This boy is ignorance. This girl is want

A Christmas Carol contains lessons not only for Scrooge but for the society of Dickens’s day. Discuss Charles Dickens’ classic novella, A Christmas Carol endorses the belief that all life is precious and equal. A Christmas Carol contains lessons not only for Scrooge but for the society of Dickens’s day. Through the supernatural journey of protagonist Ebenezer Scrooge, Dickens intends to convey to the contrast between the two classes of the era and the need for change in society. Through the characters Want and Ignorance, Dickens tries to deliver his message to the general public. In a similar way through the character Tiny Tim and the Cratchit family, Dickens expresses society’s responsibility to the poor and ones employees. Dickens also warns the reader of the consequences that will follow if these lessons are not taken to attention.

One major theme in A Christmas Carol was entrenched in Dickens’ observations of the plight of the children of London’s poor. The second of the Three Spirits introduces Scrooge to two “wretched, abject, frightful, hideous, miserable” children. Using stark language the spirit explains mankind’s responsibility for the children who are known as Want and Ignorance. Scrooge, clearly appalled by the condition of the children, asks the spirit if they were his and Scrooge receives the answer, “’They are Man’s,’ said the Spirit, looking down upon them. ‘And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. 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.” His warning is to acknowledge that they exist but do not care for them.

Dickens tells us to beware of ignorance more than want. This is because it demonstrates the cause of the problem. If our poor are not educated, they have no chance to escape the cycle of poverty. Want, or hunger and need, is important. It comes from ignorance though. We need to educate and take care of our young people so that they don’t have children that are just as badly off as they are. “Deny it!’ cried the Spirit, stretching out its hand towards the city. ‘Slander those who tell it ye! Admit it for your factious purposes, and make it worse! And bide the end!” This quote clearly depicts the message Dickens is trying to deliver to the general public, that the wealthy must change their ways for the benefit of society. This being said, it is evident that Dickens is using this novella to portray his ideas, therefore making it an allegory.

Through the use of characters such as Tiny Tim and the Cratchit family, Dickens is able to display to Scrooge and his audience the extent of the poverty within society. Dickens foreshadows the poor family through the Ghost of Christmas Present. Their impoverished circumstances are further displayed by Dickens through their surroundings and living environment. Despite this, the jubilance exhibited by the family act as a stark contrast to their circumstances which acts to teach Scrooge and Dickens’ audience of the importance of happiness in life over wealth. Through Tiny Tim, Dickens also intends to critique Through Scrooge’s shame upon heaving his regurgitated words said by the Ghost of Christmas Present in regard to decreasing the ‘surplus population’ and therefore endorsing the notion that the upper classes have a responsibility to those less fortunate.

Charles Dickens’s novella contains valuable lessons required for Scrooge, as well as society. The novella attempts to hint at the reader a reflection of their own values and behaviours such as their responsibility to the poor and to their employees as well as the acts of charity. Dickens’s novella also acts to warn Scrooge and the audience of the consequences of their actions if social reform does not occur.