A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Thread

[Yacoubb]

Thanks guys

What about for "lower class"?
Can I use "hoi polloi" in the same context?

Financially struggling/disadvantaged/disabled, poor, impoverished
(These can be used for instance when talking about the Cratchits)
^^ That should work!

[Cort]

The penury, impoverished, destitute, lower strata, or if you want some fancy french language, 'cul de sac'.

[Blondie21]

For the prompt "Scrooge’s change of heart owes more to guilt than compassion. Discuss", what are some arguments which would agree that Scrooge was motivated by compassion, rather than greed?

I have so many arguments for greed and would love to hear your suggestions :-)

[Rishi97]

For the prompt "Scrooge’s change of heart owes more to guilt than compassion. Discuss", what are some arguments which would agree that Scrooge was motivated by compassion, rather than greed?

I have so many arguments for greed and would love to hear your suggestions :-)

Here's what I think:
Scrooge decided to become a father figure for "Tiny Tim" after his change. He could've easily just given the Crachit family some money and walked away

[Blondie21]

Here's what I think:
Scrooge decided to become a father figure for "Tiny Tim" after his change. He could've easily just given the Crachit family some money and walked away

Haha i've already planned on writing that he only did this becaues of his GUILT. If Scrooge had remained his previous, greedy self, Tiny Tim would have died.

.. Can you think of anything else? If not I will just change my plan

[Rishi97]

Haha i've already planned on writing that he only did this becaues of his GUILT. If Scrooge had remained his previous, greedy self, Tiny Tim would have died.

.. Can you think of anything else? If not I will just change my plan

Would you say it was for guilt? I believe that before Scrooge transformed, he was just a greedy, selfish old man who didn't care for others. So even if tiny tim died, would it have made a difference to him if he hadn't undergone that change? From the first place, Scrooge wasn't upholding that social responsibility was he?

[Blondie21]

Would you say it was for guilt? I believe that before Scrooge transformed, he was just a greedy, selfish old man who didn't care for others. So even if tiny tim died, would it have made a difference to him if he hadn't undergone that change? From the first place, Scrooge wasn't upholding that social responsibility was he?

Mmm I was going to argue that once Scrooge was aware that his greedy mindset was going to inevitably cause the young death of Tiny Tim, he felt guilty and therefore changed. Because of his inability to provide Bob Cratchit with a decent salary, the Cratchit family were unable to provide the proper care for Tiny Tim.. causing his decease...

Buttttttttttt I've decided to change it and use this evidence for compassion

[mikehepro]

Well rather than focusing on Tiny Tim, personally i felt that he felt guilt while the ghosts bought him to various scenes. Remember the parts where he feel guilt for his attitude towards the caroling boy, his guilt of his horrible treatment of Bob, his guilt for letting greed consume him and lose the chance to live a happy, fulfilled life. Oh and also the part where he felt guilt for being such a "merciless" money lender since the couple were happy that he died. ( i don't know if i'm over thinking it but i'm pretty sure that was implied)
The more i write, the close it's merging to regret. I found that these two are very similar in a sense but are also different things.

[Blondie21]

Well rather than focusing on Tiny Tim, personally i felt that he felt guilt while the ghosts bought him to various scenes. Remember the parts where he feel guilt for his attitude towards the caroling boy, his guilt of his horrible treatment of Bob, his guilt for letting greed consume him and lose the chance to live a happy, fulfilled life. Oh and also the part where he felt guilt for being such a "merciless" money lender since the couple were happy that he died. ( i don't know if i'm over thinking it but i'm pretty sure that was implied)
The more i write, the close it's merging to regret. I found that these two are very similar in a sense but are also different things.

Yeah defs!! I really like those points

What would you write to disagree with this prompt? What do you think about the argument that Scrooge truly felt empathy for society due to the hardships that they were condemned to face (e.g. Tiny Tim, poverty of many, the streets of Stave 4)?

[Blondie21]

Can someone please read over my intro?

