Dickens' Family Life

What type of family was Dickens born into?

A middle-class family

Why did Dickens value education?

Because he was sent to school due to being born into a middle class family

Where was Dicken’s father sent?

Debtor’s Prison

What is the Cratchit house based on?

Dickens’ own home growing up as Dickens’ father was also a clerk like Bob Cratchit

Where was Dickens sent at age 12?

A blacking factory to live and work by himself

What was Dickens experiences at the black factory?

He endured the appalling working conditions that many of the poor faced in the Victorian times. This experience gave him another view of society as he experienced poverty first hand.

After 3 years at the factory, what happened to Dickens?

His father inherited some money so Dickens was able to return to education. Perhaps this experience highlighted the unjust inequalities of life between the rich and the poor, as Dickens was forced to work when in financial difficulty but was able to enjoy an education after receiving money.

How are the negative aspects of Dicken’s childhood mirrored?

Through the character of Scrooge

How is the reader (of ACC) able to witness Scrooge’s own childhood?

Through the Ghost of Christmas Past

Why is the audience empathetic to the character of Scrooge?

He’s described to be “a lonely boy” who “read near a feeble fire” which portrays him as vulnerable

What is the effect of the portrayal of Scrooges childhood on the reader?

To show how Scrooges childhood experiences shaped him. While education might’ve been a dark time for Scrooge, it also enabled him to have a successful career, something that the working class couldn’t get the opportunity to.