Injustice anywhere is a
threat to justice everywhere.Social injustice means violation of the rights of others; unjust or unfair action or treatment.In Victorian age,Social
injustice was prevailing.The rise of Industrial Revolution had made people
capitalist and they exploited the lower class in form of labor.The lower class
men and most of them children were understood suitable to work in
industries.These things also increased the child labor which was criticised by
Charles Dickens in his literary work.
Charles Dickens was
a great writer of Victorian era.He explained about social classes,poverty,child
labor,lack of education and exploitation of masses in his writing.First of all,
I will want to discuss about social classes.
During the early part of the Victorian age only two percent of the population
formed the upper-class, which consisted of aristocrats and landed gentry whose
most distinctive feature was the fact that its members didn’t have to work for
a living but relied on rental revenues and the income of investments made
instead. The middle-
class formed roughly 15
percent of the population and consisted of those who ran their own businesses,
like factory owners or were professionals like teachers, surgeons or lawyers.
The majority of 73 percent of the population were considered as the
working-class, whose members were working for wages and were paid weekly or
monthly. It is important to mention that there was an internal distinction
between skilled and unskilled workers within this social class. Skilled workers
had learned a trade and therefore, made better wages than the vast group of
unskilled workers who had nothing but their physical strength to put into the
balance.Children were also used.Upper class was also the owner of industries.They had
much facilities what they wanted to do.Middle class was not owner of industries
but the main work of this class was to control the official work or to do
job.Lower class was an exploitd class.This was a working class and had no
rights in their discions.(Mitchell 23)
Victorian,s England was a child
dominated society. The population explosion that occurred during the Victorian
period was accompanied by a tremendous amount of industrialization and
urbanization vast majority of children lived in town rather than communities
(Mitchell 41). Charles Dickens also reveals an intense concern about the
vulnerability of children of Victorian era.
The child labour and capitalism were
prevailing in Victorian age at high stage. Industries were increasing. Children
were used by capitalist to get their aim. Charles Dickens was the great
novelist of Victorian period and his novels are about exploited or abused
children. His novels are the reflection of Victorian England and his personal
life. Oliver Twist also deals with child labour.When Dickens was in the age of
twelve year, his father was imprisoned for debt and he
was
sent to work in a blacking factory, an incident that also forced him to explain
about child labour.
Child
Labour was one of the biggest scandals of the 19th century,spreading to other
countries as they industrialized. The problem arose whenchildren, many younger
than ten years old were employed by factories and mines. Employers also liked
that they could pay a child less than an adult. They were forced to work long
hours under dangerous conditions for little pay. The rise of Industrial capitalism created a
huge demand for cheap labor which children certainly were understood suitable.
Many children were exploited for the survival of families. Children were given
no education because at that time, eduction was at small stage. Lower Class was
not availing proper facilities to get eduction.The Victorian age represented
children as opposed by nature to the materialistic world of trade and profit.
Due to financial crisis, children were sent to factories by their parents.
Poverty is a great enemy to human
happiness. There is a vital link between child labour and poverty. Writings of
Charles Dickens is called for reform at every level of society. He also explained
about social injustice of society. Child labour at the time of Victorian was
synonymous to slavery.
The problem of poverty became a serious social
and economic burden of English society of the late 19th century. This is why it
is quite natural that Charles Dickens chose this theme as one of the central
themes of his selected novels namely Hard Times (1854), Bleak House (1852)
and Oliver Twist (1839). All the same, it is worthy of mention
that, to a great extent, these selected texts play the role of a mirror which
reflects the life of England of that epoch and the personal
experience of
Dickens that is realized in these novels especially Bleak House.
Obviously, these novels represent English society of Victorian age which is
full of contrasts where the poverty is next to enormous wealth, and where
spiritual richness is often overshadowed by the material desperate social
position of the characters of the novels. (Dickens 19)
To
underscore the poverty in Dickens’s works, they are to be viewed in two
dimensions including real or material and spiritual. It is to say that Charles
Dickens attempts to realistically depict the severe life of all layers of
English society of that epoch with a particular focus on the most deprived. As a matter of fact
the novels rather represent a profound analysis of the great socio-economic
problem of lower classes and, what is more, these works uncover the importance
of the material well-being and wealth in the life of English society (Dickens
23). On the other hand, it seems as if Dickens poses a question whether poverty
is really a sin, or something really bad that makes people fall lower and lower
in the social ladder, or probably, it is just a poor material position of
individuals’ lack of certain skills, abilities, knowledge, or even simple luck
that do not touch the personality of individuals who sink in English society.
The
main purpose of this research is to study the poverty in Charles Dickens’s Hard
Times, Bleak House and Oliver Twist in social lenses as well
as to critically analyze Dickens’s representation of characters who are the
underprivileged people of an industrialized society, a phenomenon which led to
emerge new class of the capitalists. This study also shows that Dickens is a
realist writer whose characters have been created with devotion to the realist
and naturalist mode of writing. A realist reading of Dickens’s novels proves
that he depicts the oppressive nature of the 19th century society.
There was also a lack of education in
Victorian Era.There was also a permission to the children of elite class to go
to school and the children of lower class had no rights to go to school.The
poor people were oppressed and exploited at every stage.Poor people were urged
to work in factories and not attend schools.Elite class always understood that
to get education is also the right of rich people and institutions are only
made for this class.Charlers Dickens criticised this kind of education system
and also described in his major literary works.These literary works also arouse
emotions in people to get their rights.(Belmer 29)
In the Victorian era women
were seen, by the middle classes at least, as belonging to the domestic sphere, and this stereotype required them to provide their husbands with a
clean home, food on the table and to raise their children. Women’s rights were
extremely limited in this era, losing ownership of their wages, all of their physical
property, excluding land property, and all other cash they generated once
married. When a Victorian man and
woman married, the rights of the woman were legally given over to her spouse.
Under the law the married couple became one entity where the husband would
represent this entity, placing him in control of all property, earnings and
money. In addition to losing money and material goods to their husbands,
Victorian wives became property to their husbands, giving them rights to what
their bodies produced; children, sex and domestic labor. Marriage abrogated a woman’s right to
consent to sexual intercourse with her husband, giving him ‘ownership’ over her
body. Their mutual matrimonial consent therefore became a contract to give
herself to her husband as he desired.
Dickens was not
only the first great urban novelist in England, but also one of the most
important social commentators who used fiction effectively to criticize
economic, social, and
moral abuses in the Victorian era. Dickens showed compassion
and empathy towards the vulnerable and dis-advantaged segments of English
society, and contributed to several important social reforms. Industrial
Revolution also changed the lives of children. Social injustice always played a
role in every society. In Victorian Age, social injustice came into forward
with the rise of Industrial Revolution. This Revolution became the cause of
many differences among masses. The people related to upper class look on poor
people with scorn eyes. They never wanted to share any kind of thing with poor
people. They also never accepted to sit with lower class. They understood them
inferior. Social injustice in Victorian
period deals with slavery, poverty, lack of education and exploitation of children.
They were also living in society for the survival of their families. The
developing countries are taking steps against social injustice.Today, everyone
is getting right of education to change his fate for the survival in society
and government is making institutions for proper education.
No comments:
Post a Comment