The bleak hardships of the lower class during Industrial England prompted the upper class to either alter themselves due to their empathy or due to their individual regret. Within A Christmas Carol, Dickens explores the catalyst for change and what an individual’s transformation is dependent on. Once Scrooge is exposed to the harsh living standards of the lower class, he develops sincere empathy for their suffering and alters his mindset. In addition, the kind nature of the community persuades Scrooge to also become compassionate, as this behaviour is praised within society. However, Scrooge also recognises the mistakes he has made in the past and thus attempts to aid those he feels guilty for. Hence, an individual’s metamorphosis can be the result of either true care or due to the regret of one’s own wrongdoing.

[mikehepro]

Yeah defs!! I really like those points

What would you write to disagree with this prompt? What do you think about the argument that Scrooge truly felt empathy for society due to the hardships that they were condemned to face (e.g. Tiny Tim, poverty of many, the streets of Stave 4)?

Yah i think that's fine. Is there a lot of evidence that explicitly states that he felt empathy for the society in general? Also think about it in another angle, people felt pity and empathy toward him in the first place, for example his nephew Fred, felt pity towards Uncle Scrooge, there should be a quote " i pity him" or something. Maybe you could say that he saw that his own behavior resulted into his nephew's sympathy. (might be a weak point tho, just an epiphany that i came up with just then)

Personally how i would of wrote/planned it as : yes, guilt is definitely a major factor towards his change, then we talk about compassion;However, is there something more to it? Is it  just guilt and compassion alone that changed him??? What about fear? The fear of death, the fear of loneliness, the fear of the future of the society? I don't know if this might be a bit off track or not but personally that's how i approach it. I'm not that good at English anyway, (doing ESL), so ask your teacher to double check

[mikehepro]

Can someone please read over my intro?

The bleak hardships of the lower class during Industrial England prompted the upper class to either alter themselves due to their empathy or due to their individual regret. Within A Christmas Carol, Dickens explores the catalyst for change and what an individual’s transformation is dependent on. Once Scrooge is exposed to the harsh living standards of the lower class, he develops sincere empathy for their suffering and alters his mindset. In addition, the kind nature of the community persuades Scrooge to also become compassionate, as this behaviour is praised within society. However, Scrooge also recognises the mistakes he has made in the past and thus attempts to aid those he feels guilty for. Hence, an individual’s metamorphosis can be the result of either true care or due to the regret of one’s own wrongdoing.

I can't help you with this ahhaha sorry,i have ideas but honestly i can not tell the difference between a 5/10 and a 8/10 essay. Maybe post in the English work and submission board might yield greater success.

[Blondie21]

Yah i think that's fine. Is there a lot of evidence that explicitly states that he felt empathy for the society in general? Also think about it in another angle, people felt pity and empathy toward him in the first place, for example his nephew Fred, felt pity towards Uncle Scrooge, there should be a quote " i pity him" or something. Maybe you could say that he saw that his own behavior resulted into his nephew's sympathy. (might be a weak point tho, just an epiphany that i came up with just then)

Personally how i would of wrote/planned it as : yes, guilt is definitely a major factor towards his change, then we talk about compassion;However, is there something more to it? Is it  just guilt and compassion alone that changed him??? What about fear? The fear of death, the fear of loneliness, the fear of the future of the society? I don't know if this might be a bit off track or not but personally that's how i approach it. I'm not that good at English anyway, (doing ESL), so ask your teacher to double check

Haha seems like you are going to smash ESL I really like the idea of exploring fear.. however, the prompt is 'compassion' or 'guilt' and I'm pretty sure my teacher would freak out if I discussed something different Nevertheless, they are great ideas!!

[Rishi97]

What does the Crachit family represent?
Deatailed and in-depth responses appreciated 

[Edward Elric]

What does the Crachit family represent?
Deatailed and in-depth responses appreciated 

The Cratchit family represents the virtuous, deserving lower class at the time. They work hard, and are contented with what they have, despite living in their extreme state of poverty. Bob Cratchit is loyal to Scrooge, a kind husband and father uninterested in worldly possessions and embodies the perfect victorian worker. They reinforce the values of togetherness and family in contrast to Scrooge's abandonment and loneliness that Dickens wanted for his readership to adopt They demonstrate how money and material gooda are not necessarily towards true happiness, as they themselvea are 'happy, grateful, pleased with one another and contented with the time'.