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Andreas Demetriades
Dr. Juliette Paul
Introduction To Literature I (ENG-211)
December 15th, 2023
Fighting For Social Injustice
By writing “A Christmas Carol”, Charles Dickens tried to awaken the people of the 19th
century to the horrors that the poor people were facing. In further detail, even the children had to
work in horrific jobs in order for the entire family to stay alive. Dickens emphasized the role that
the rich coal mine owners had in this and tried to urge them, and every business owner, to change
their ways. This can be seen through some of the letters that were included in “Appendix C” and
through Scrooge’s development and change of heart in “A Christmas Carol”.
In “Appendix C”, we can see various letters that Charles Dickens had sent to numerous
people regarding this topic. Most of these letters were written around the same time as the time
as the book, with Dickens even referring to the book as his “little scheme (Appendix C P213)”.
The first letter from “Appendix C” is the most important one. The letter was directed “To
The editor of the Morning Chronicle (P208-211)”. This letter was written on July 25th, 1842,
which was about a year and a half before “A Christmas Carol” was published. In this letter
Dickens tried to raise the awareness of the editor of the paper, about the real conditions in the
coal mines and the changes that the House of Lords were trying to prevent from happening. As
mentioned in “Appendix C (P209)”, several members of the House of Lords were mine owners,
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so those changes were not in favor of their agendas. The main changes were the ban of female
workers in mines and for the minimum working age of boys in the mines to be ten years old.
In further detail, Dickens mentioned to the editor that the mine owners were not honest
about how the workers felt in regard to their working conditions. The mine owners would say to
the public that the workers were “singing and dancing, and festively enjoying themselves
(P209)” and that it was a good thing that they worked underground as “society would be
deafened by their shouts of merriment (P209)”. Dickens also made a connection that these lies
were also used to enforce slavery, starvation, and dehumanization of the workers, depriving them
of their rights, freedom, and happiness. Dickens tried to expose the cruelty of mine and business
owners through Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol”.
At first Scrooge had zero regard for the poor, as he refused to recognize that all human
souls were equal to each other and as important. This was shown between pages 44-47 in “A
Christmas Carol”. Firstly, we see how Scrooge feels about people in need through his
conversation with the businessman. The businessman approached Scrooge and asked him for a
donation for the people in need, so they could have something to feel merry about Christmas.
Unfortunately, all that Scrooge had to say was: “Are there no prisons? (P44)”, “And the Union
Workhouses? (P44)”, and” The treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour then? (P44)”. The
man was stunned by Scrooge’s questions as he proceeded to answer all of them to Scrooge’s
likeness and confirmed that all of these places were still functioning. After this, Scrooge
expressed his satisfaction and relief by mentioning that he was afraid that these places had
stopped working.
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Despite this, the gentleman still tried to ask Scrooge if he would like to donate some
money to his cause. Unfortunately, Scrooge’s reply this time was a little aggressive: “I don’t
make merry myself at Christmas, and I can’t afford to make idle people merry. I help to support
the establishments I have mentioned: they cost enough: and those who are badly off must go
there (P45)”. To this, the businessman mentioned how many of those unfortunate people would
rather die, to which Scrooge replied cold -heartedly: “If they would rather die, they better do it,
and decrease the surplus population (P45)”. With this being said, the businessman realized that
asking Scrooge for help was pointless. Thus, they concluded their discussion and he left. The end
result of this conversation was that Scrooge showcased his unsympathetic cold heart and how
little he cared about Christmas through his words.
In further detail, after the aforementioned quote, we were given a small appendix at the
bottom of that page there is a mention to the book that Scrooge was referring to, “An Essay on
the Principle of Population (1798) by Thomas Malthus”, in which a dark future was foreboded
for England, as the population’s increase would devastate the demand to supply ratio. Malthus
insisted on calling the poor as the surplus, which is why Scrooge described the poor as surplus
population. Malthus would say things such as the poor that do not provide any useful labor and if
no one wants them around that they should just be dead.
Moving on, the second part where Scrooge’s cruelty was highlighted, was shortly after
the businessman left. This time Scrooge and his clerk had a discussion regarding taking the day
off for Christmas (P47). The scene commences by Scrooge asking his clerk if he preferred to
have the entire day off for Christmas, in which his clerk replies by saying “if quite convenient,
sir (P47)”, which showed that the clerk was afraid to say yes, as he knew that Scrooge would
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dislike that. It is also important to mention that from this conversation, we can see that Scrooge
and his clerk had a strict boss-employee relationship, and nothing more. Scrooge’s reply to his
Clerk was: “It’s not convenient and it’s not fair… you don’t think yourself ill-used, when I pay a
day’s wages for no work (P47)”. Once again, Scrooge showcased his negligible sympathy and
how little his regard for Christmas was.
At the end, Scrooge decided to let his clerk take the entire day off for Christmas, but “be
here all the earlier next morning (P47)” were Scrooge’s final words on the matter. At first, this
might seem like Scrooge has a soft side, but Scrooge was not making such a grand gesture.
During Christmas day people may not go to work, but they spend all day playing with their
children, eating, drinking, and – most importantly – staying up until late in the night with their
loved ones. Scrooge making his Clerk work earlier the next day probably seemed like a bitter
joke to him.
