Poverty Flashcards
What was the Poor Law Amendment act of 1834?
(AO3)
The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 was an act passed by the Parliament in an attempt to reduce the cost of looking after the Poor. If people wanted help, they’d need to go to a workhouse. However, the condiitons in these workhouses were so terrible that only people who desperately needed help went there as a last resort.
Extensive Allegory - Scrooge
- Dickens creates an extensive allegory which criticizes the disregard society has for the poor.
- Dickens uses Scrooge as a symbol for the ignorant upper classes who are blind to the misfortunes of the poor
- Through Scrooge, Dicekns calls for a morale change in the wealthy
Ignorance and Want
'’Th– b– – ——- —- – —- —— — —’’
’‘This boy is Ignorance - most of all beware the boy’‘
- Dickens is suggesting that Ignorance and Want are metaphorically the children of mankind. He claims the ‘‘ignorance’ of the rich will lead to ‘‘doom”
Ignorance and Want
'’wr—— frigh—– h——’’
'’wretched, frightful and hideous’‘
The implication is that these traits are the creation of society due to their ill treatment of the poor.
(AO3) The harsh reality that Dickens highlights is that there are children who are suffering to this extent and have nowhere to turn to as a result of the Poor Law and the Ignorance of upper classes.
Stave 4 - Living Conditions
'’r—- w— cr—-, with f—- and m—–’’
'’reeked with crime, filth and misery’‘
The triplet shows the inhumane lifestyle that people endured and brings shame to the Upper Classes.
Stave 1 - Charity
'’m— th—— a– – —- – —— ——-‘’
’‘many thousands are in want of common necessaries’‘
This emphasises how many people are in poverty. ‘‘want’‘ links to the child, a manifestation of the poor’s needs. ‘‘necessaries’‘ shows they aren’t asking for much and yet the Poor Law was still created as a result of the Upper Class’ selfishness. Dickens is highlighting here how unjust society is.
The Cratchits are the face of poverty in the Novella.
Clothing - Mrs Cratchit is ‘‘b—- – ——’’
Peter is wearing a ——- —- —- and is described as ‘‘ga—— ——-‘’
- Mrs Cratchit is '’brave in ribbons’‘ but they represent her desperation to look respectable.
- Again, Peter is wearing a second hand coat and is described as ‘‘gallantly attired’‘.
- The commonplace theme is bravery - as if those in poverty shouldn’t be dressing nicely - The Cratchit Family is just being ‘‘brave’ and defying the status-quo. They won’t let their financial situation hold them back.
- Alternatively, the bravery could represent their fight against struggle in their lives in poverty - Dickens praises their resilience and their determination to live a normal life.
Pudding is ‘’s—- f– a —– fa—–’’
’‘small for a large family’‘
The juxtaposition between ‘‘small’’ and ‘‘large’’ is showing that, even though the pudding is small and likely won’t feed everyone, the love they have for one another is ‘‘large’'’enough that nobody is ungrateful.
This family is grateful for what they have - they drum home the central message of the novella; community and family is much more valuable than money.
Tiny Tim… embodiments of the ‘’s—– po——–’’ shames Scrooge.
The Poor are trapped in their situation, symbolised by Tiny Tim’s ‘‘li—- cr—- and i— fr—-‘’
- The physically disabled saintly child is a stock character from Victorian literature. Tim is used to provoke sympathy and elicit support for his social message – he is the embodiment of the ‘surplus population’. The economy valued those who could contribute physically and Dickens finds a use for such people – encourage charitable giving and support his moral message.
- The narrator comments on him being unable to work unaided, focusing on his ‘little crutch’ and ‘iron frame’ which entrap him as much as support him. This is a metaphor for the fact that the poor were trapped by their situation. Bob survived by working day to day on poor wages to maintain the living standard.
