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DICKENS' CONSTRUCTION AND CONTEXT (AO3 (Religion (Victorian society…
DICKENS' CONSTRUCTION AND CONTEXT
AO3
A Christmas Carol was written by Dickens in 1843, after the Industrial Revolution, when England was rapidly developing
In Victorian England, 40% of the country's personal wealth was in the hands of the top 5% of the population, demonstrating the huge wealth gap
Charity and Education
ragged schools - free education for poor - started by Dickens to help defeat poverty and thus crime, disease. Links to 'Ignorance' of 'Ignorance and Want'
Dickens' life
as a young boy, his family was imprisoned due to debt
at the age of 12 he went to work in the blacking factory
wrote 33 books
Overpopulation
in 1800 - one million in London
in 1880 - 4.5 million in London
Religion
Victorian society was very religious
they believed that, to be good Christians, they should attend church regularly and avoid alcohol etc
However, dickens thought it was more important to be charitable, forgiving and anti-sabbatarian to be a Christian
3 ghosts like the Holy Trinity
First Edition
the first edition was affordably priced but luxurious and bound in red cloth to target the rich, those who could truly make a change
in these times, only the rich could read
Form
Allegory
a simple metaphor/Christian parable that teaches that those with money (such as Scrooge) should look out for others rather than being profit driven
'Carol' connotes Christmas and religion which would have appealed to religious 19th Century readers and thus been more influential
Focuses on Scrooge learning to be a responsible citizen, as Dickens wants the audience to do
Themes
Family
Scrooge's isolation contrasted with scenes of positive family life
Scrooge becomes a 'second father' to Tiny Tim at the end of the play
Sister Fan says 'Father is so much kinder than he used to be' which implies a strained relationship and suggests why Scrooge is so 'solitary' as an older man
Redemption
Didactic literature
3 ghosts (Holy Trinity) lead him to redemption
Poverty
Scrooge and Marley were the manipulative rich
Ignorance and want are personification of poverty
Cratchitt family were happy even in poverty
'they were happy, grateful, pleased with one another'
Techniques
Charactonym
a name which helps to give the reader an idea of a character's personality
Analepsis
a flashback
Prolepsis
a flashforward