How has life changed for ordinary people since A Christmas Carol was written?

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How has life changed for ordinary people since

A Christmas Carol was written?

   A Christmas Carol was written by the author Charles Dickens in 1843. It is a story of a man called Scrooge who is a very miserable and selfish. His attitude causes three spirits to visit him to help him change into a better person and bring happiness to him and other people.

   Life in Victorian Britain was far less luxurious and technical than life we live today as we can see through looking at A Christmas Carol. Things we take for granted now, such as running hot water, central heating, cheap electricity, modern transport and other everyday items either weren’t invented then or were too expensive for most people in the Victorian era to afford. The lifestyles of the Victorians and how we live today have changed dramatically. In the Victorian times to see poor people in the streets was very common.

              (1)     “a party of ragged men and boys were gathered.”

     Poor people would gather in the streets, sometimes warming themselves by a fire, trying to enjoy each others company and their lives, even though they had nothing. Today a poor person living on the streets is not so common. Today they either beg or play music to make money or even sell the Big Issue.

      Poor people in the time of the Victorians would go to the shops and offer to do little jobs which the shop owner did not want to do or did not like doing. One job, which was offered, was to cook bread overnight for the baker so it was fresh to sell in the morning. This also meant the baker had enough bread for the morning rush. Poor children were given the job of selling things on the street for different shops. They would not go to school, as they did not need education for what they did.

             (2)   “In 1851, there were 30`000 children street sellers in

                      London”

     Children would work very long hours if they were poor, up to 7am to 5pm for some.

  Poor people were helped by the government in the Victorian times. Rich people had to pay a tax which was given to poor people to stop the from starving. To get the poor tax money they had to go into the workhouse if they were fit to work. This is very different now but runs on the same idea. If people do not work they can qualify for the dole, if they cannot get a job after trying. They are given a certain set amount of money to live off through the week. This is funded from tax payers money.

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  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 ...

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