Theme: Poverty Flashcards
Why was Dickens so interested in talking about poverty
He went through poverty as a child
His poverty experience made him critical of the way the Victorian society treated it’s poorest people
What led to him working at the age of 12
Dicken’s father was imprisoned due to debt and his irresponsibility financially, his whole family went to live in prison with his father except for dickens who worked with other child laborers in a blacking warehouse
What happened after his father was released?
After three months, his father was released from prison and had inherited a bit of money which he used to send Dickens to school. Here he finally got an education
What happened after his father was released?
After three months, his father was released from prison and had inherited a bit of money which he used to send Dickens to school. Here he finally got an education
What did he believe the wealthy people should do?
Believed that it was the responsibility of the wealthy to aid the poor in need
He believed if the wealthy did not help and ignored the poverty, bigger problems would occur
What had started the poverty
The industrial revolution
How did the Industrial revolution impact poverty?
The industrial revolution had increased job opportunities in the secondary sector. Loads of people would leave farming jobs and enter manufacturing. Lots of factory type of jobs were available as more owners were opening them up. However, the owners were very covetous about money, they had exploited the workers leading to the increase in poverty.
It also created a huge gap between the rich and the poor, where the lower class who struggled surviving in extreme poverty relied on the upper classes
Poverty impact on workers
Most workers had migrated from the rural areas into the city for secondary jobs. As many of them had migrated in, overpopulation started to rise. People had to live in slums with their and other families and would have to share one tap and toilet. These led to hunger, disease and even crime throughout the cities. Even in their jobs, they were not being paid enough as they were exploited by the factory owners
What theory is Dickens attacking about poverty and overpopulation
Malthus theory
What theory is Dickens attacking about poverty and overpopulation
Malthus theory
What is the Malthus theory
Thomas Malthus, an economist, made a theory which he stated the correlation between resources and population. He claims that the rise of human population will always be much faster than resources
Who did Malthus represent
Malthus’ views are a reflection of the upper class and Scrooge’s views of the lower working class
What did Malthus + scrooge believe in?
Both believed that poverty was inevitable result of overpopulation
Malthus argued that families were the issue and having less children would easy the rise
Also believed the poor laws were too charitable
Why did Dickens go against the Malthus theory
He believed that the Malthus theory was wrong and that there was plenty of food only if the rich were generous to share it out
How did the wealthy view the poor laws
Upper class and the wealthy (including scrooge and Malthus) believed that the poor laws were too charitable
They believed that they promoted laziness and money spending in poverty