Moving on, Dickens did not mention the name of Scrooge’s clerk until the three ghosts
started visiting Scrooge and his character development had begun. I believe that Dickens did that
intentionally in order to show that Scrooge did not treat his clerk properly, but as something
inferior. The first time we read the clerk’s name was on page 85 of “A Christmas Carol”. His
name was Bob Cratchit, and, on that page, we started getting a glimpse of his life. Despite
Scrooge having the money but refusing to lead a luxurious life, Bob could not afford to lead a
decent life as Scrooge was paying him the absolute minimum for his labor.
The evidence for this was displayed in a few words and phrases that Dickens used to
describe the Cratchit residence. The first reference was on page 85, where Scrooge and the Ghost
of Christmas Present visit the Cratchit residence. Dickens used words such as cheap and “poorly
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in a twice-turned gown” to describe Mrs. Cratchit’s dressing gown. Following this, Dickens
carries on talking about Bob Cratchit’s son, as he is dressed in his father’s formal clothes. Bob’s
son dressed in Bob’s clothes indicates that the family does not have enough money to purchase
nice clothes for their son. Another reference to this was between pages 88 and 89, where Dickens
described the family pudding. Dickens wrote down that “nobody said or thought it was at all a
small pudding for a large family. It would have been flat heresy to do so. Any Cratchit would
have blushed to hint at such a thing”. This shows that everyone in the family, from Bob to his
wife, and from the eldest child to the youngest child knew how dire their situation was and that
they could not afford to buy bigger puddings and spend excess money on this kind of things.
As Dickens carried on describing the family, we got to see that Bob had a family of eight
members: himself, his wife and six children. This was an indication of how poor the family was,
as having to support eight people costs a lot. This is also an irony from that era, as many poor
families would have many children in order to exploit their labor, thus increasing the income of
the family. Unfortunately, we got to see that only the eldest child, Martha, had a job. But unlike
her father, Martha did work early on Christmas, showing that there were more cold-hearted
bosses than Scrooge out there, which was a chilling thought.
As if all of these were not enough, Bob’s youngest child, Tiny Tim, was suffering from a
disease that paralyzed parts of his body and would lead to his early passing. Tiny Tim was
already depended one crutch and an iron frame to support his limbs. Following the Christmas
dinner of the Cratchit family, we could see Scrooge’s development starting to show. Scrooge had
found a newfound feeling of curiosity and interest, so Scrooge asked the ghost if Tiny Tim was
going to live. The ghost’s reply was chilling: “I see a vacant seat in the poor chimney corner,
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and a crutch without an owner, carefully preserved. If these shadows remain unaltered by the
future, the child will die (P89)”. These were not the words that Scrooge wanted to hear, but they
were the words that he needed to hear in order for his change to progress and have a lasting
impact. The importance of the part “shadows remain unaltered” was that the ghost was implying
that Scrooge could do something to prevent this from happening.
Lastly, I would like to discuss Scrooge’s last moment with the ghost of present
Christmas. During the last moment that Scrooge and the ghost of present Christmas shared, the
ghost showed Scrooge two children; a boy and a girl. Dickens proceeded to describe the children
as “yellow, meagre, ragged, scowling, wolfish, but prostrate, too, in their humility (P99)”. The
Scrooge from the beginning of the novel would have refused for these children to be in his
proximity, but at this point in the story Scrooge had started to develop a feeling of compassion.
Thus, Scrooge tried to complement the children and “say they were fine children(P101)”, but he
could not bring himself to say so.
For the sake of the conversation, Scrooge decided to ask the ghost if the children were
his, where the ghost replied that “they are Man’s (P101)” children. He then proceeded to
introduce the children. The boy’s name was Ignorance, and the girl’s name was Want. Then the
ghost followed up by saying “beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware
this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased. Deny it
(P101)”. This served as a foreboding moment for Scrooge; that if he carried on with his ignorant
ways, there would be a lot of children like that. This was a direct reference from Dickens to the
coal mines and business owners, to show them the other end of their dealings.
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Scrooge was in despair for the state of these children, as he asked the spirit if they did not
have a refuge or a resource to provide them with something. To this, the ghost said “are there no
prisons? Are there no workhouses? (P101)”. These were the last words that the ghost spoke to
Scrooge before he disappeared. This was a direct reference to the interaction between the
businessman and Scrooge from pages 44-45, as Scrooge said to the man when he came seeking
help for the poor. This was one of the most important parts of the novel as the reader can see that
Scrooge’s philosophy towards the “surplus population” had changed drastically.
In conclusion, Dickens wrote “A Christmas Carol” in order to showcase the rough lives
of poor people and, mainly, the harsh attitude of the business owners towards the employed. Ever
since a year and a half before the book “A Christmas Carol” was published, Dickens was trying
to raise awareness for the civil injustice that poor people were facing under their employers.
Thus, he decided to reach the masses by writing a book that showcased the rich business owners’
cruelty. The book highlighted the ruthlessness of the business owners for what it was and how
little they cared for the poor, as they considered them as the surplus population.
Lastly, Dickens tackled social injustice and described his hope for a positive change in
the working industry in “A Christmas Carol”. The novel underlines Scrooge’s change from a
cold-hearted, dislikable character to a carrying man on his road to redemption. Scrooge had to be
shown his traumatic past, his present from a third point of view, and his legacy beyond death to
realize that the life he was leading was not one to be happy and proud off. Thus, Scrooge made
the decision to change and to start having compassion for the people around him. This was
Dickens’ wish for the real world, to stop social injustice and that the ruthless business owners
would grow a heart.
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Citations:
1. “A Christmas Carol”, by Charles Dickens, December 1843.
2. “Appendix C” in “A Christmas Carol” from the “Broadview literary texts”, edited by
“Richard Kelly”.