Sample Paper
Block 1
Language Arts
Expository Essay
Charles Dickens was a very successful writer from the Victorian Era. Known as the
greatest writer of his time, Dickens had great struggles as well as successes. When he was
just twelve years old, he was forced to drop out of school; he went to work as an unskilled
laborer in a blacking factory and he worked 11 hours a day in order to provide for his
family. This was an experience from his childhood that would haunt him into his adult life. The
events and people in his life often appeared in his writings; his classics are still read and
enjoyed today by new generations of readers. Dickens’ culture and life events are illustrated
in his text as poverty, education, and social reform.
In an attempt to show the world the harsh realities of poverty, which Dickens
experienced himself growing up, he channeled the topic into his works; his hope was to
soften the hearts and minds of others who witnessed these inhumane conditions. He was
sent out of school at the raw age of twelve to work with the uneducated and he felt abandoned by
his family. In many of his works, he shows scenes of the poor living in squalor through his
use of imagery. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come walks the character Scrooge down a place
where, “the ways were foul and narrow; the shops and houses wretched; the people half-naked,
drunken, slipshod, ugly. Alleys and archways, like so many cesspools, disgorged their offenses
of smell, and dirt, and life, upon the straggling streets; and the whole quarter reeked with crime,
with filth, and misery.” A video of the text shows a family in the cold hovering over the fire
eating bread. The family believes the food is stolen because they normally cannot afford food of
this sort. Scrooge then asks the Spirit of Christmas Present why they do not go to a
workhouse; he then learns “many would rather die,” a portion of dialogue previously
mouthed by grumpy Scrooge himself. Both of these examples from the text display Dickens’
disgust with poverty and the conditions people were living in during this time. Similarly, Bob
Cratchit, Scrooge’s clerk, lives in poverty and his son Peter has to work to keep them from
having to go to a prison or workhouse. It is evident that Dickens’ own personal experience of
living in poverty had a lasting effect and carried over into his novels.
Another issue that is ever present in Dickens’ work was education. He was robbed of his
own formal education, and as a result, believed everyone should have the opportunity to better
themselves through learning. One example of this belief in A Christmas Carol is the child
Ignorance; “beware of this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is doom.” This quote
from the Ghost of Christmas Present exhibits how Dickens knows that ignorance is the death of
society. Like Dickens, Peter Cratchit, the son of Bob Cratchit, worked to help provide for his
family instead of going to school. This mirrors the author’s own background and illustrates his
belief that everyone deserves an education. Additionally, he spoke publicly about the value of
education. For example, in a speech he gave in 1844, he said “If you would reward honesty, if
you would give encouragement to good. If you would stimulate the idle, eradicate evil, or
correct what is bad, education--comprehensive, liberal education-- is the one effective end.” It
appears that Dickens, an autodidact, sees the true value of education in every aspect of life.
Dickens was outspoken and displeased about the political and economical issues of
England. He was a victim of it and he did not want anyone else to have to go through it. He was
a constant social commentator and he wrote about the need for change. In the novel, Scrooge is
a wealthy and cruel man, but after he is visited by multiple ghosts, he changes his ways. He
becomes generous, kind and caring through his words. “He became as good a friend, as good a
master and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town or
borough, in the good old world.” The Scrooge here exemplifies the kind of person Dickens
believes everyone should be. Likewise, at the beginning of the text, Scrooge had a gentleman
come into his office to ask for donations for the poor, but Scrooge denies him any money.
Scrooge also asks the gentleman, “Are there no prisons?” This example demonstrates how the
wealthy showed no generosity or sympathy to those in poverty. It also shows Dickens’
frustration with the Poor Law and the debtor’s prisons. Finally, the issue of unequal wages and
discrepancy between the classes is portrayed in this novel. Scrooge was the owner of his business
and made all of the money; Bob Cratchit made little to none. He could barely pay his bills.
During this time the lower class was expected to work at the whim of the wealth for virtually
nothing. Scrooge voiced his frustration with having to pay Cratchit for a holiday when he said,
“A poor excuse for picking a man’s pocket every twenty-fifth of December!” This era was
known for its poor conditions for the poor and the inequality between the classes. Dickens was
disgusted with the state of England and his portrayal of the issues helped to change the public
opinion.
Charles Dickens’ experiences and the culture of the time period are present in his writing.
His own life experiences were scarring and greatly impacted not only his life but could also be
seen in the characters and stories he told. The Victorian Era was a time of great disparity
between classes and Dickens helped to open the eyes of the citizens through his work.
Specifically, the issues of poverty, education and social reform are represented in the novel, A
Christmas Carol.