Pivots & social responsibility Flashcards
Dickens presents the poor as people who need help and that they are not inferior people.
Quote 1: “hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts” - Charity Gentleman
emphasises the extent of poverty in Victorian society
Quote 2: “I can’t afford to make idle people merry” - Scrooge
Scrooge sees poor people as lazy and that they arent working hard
He thinks that they don’t deserve to be helped
Dickens descibes how eveyone has a social responsibility to care for those who are less fortunate.
Quote 1: “every person has a right to take care of themselves. He always did!” - Charwoman
Scrooge never helped the poor so she is just doing what he did: help themsleves.
Quote 2: “why did I walk through crowds of fellow beings with my eyes turned down?” - Marley’s Ghost
Marley regrets not helping other people and only caring for himself like Scrooge does
He is now having his soul tormented when he is dead beacause of this
He is warning Scrooge and the reader that this will happen to them if they also don’t help the poor
