A Christmas Carol A Study of Class

A Christmas Carol A Study of Class

Robert Barnes South University Online Introduction to Sociology 12/30/2011

A Christmas Carol A Study of Class In this discussion of Patrick Stewarts rendition of the movie A Christmas Carol, I will focus on the class systems that were highlighted and thrive to give a sociological prospective of what this class system included as the different class of people that made up the society in this movie that is centered around England during the 19th century. I will also touch on the philosophical

views that maintained this class system that included a brief covering of a chaste system in which Ebenezer Scrooge was born into, and made him apart of the fortunate view in the wig class of society, and Ebenezer Scrooge will be the host for the philosophical views shared by the upper class group of people.

What are the classes of people covered or portrayed in this movie? As we take a look at A Christmas Carol we can see a great division in the classes, from the upper class wig party which comprise the white collar workers such as the book keepers, stock brokers and lawyers to the middle class which comprised the clerks, mortuary workers, school teachers and church ministers, and last but not least the lower class and poor people which comprised the blue collar workers such as the barter traders, work houses and prison system. As we look at these classes we can also see the boundaries that restricted a lot of upward mobility in transitioning from the poor and lower class worker status to a more prosperous class unless you were very fortunate to marry into a better class of people.

As we take a look at Ebenezer Scrooge, we can see that he was indeed a very fortunate lad that was born into the class highly educated Yale School graduates that later took on the employment to the status of a Book Keeper and or tax assessor. We also see one little hint of a possible instance of upward mobility with his promise to marry a poor lower class worker girl,

A Christmas Carol A Study of Class when she offer to release him from his promise to marry her upon noticing the change from a more noble young man to one who was obsessed with the acquisition of wealth, and thus forgot the finer things in life that makes life worth living. We also see the great struggle for the lower class workers to survive, and even the middle class workers like Bob Cratchit who was subdued to the assimilation to the status of a lower class worker through Ebenezers stingy wage system to his clerk, and the fact that his daughter had to work to keep the family afloat underscores Ebenezers stingy dealings with Bob Cratchit.

What are the philosophical views toward the classes that are expressed through Ebenezer Scrooge? All of us know people who work at low-wage jobs as waitresses at diners, clerks at drive-throughs, or sales associates at discount stores such as Wal-Mart. We see such people just about every day. Many of us actually are such people. In the United States, common sense tells us that the jobs people have and the amount of money they make reflect their personal abilities as well as their willingness to work hard. (Pg. 9, Society the basics, Introduction to Sociology textbook)

When a charitable organization came to visit Scrooge at the office of Scrooge and Marley in order to get donations to help the poor, we see this very pervasive view of success when Mr. Scrooge deny them of any donations from him, and he tell them that he doesnt make himself merry on Christmas and that he cannot afford to make idol people merry. He also tells them that he supports the institutions of the work houses and prisons, and that any one that is worse off should utilize those institutions. The two charity workers tell him that many cannot go to these

A Christmas Carol A Study of Class places and many others would rather die, then Mr. Scrooge in response to their interjection said that they should do it then and decrease the surplus of the population.

What were my feelings toward these old views of hard work being the key to success?

I feel that this view was very short sited as we see in the work sociologist in their experiments that show that people of the lower working class group do indeed work very hard with no hope of upward mobility through promotions and benefits. As we look at the past work of sociologist we find that educational opportunities were what really set the classes apart from one another. I find it to be very judgmental and critical and a bit ignorant to hold the views that Mr. Scrooge held until the Christmas spirits corrected him of this very nano-view (short sited view) that he was holding on to.

As we see in the visitations to Scrooge from the spirit of Jacob Marley and the Christmas spirits, it is very important to bless others through the power and things the Lord has blessed you with, and if you dont as Marley warned Scrooge, when you die you are cursed to roam the earth and see what you cannot share in with others that you could have shared in with people while you were living.

A Christmas Carol A Study of Class References

Sociology Text Book Society: The Basics eBook for Education Management Corporation [10] (VitalSource Bookshelf), Retrieved from http://digitalbookshelf.southuniversity.edu/books/0558563139/id/ch01lev1sec1 This is the foundational source for the study of the subject of sociology.