In Victorian times, many people saw the poor as “undeserving,” they were viewed as lazy and idle. This view is shown by Scrooge when he says
“I can’t afford to make idle people merry.” People believed the poor should go to the workhouses to keep them off the streets,
(3) “those who are badly off must go there.”
In this way consciences were eased and the streets were kept tidy.
The role of the worker was to work as hard as they could to impress their employer. This was important for poor people so they did not get sacked and have to beg or go to the workhouse. They would do anything their employer said and were not allowed to leave off work until their boss agreed. They were not paid overtime and often were taken advantage of and worked extra time, as they wanted to keep their jobs.
(4) “Be here all the earlier the next morning”
In A Christmas Carol a good example of the Victorian worker is Bob Cratchit. Scrooge did not want him to have leave on Christmas day and even worse, get leave on Christmas day and be paid. The workers worked all through the year without holidays.
(5) “ I suppose it is only once a year.”
Nowadays workers are treated much better. They are allowed at least four weeks holiday over the whole year. They are given an hour lunch break if working through the day. A minimum wage is also made available which is the least an employer can pay a worker for an hours work. This is to make sure workers are not paid too poorly. If a worker works more time than they are contracted to they are paid overtime.
Victorian houses were very small, in poor houses there would be a whole family cramped into one room. In the room there would be all their possessions, including their cooking utensils, bathing materials and all other items. They did not have proper fresh water to drink, some houses did not have running water in their house. They had to go and queue up at the nearest pump in the early morning. Some houses had no proper toilet facilities and would have to use a pot. The houses were built poorly.
(6) “The walls are only half a brick thick (4 inches)
They are built back to back like a honey comb.”
This made the houses very cold and they were unprotected from the weather. The middle class houses were fairly big and were comfortable and tidy all the time. Middle class people would have maids to help keep their house in shape and to cook and serve up their food, but the servants were treated poorly.
(7) “I haven’t much faith in these young housekeepers”
They were wealthy enough to afford electricity, which was very expensive and rare in these times. Some had insurance on their house and on other possessions they treasured.
Middle class people were always well dressed and kept up with the latest fashion; they would change their clothes everyday.
(8) “his waistcoat, tights and boots, and his
coat skirts.”
They liked to be dressed to the highest standard and to be clean and hygienic. They would wash or have a bath everyday.
Middle class people’s lives today are similar to those in Victorian times. Victorian houses were very tidy and spacious like those which many middle class people live in today. Other things that are very similar to middle class life today are that people like to wear fashionable clothes and to be hygienic. Modern house’s style is the same with quite a lot of rooms that are tidy and the house being quite well built. I feel that in another way Victorian lives were quite different and their style of living was of a higher quality. The reason I think this is because they had “maids and servants,” to help keep their house tidy and well kept. Also they had electricity which was very rare and expensive and also electrical appliances which were very expensive. If anything it appears that they were comparatively wealthier in their time than middle class people are today.
The difference between poor people and middle class people has dramatically changed over the years. Nowadays you see only a few people living on the streets rather than then, when to see someone living on the streets was not uncommon. The middle class people in Victorian times appear to be better off as their possessions seem to be more expensive in their time than possessions middle class people own today. For example, Scrooge’s nephew owned many instruments which must have been quite expensive.
(9) “harp, piano and fiddle.”
The number of poor people living on the streets today has considerably reduced since the Victorian era, making the value of a poor person’s life much higher. The standard of living that middle class people have seems as though it has dropped. This makes the gap between the value of a poor person’s life and that of a middle class person’s life much smaller.
The Christmas period had a lot of meaning to the Victorians. They were very religious and Christmas meant a lot to them. They would make the most of Christmas time to make everybody happy and they would try to have a joyful time together. It proves how the meaning of Christmas has changed over time. They used to be very religious by going to church on Christmas day, walking through the streets to wish each person a “Merry Christmas.” Now Christmas has changed and many people stay at home with family and do not go to church. Christmas has lost its religious meaning to many people.
Even poor people would make the most of Christmas like Bob Cratchit.
(10) “A Merry Christmas to us all, my dears,
God Bless us!”
They would make the most of Christmas time and try to forget their sorrows of being poor and little Tim Cratchit being a cripple and that he was going to die soon. The Christmas spirit seems to have been continued through the years, to try to bring happiness to everyone on the same day.
I think that life for us now has changed for the better and is much easier. I have found out that human nature is the one part of our lives that has not changed. I think this as today we still stop and chat in the street with one another about normal everyday things.
(11) “Good afternoon and a Happy New Year.”
This is something you would say if you saw someone you knew in the street.
I think the way we live our lives is the only part of our lives which is different from then to now. Victorians value different items from which we value now. The items, which we value now, are to make our lives easier and to be more enjoyable. The items Victorians valued were the items which were needed to run their lives properly. I think all that has changed is everything has modernised through time. I don’t think our attitude to people has changed. Victorians and people today still have similar attitudes. They think more about their own lives than those who are less well off than themselves. Those who have more are not usually prepared to share in order to make everyone’s lives better.
Bibliography
- A Christmas Carol
- A Victorian Street Seller
- Encarta 98
- A Christmas Carol
- A Christmas Carol
- Spotlight on the Victorians
- A Christmas Carol
- A Christmas Carol
- A Christmas Carol
(10) A Christmas Carol
(11) A Christmas Carol