Welcome to Celebrate Creativity Episode 419 Why Does Dickens Matter, Part 2
We begin this podcast episode with a few more excerpt by Dickens that showcase his masterful description of the common person.
1. The Hard-Working, Overwhelmed Clerk (from A Christmas Carol)
Here's Bob Cratchit, Scrooge's clerk, illustrates the quiet dignity and hardship of the working poor:
"The clerk's fire was so very much smaller that it looked like one coal; but he couldn't replenish it, for Scrooge kept the coal-box in his own room; and if the clerk came in with the shovel, the master predicted that it would be necessary for them to part. Wherefore the clerk put on his white comforter, and tried to warm himself at the candle; in which effort, not being a man of strong imagination, he failed.
But he was a happy family-man, Bob Cratchit, and a good one; and though he earned but fifteen ‘bob’ a week, and a hard struggle it was to keep his five children (for Tiny Tim was a fifth) on that, yet he was content, and had a smile for every one of them."
What it shows: Empathy for the Daily Struggle: Dickens immediately draws sympathy for Bob through the stark contrast of his meager fire with Scrooge's control over the coal. This highlights the power imbalance and the quiet suffering of the employee.
Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.