A christmas carol context

    Cards (19)

    • When was the Christmas Carol published?
      December 1843
    • What era was a Christmas Carol published in?
      Victorian
    • what genre is a Christmas Carol?
      Allegorical, a ghost story
    • Where was a Christmas Carol set?
      victorian London
    • What structure is a Christmas Carol?
      Five Stave novella
    • The industrial revolution and capitalism in a Christmas Carol
      There were increased poverty levels and crime in the cities
      growth and capitalism- the belief in making the greatest possible profits for the owners of production.
    • The ‘ hungry fourties’
      The novella is set in the 1840s a period known as the ’hungry fourties’
      Characters like ignorance and want are symbolic of the plight of the poor and their starvation.
    • Sketches by “Boz”
      A collection of short pieces of Dickens works of non-fiction illustrating London city life.
      In a Christmas Carol, the London setting allows Dickens to show exaggerated extremes of poverty.
    • The new Poor law, 1834
      In order to deter poor people from claiming financial help, the government made claimants live in workhouses, essentially prison for the poor.
      Dickens hated this law, he spent 1843 touring factories and mines in England and wished to highlight the situation facing poor people.
    • Malthusianism
      Malthus warned that the industrial revolution would lead to population growth, which would ultimately cause starvation and disease due to a shortage of resources for everyone
    • Christmas values
      Dickens contributed to a more secular (non-religious) Christmas based on the values of goodwill, benevolence and forgiveness. This imagery (food, decorations, music) is used throughout the Novella.
    • Victorian childhoods
      Education was not compulsory. Children born into poverty would be expected to work from Young. Dickens believed how society treated its children was the true test of that society is moral worth. As a result, childhood innocence is central to Dickens Works
    • The supernatural
      Victorian Society was fascinated by the supernatural
      The belief was heavily influenced by the church, with the long-standing belief that ghosts were souls who were trapped in purgatory.
    • Dickens big ideas in a Christmas Carol
      Dickens convey the message that everybody is capable of redemption
    • Dickens big ideas in a Christmas Carol
      Dickens emphasises the need for social responsibility and charity
    • Dickens big ideas in a Christmas Carol
      Dickens highlights the importance of family and friendship
    • Dickens methods in a Christmas Carol
      Dickens uses the spirits to propel Scrooges redemption
    • Dickens methods in a Christmas Carol
      Dickens uses contrast to highlight social inequality and the redemption of Scrooge
    • Dickens methods in a Christmas Carol
      The intrusive omniscient narrator provides the reader with social commentary
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