Ignorance and Want

they are allegorical characters which dickens aims to

highlight the unjustified abuse on innocent children as a result of poverty

the children are described as “yellow” the colour could imply

that they are physically sick and malnourished because of society’s neglection and the obliviousness of individuals to social injustices

scrooge is upon levels standing over the children

who are “knelt down”, clearly demonstrating how the upper class enable and perpetrate this poverty

the “yellow” colour of the children connotes

sickness, mirroring how the upper class saw poverty almost alike to a contagious disease or illness

“scowling” and “wolfish” is an

animalistic portrayal of the children - poverty dehumanises individuals, stripping them of their humanity and reducing them to a less than animalistic state of being. this is an attack on the rich’s cruel treatment of the lower classes

the children are symbolic of the issues that

plague mankind, they are described as “monsters” demonstrating their danger to society as a whole

ignorance and want are the literal

manifestations of the key factors that contribute to poverty. as the plight of the poor has been overlooked due to upper class’s ignorance, leading to the issue being developed further and the greed they display prevents them from aiding the needy