Poverty in A Christmas Carol and “The Gift of the Magi”

submitted to:
Professor Christian W. Pickup,
BA on the date:
December 01, 2022

in fulfillment
of the requirements of the course
Advanced English 1st S

by
Camila Vázquez Lendechy
Bachillerato Anáhuac ID:
00475909
e-mail:
camila.lendechy@anahuac.mx
Charles Dickens was a well-known writer born in February 7, 1812 who died June 9 of

1870 (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1998). When living as a child, Charles struggled endlessly

with financial issues. As a result, when he grew older, he began to write novels with moral

lessons that involved social issues such as poverty (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1998). Even

in this day, many people continue to read his most famous novels: A Christmas Carol

(1843), and A Tale of Two Cities (1859). It is often said that one of the most influential

novels by Dickens is A Christmas Carol (1843). The novel is quite short, and even though

the story is fictional the author writes about problems of his time. The ambiance changes

through the whole story; from being cold and mysterious to merry and vivid. In the

beginning, Ebenezer Scrooge (the protagonist) is a heartless, cruel, despicable human being

who takes advantage of others. In the contrary, at the end Scrooge learns that money is not

everything and starts to share the resources he possesses to help those in need.

O. Henry (William Sydney Porter) was an American writer born in September 11 of 1862.

He was a short story writer who often published tales that romanticized the life of ordinary

people (Britannica, 1999). He is known for “The Gift or the Magi” (1905), The Ransom of

Red Chief (1910) and The Voice of the City (1908). The most emblematic story of this

author was “The Gift of the Magi” (1905). The two characters in this story were willing to

sacrifice their most precious items for making each other happy. It is a heartwarming story

where O. Henry shows us from his perspective what Christmas is truly about; sacrifice,

devotion and love.

According to Francis-Devine (2019) in the United Kingdom it was declared that one of six

people were living in poverty, but it was supposed to grow into more than 3 million people

between 2021 and 2023. Money is unevenly distributed between all civilians; as the
wealthiest 10% of the population contributed to around half the wealth of the United

Kingdom (Bennett, 2022). To many people this is frustrating as they claim it is unfair how

a gigantic amount of civilians do not have access to basic necessities. On the other hand,

there are others parts of the population that have more than enough money to spend, who

do not share a single penny with those who are in the need.

Dickens takes these ideas and places it in the novel; having Scrooge, a greedy man who

seeks to have all the money he can obtain, even when exploiting others. In exchange, most

of the people who surround him are poor. At the beginning of the novel, Scrooge believes

this people are stupid and unimportant. Nevertheless, in the end, as the ghosts showed

Scrooge this people´s memories, Scrooge finally understood not only what Christmas was

about, but how he should help them for him to be happy. O. Henry also contributes to this

idea, but instead he uses the characters as an example of how to value their loved ones and

significant moments instead of treasuring objects or idolizing money. When Della and Jim

both exchanged their most precious possessions, it shows how much they love each other

and their commitment to their significant other.

To conclude, it is often claimed by a great number of people that A Christmas Carol and

the “Gift of the Magi” not only achieved to be considered classics, but to help a big amount

of civilians in the United Kingdom to meditate about their values and change the ways they

treated people with less money than them and how to value their lives. The novels can

easily trap the reader into a fantastic story that most of the people know by heart now, and

it created Christmas as we know it today.

References

a) Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Charles Dickens Summary. Encyclopædia

Britannica. Retrieved November 27, 2022, from
https://www.britannica.com/summary/Charles-Dickens-British-novelist
b) (S/f). Parliament.uk. Recuperado el 28 de noviembre de 2022, de

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn07096/

c) Bennett. (2022, January). Distribution of individual total wealth by characteristic in

Great Britain - Office for National Statistics. Distribution of Individual Total
Wealth by Characteristic in Great Britain - Office for National Statistics. Retrieved
November 28, 2022, from
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfina
nces/incomeandwealth/bulletins/
distributionofindividualtotalwealthbycharacteristicingreatbritain/
april2018tomarch2020
d) The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (1999, March 18). O. Henry | Biography,
Books, Achievements, Short Stories, Award, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/O-Henry