Theme of povert and social injustuce:

• Scrooge:

  • represent the selfish attitude of the upper class within Victorian society.
  • This is made apparent when he argues with the charity collectors in Stave One as he refers to the poor as "the surplus population".
  • appears after the unsympathetic description of Scrooge's character.
  • This highlights Dickens' disapproval of this widespread viewpoint from the opening of the text.
• As the novella progresses:

  • Scrooge begins to transform.
  • Following his redemption in the final stave his attitudes towards social injustice have also changed.
  • This highlights the idea that being socially conscious is the ideal, as this is a quality which is present in Scrooge after his redemption.
• Ignorance and want:

  • View permissions or the poor in society
  • The children may be representative of the ignorance' that many of the upper class had towards the plight of the poor.
  • idea of 'want' may represent the selfishness that they display and their uncharitable attitudes.
  • Dickens heightens the effect that this has by detailing that both 'Ignorance' and 'Want' are children.
  • provoke a powerful response from readers due to the subverted descriptions and protective instinct that readers are likely to feel towards them.
• • The Cratchit Family :

  • lives of those living in poverty when Mrs Cratchit shares her anxieties about Christmas dinner.
  • She worries that someone might have "got over the wall of the back-yard and stolen it".
  • appear to be a criticism of the poor, it is entirely more plausible to argue that Dickens is simply highlighting the realities of poverty in Victorian society.
  • portrays the lengths that people are forced to go to in order to feed themselves and families,
  • contributing to the idea that poverty breeds crime.
  • present the idea that poverty is an issue so should be prioritised