context

Question 1

Industrial revolution

Answer 1

Ushered huge economic and social change.
For many, this drastic conversion from traditional, manual labour to machine-driven intensive labour was often highly dangerous.
Child labour became commonplace in factories
The gap between upper and lower classes was expanded by the increase of production in factories

Question 2

Poor law

Answer 2

This 1834 law largely prevented money from going directly to the poor.
It was established the workhouse system, which acted more as a prison than refuge for the sick, elderly and poor.
Workhouses were harsh conditions: families were separated, belongings were sold and hard labour was enforced. They were deliberately designed to be cruel so that only the most desperate would enter.

Question 3

Christianity and redemption

Answer 3

Victorians were devout Christians.
In 1848, the royal family revolutionised the concept of Christmas. the general population embraced Christmas and started tradition of decorating Christmas trees.
Dicken’s disagreed with blue laws, this is represented through the Ghost of Christmas present who arguably emphasises Dicken’s authorial voice

Question 4

Mortality

Answer 4

There were high rates of child morality in victorian England, especially in cities. This was due to malnourishment, overcrowded and unsanitary living conditions (e.g. cholera, typhus), and the lack of access to clean water and adequate medical care

Question 5

Relationships and family

Answer 5

Victorians generally had large famillies.
Family provided a retreat from stress and turmoil of the industrial world as it was a stabilising force