke on 9th June – Buried in Westminster Abbey

21. Task
What could we infer about Dickens’ writings based on his early life?

22. Dickens’ beliefs: The rich should help the poor
Poverty was a huge problem in Victorian society, particularly in over crowded cities like London.
Dickens was very concerned by this – his own experiences with poverty had taught him how unpleasant life could be.
He strongly believed that it was the responsibility of the wealthy to help those who were in poverty. He believed that ignoring this responsibility would eventually cause much bigger problems.
Dickens urged people to help the poor by providing them with education and by donating to, and working with, charities.
What does this tell us about what themes are likely to be important within his writing?

23. The Industrial Revolution
From 1720, factory owners in Britain began to use coal fired steam engines to power the machines in big factories. Many of these factories made cloth, which was solder all around the world.
Before this, Britain was much more rural – farming was the most obvious way to make a living.
This period, where most people in Britain went from working in farming to working in manufacturing was known as the Industrial revolution.
The Industrial revolution made many businessmen and factory owners extremely rich. It also created huge numbers of new jobs in the cities. However, the factory workers often lived in extreme poverty.

25. Life in the Industrial Revolution
Read the text
Highlight the key parts of the text which tell you the reality of life for people during this time.
Task: diary entry?

26. Malthus and the 1834 Poor Law
Thomas Malthus – an economist of the time
He wrote that the human population would always grow faster than food supplies. This would mean that over population would lead to many people, usually the poor, dying due to famine. For Malthus, poverty was the inevitable result of over population because the worst off in society would get less and less.
Malthus argued that people should have families later in life and not to have lots of children to stop the population getting too large.
Do you agree or disagree?

27. Dickens and Malthus
Dickens believed that Malthus was wrong and there was plenty of food to go around, if the rich were more generous. He thought it was wrong that the poor should suffer because the rich were too selfish to share their wealth.
In Chapter 3, the Ghost of Christmas Present takes Scrooge to bustling shops where it shows him the huge amount of food on display. This lengthy, mouth watering description emphasises Dickens’ point that was plenty of food to go around – the problem was that it wasn’t shared.

28. 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 Comission made several recommednations to Parliament. As a result, the Poor Law Amaendment 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 work house.
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.

29. Some people thought helping the poor made poverty worse
Malthus, and other, thought that the existing poor laws in Britain were too charitable- they argued that poverty relief for the poor encouraged laziness and reduced the incentive to work hard and save money.
In 1834, the poor was meant introduced with the intention of reducing financial help for the poor.
The workhouses the poor had the option to attend for support but these were made extremely harsh to incited fear of entering one. It often meant being split up from your family. This was all designed to discourage the poor from relying on society to help them.
In A Christmas Carol, Dickens attacks what he saw as an uncaring attitude towards the poor. In Chapter One, Scrooge tells the charity collectors that he can’t afford to ‘make idle people merry’ and he says that he supports the prisons and workhouses. His view seems cruel and uncaring.
When Scrooge expressed sympathy for Tiny Tim and Ignorance and Want, the spirit quotes Scrooge’s harsh comments from Chapter One about ‘surplus population’ and sending the poor to prisons and workhouses. Scrooge realises his beliefs about the poor were wrong.

30. Charity Dickens highlighted the importance of generosity and charity.
The Industrial Revolution created a society in which the gap between the rich and poor was huge.
Many very poor people relied on the generosity of others.
Some very philanthropic businessmen were keen to enhance the lives of their workers. Cadburys tried to provide quality homes and improve lifestyles for workers at their factory.
However, many other wealthy people were only concerned with gaining more wealth – like Scrooge is. Dickens attacked this kind og selfishness, believing that wealthy people had a responsibility to help those less fortunate than themselves.

31. Education
Dickens believed that many of the problems in Victorian Britain, such as crime, poverty and disease, were caused by a lack of education. The poor in Victorian Britain has little or no education and Dickens felt that education would help them gain self respect and improve their lives.
Dickens supported several projects to educate the poor, such as the ‘Ragged Schools’, which offered free education, clothing and food to children from poor families. They were called ‘ragged’ after the ragged clothes the children wore.
In Chapter Three, Dickens uses the child, Ignorance, to show how the poor are doomed to a life of want by a lack of education. The Ghost of Christmas Present suggests that without education, those who live in ignorance and want have no refuge except prisons and workhouses.

32. 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 Comission made several recommednations to Parliament. As a result, the Poor Law Amaendment 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 work house.
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.

33. Religion and Christmas
Dickens’ idea of a good Christian was someone who did their best to help other people.
Christianity had a strong influence on many areas of everyday life in Victorian Britain, particularly amongst the middle and upper classes. The be good Christians, people believed they should live by a strict moral code; attending church, avoiding alcohol and avoiding sexual activity.
Dickens’ view of Christianity was different; he believed that to be a good Christian, people should seek out opportunities to do good deeds for other people. He thought that people should be humble, charitable, faithful and forgiving, rather than merely appearing religious.
It was a widespread Victorian practice to spend Sunday going to church and resting- this was known as Sabbatarianism. Dickens was opposed to this and was anti-Sabbatarianism because it meant that working poorer people couldn’t get a hot meal on their one day off because everything was shut.
In Chapter 3, Scrooge complains to the Ghost of Christmas Present that keeping Sunday as a day of rest denies the poor of ‘opportunies of innocent behaviour’ on the only day when they don’t have to work, and it will “deprive” them of a hot dinner.