explore how Dickens presents the suffering of the poor in A Christmas Carol. HELP!!!!

I have attatched the extract but I really need a response or ideas that would help me get a 7 or higher. PLEASE CAN SOMEONE HELP ME!!!

Reply 1

lkshmiseta

Clearly Dickens personifies 'ignorance' and 'want" as children. He shows them as "wretched, abject, frightful, hideous and miserable". Each one of these words creates an image in our mind about the state of children . Wretched meaning of poor quality/ unhappy- or unfortunate state
abject -extremely unpleasant or degrading; frightful -serious of shocking, horrible etc; hideous- extremely ugly or unpleasant; miserable - being in a pitiable state of distress or unhappiness.
by using these five adjectives Dickens draws a powerful word picture of the life of the poor people. The have no hope, no happiness, no pleasures, live in filth and are constantly hungry, cold, scared, as they do not have enough food or shelter.

The ghost shows them as "yellow, meagre, ragged, scowling, wolfish bit prostate". yellow as in having fever or never being out in the sun to enjoy sunshine; meagre - very little, small size, not fully grown due to less food and lack of nutritious healthy diet; ragged- clothes that are torn, dirty, filthy and not covering them from the cold, rain and harsh weather; scowling- angry at their pitiful state ; wolfish - willing to do anything just to fill their stomach; yet prostate -because they know they are dependent on the goodness of other people and not their skill (minimal as it is with the lack of education and opportunity to better themselves)

This poignant picture that Dickens delineates for Scrooge is a warning of the state of the people in England. This is a theme that can be seen repeatedly addressed in the book with the Bob Cratchit's family esp. 'Tiny Tim'- their poverty and his illness: the rejection by Scrooge to donate for the feeding of poor.
Other books written by Dickens like 'Oliver Twist' and ' Great Expectation" also deal with issues of poverty.
I would say however Dickens takes an optimistic view by portraying human being as not existing in isolation but rather as a group, helping each other and finding joy in small things.

I hope this helps you to get started with expressing your own views

Reply 2

Kerzen

Original post by hakeema0007

I have attatched the extract but I really need a response or ideas that would help me get a 7 or higher. Add me on snapchat hakeemhali if possible as I am more active on there. PLEASE CAN SOMEONE HELP ME!!!

Which board is this?

Reply 3

hakeema0007

Original post by Kerzen

Which board is this?

AQA

Reply 4

hakeema0007

Original post by lkshmiseta

You are such a life saver thank you so much!

Reply 5

Nianana8392

Original post by hakeema0007

You are such a life saver thank you so much!

Are you gonna just memorise the notes regarding this exam question or other stuff too?

Ed excel

is this a past paper? which one?

Reply 8

niamhcarymck

what grade/mark would this be?

Reply 9

Jamestheboss05

Original post by niamhcarymck

what grade/mark would this be?

I dont think this is a proper answer, I believe it is just some key ideas which can be used to inform your own answer. But they are great points...

Reply 10

ri.sh

That was a quick essay plan I did and it came up in my mocks and the plan rlly helps to write so much more in a shorter time. Hope this helps someone!!

Hard To Read Lad

please could you write how you started it eg Dickens presents the suffering of the poor as...

Reply 13

ri.sh

Original post by BigWillyWilson

Hard To Read Lad

sorry i cant rlly make it any clearer

Reply 14

ri.sh

Original post by patrick7505

please could you write how you started it eg Dickens presents the suffering of the poor as...

If u mean the intro, I put: (sos its rlly bad)

Dickens presents the ideas about the suffering of the poor as a key theme in a Christmas carol and an important lesson scrooge must understand if he wants to be redeemed. Dickens tries to show the reader the extent to which the suffering of the poor is ignored by the rich and the effects of it on society and the collateral damage it causes. He also highlights not only the religious effects of sin ( going to hell and suffering after death as Marley did) but also the implications it has on you and those around you when you are alive. He makes it clear that it is important to come to an understanding of oneself through the journey of redemption but to come to the understanding of others also.

Hope that helps!

Reply 15

aaisha.15x

Hii, how much would i have to write in this answer to get a pass? at least a 4/5

Reply 16

ri.sh

Original post by aaisha.15x

Hii, how much would i have to write in this answer to get a pass? at least a 4/5

Well our teachers are aiming for us to get eights/nines and so we have to do 7-8 paragraphs in total:
-Intro
-Three paragraphs on the extract
-two/Three paragraphs on the rest of the novel
(In any order that works)
-Conclusion

If you aim high then even if you miss that goal you won't be too far off so I recommend u aim for an eight/nine of u want to guarantee 4/5 or even higher - just some quick advice

If u are aiming for a 4/5 then I guess a simple intro and conclusion alongside 5 paragraphs of analysis is probably what Ur looking at because marks are given mainly based off levels of analysis than how much you write if that makes sense

Reply 17

mxa txrx oxx

november 2020 paper 1 english lit

Reply 18

mxa txrx oxx

Original post by aaisha.15x

Hii, how much would i have to write in this answer to get a pass? at least a 4/5

intro
2 paragraphs extract
2 paragraphs whole play
conclusion
^^ easiest way if ur paragraphs are vague and lack high analysis. ik bcs I struggle too.