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Humanity And Social Responsibility In A Christmas Carol By Charles Dickens

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Christmas carol is an allegorical tale to teach the reader the importance of kindness and social responsibility. Dicken’s is allegorical tale exposes the social injustice that pervaded Victorian society as a result of greed. Dickens constructs this character of Scrooge to expose the mass ignorance that purveyed in the upper classes particularly towards the workhouses. Throughout the play, we see a reoccurring neglect for kindness particularly within Scrooge’s words and actions being a part of the upper class in Victorian England. However, the ghosts enlighten Scrooge on his impacts on society and unveil the importance of social responsibility and kindness towards the population around him, providing hope for society. In stave one, we see Scrooge …show more content…

This quote acts as a warning to scrooge, in an attempt to deter him from a similar fate as that of Marley; if he doesn’t present kindness within his community, his overarching fate will also not be so kind. However, Scrooge represses his dolour for Marley's death making him an unkind person. The length and weight of the chains highlights the repercussions that will be faced due to his misery and greed. In my opinion, by Marley providing this warning to Scrooge, not only does it foreshadow the future but conveys a sense of kindness from Marley as he doesn’t want Scrooge to end up like him - he's looking out for Scrooge. We know Dickens experienced the repercussions of the 1834 poor law, where he alongside many others were kept in gruelling hubs of swaller to survive due to their class. I feel these connotations of imprisonment through the chains could also represent the imprisonment he felt in the workhouses as repercussions of the naivety and lack of kindness the upper class had towards lower classes. Despite the fact Marley does “wear” these chains in a literal sense, it can also be seen metaphorically with connotations of christianity. In the eyes of Christianity, Marley is stuck in a purgatory state forever as a consequence of his past actions, which was a widespread idea during this period- lack of kindness and social responsibility. Each link of the chain represents Marley’s miserly actions

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