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Responsibility A Christmas Carol - Coggle Diagram
Responsibility A Christmas Carol
Stave 1: 'Mankind was my business'
Marley's Ghost explains its new understanding of responsibility.
Dickens briefly makes Marley's Ghost convey the whole message of the novella when he cries 'Mankind is my business'
The change of focus jolts us as well as Scrooge because we learn that the proper 'business' of life is not about seeking financial reward but having concern for others.
Stave 2
Tiny Tim will die if Scrooge doesn't change - Scrooge is responsible for Tiny Tim's health and life
The Ghost of Christmas Present warns us about the dangers of the children - Ignorance and Want
Stave 1: Christmas is a time when people 'think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys'
Fred represents the spirit of Christmas and carries Dickens' message about collective responsibility and how we should treat one another.
The idea that we are all 'fellow passengers' serves to emphasise the idea of the transience of life - we are all going to die some day so we are more similar than we are different.
The noun 'creatures' reinforces the view that the wealthy see the poor as somehow less human - Dickens, through the novel, shows the reader that this is not true and therefore the poor law, which treats the poor as though they are less human, must be changed.
'as good a man, as the good old city knew'
Scrooge learns to take responsibility for the poor, and in doing so redeems himself.
Stave 1: 'It is not my business.'
Scrooge's view of the plight of the poor Dickens believed in collective responsibility - that the wealthy should take responsibility for helping the poor, specifically through the provision of education and support for children.
Scrooge's assertion that 'it is not my business' is challenged quickly by Marley's ghost whose view is that 'mankind' should have been his 'business'
Stave 4: "Every person has a right to take care of themselves. He always did!"
In the rag 'n' bone man's shop. The words of the charwoman, who disgusts Scrooge, in the rag 'n' bone man's shop reflect the views to which Scrooge subscribed at the start of the novella when he declared that the poor were not his 'business' implying that his only business was himslef.
As readers, Dickens is allowing us to reflect on how far Scrooge has come in learning the lesson - and perhaps asking us to reflect on our own learning.
'The happiness he gives, is quite as great as if it cost a fortune.'
Scrooge shows us the difference a wealthy individual can make, but Dickens also shows us that Fezziwig's small contribution can make a significant difference to the lives of individuals.