Analyzing Bob Cratchit: Dickens' Portrayal of Victorian Working-Class Struggles

hi everyone welcome back to my Channel today we will be analyzing the character of Bob cratchet the downtrodden Clark

and Charles Dickens classic tale A Christmas Carol Bob works for Ebenezer Scrooge the protagonist of the story and

is subjected to horrendous working conditions and an unfairly low salary with which he does his best to support a

huge family and dying son despite these awful circumstances however Bob is able to keep his over-the-top Christmas

spirit and never PLS or Slanders Scrooge for the situation he is in because of this he can come off as kind of absurd

or unrealistic so in this video we will look at whether or not Bob is a fully realized character we will also discuss

why his character was important at the time Dickens wrote this Nolla and see how relatable he is to the modern day

reader let's look at how Bob cratchet is first introduced in Stave one you may notice that in this paragraph and even

in this entire Stave he is not actually named and is simply referred to as the Clark not giving Bob a name dehumanizes

him and shows us how the upper class Scrooge included viewed the poorer working class at that time in Victorian

England it was almost unheard of for the working class to be the subject of novels they were usually just in the

background as two-dimensional filler characters simply there to serve the interests of the rich however although

we do not even know his name the description of Bob's one C whole fire and the image of him trying to warm

himself with a candle are so ridiculously pitiful that we cannot help but empathize with him immediately and

think of Scrooge as a terrible employer another interesting thing to note is that he has almost no dialogue

in this entire scene despite the fact that he is present for all of it Dickens tells the reader what the Clark says but

Bob does not have any direct quotations apart from this one you'll want all day tomorrow I suppose said said Scrooge if

quite convenient sir it's not convenient said Scrooge and it's not fair if I was to stop half a crown for it you think

yourself ill used I'll be bound the Clark smiled faintly what this shows is that Bob

doesn't really have a voice in this relationship or indeed at all in society the one direct quote he has is

immediately turned against him by Scrooge as he doesn't really care to hear his answer he is clearly terrified

of his employer and for good reason as he is pretty much at the mercy of his whims this might make him seem like a

Meek and cowardly character at first but it is really just to ensure his survival if Bob dares to ask for more coal

Scrooge will fire him if he makes any attempt to oppose Scrooge's ideas he is threatened with losing his

situation the poorer working class in Victorian England were not protected by workers rights or unions as labor reform

laws were still in their early stages and at this this point were more about benefiting child laborers the average

workingclass person could be fired underpaid made to work in subhuman conditions and nobody would

intervene The Importance of Being a good employer is therefore something that Dickens really stresses in this Nolla

through the character of Bob which is why he Reveals His salary early on there's another fellow muttered Scrooge

Who overheard him my Clark with 15 Shillings a week and a wife and family talking about a Merry Christmas

I'll retire to bedum there are lots of references to money and salary whenever Bob is mentioned in the story and even

his name is slang for Shilling this is not a coincidence as Dickens draws attention to this pun in one of the

first times that Bob's name is written Bob had but 15 Bob a week himself he pocketed on Saturdays but 15

copies of his Christian name from Scrooge's comment about retiring to Bethlehem and the repetition of but 15

in these extracts it is clear even to a modern-day reader that 15 Shillings is not enough to comfortably support Bob

and his family Scrooge even goes so far as to imply that Bob is practically insane for thinking he can enjoy

Christmas with that measly amount however this salary was actually pretty standard for Victorian times so Dickens

purposely repeats that sum of money so that the readers can compare what they or others earn to what Bob earns and

realize that as awful as Scrooge is he's actually paying him what most other employers paid their workingclass

employees as there were no labor regulations in place people could get away with paying their employees much

less than they should because they knew that their only other option would be the

workhouse Bob really needs that 15 shillings to continue to feed his large family and take care of his dying son so

he must put up with Scrooge's Behavior quietly and meekly because the alternative is far worse now from what

we've seen so far it's fair to say that bulb's work situation is pretty Bleak he has a miserly grouchy employer and a

really dull job as a Clark in freezing unsuitable conditions this would put a damper on anyone's Christmas spirit but

we soon find out that Bob is not just anyone as soon as he leaves Scrooge's office his real character comes out

which is quite a contrast to how he behaves at work the Clark went down a slide on cornhill at the end of a lane

of boys 20 times in honor of its being Christmas Eve and then ran home to Camden town as hard as he could pel to

play a Blind Man's buff in this paragraph there is no hint of the meek quiet Clark Persona that Bob puts on at

work instead he is bursting with energy going down the slide a ridiculous 20 times and dashing home to play even more

games with his children the contrast of this scene after Scrooge's dismal old office and extreme anti-christmas

sentiments really helps the reader to connect with Bob even more as he is not beat down by his unfortunate situation

and is still determined to to enjoy Christmas with his family to the best of his

ability we get to see more of the Christmas loving energetic bulb in the third Stave when Scrooge visits the

ket's house with the Ghost of Christmas present he seems to be the ideal family man playing the role of father and

husband to Perfection Scrooge and many others from the upper or middle class who had no connection to the poor and

how they lived had the misconception that money was equivalent to happiness and that you wouldn't be able to enjoy

Christmas if you were struggling financially so that is why the scene at the ket's house was so important for

Dickens to include because it disproves that idea and shows that Bob's source of happiness is from family not from money

in fact the only time Bob's Christmas spirit is even slightly dampened is when he is led to believe that one of his

daughters will not be visiting Bob really cares about each one of his children and he has a lot this

provides a sharp contrast to Scrooge's experience of fatherhood as his father father was cold and distant while

Scrooge himself gave up the chance to be a father when he chose money over his fiance in Victorian times men were

considered to be the head of the household so Bob's Behavior as a father and husband really spearheads the way

that the rest of the family behaves his enthusiasm rallies all of them and ensures that their experience of

Christmas is just as enjoyable as if they were Rich the use of Hyperbole and repetition in this description

definitely provides some comic relief because it draws attention to the image of this enormous family treating a very

modest dinner like it is an absolute banquet this allows a reader to connect with and sympathize with the cratchet

particularly because they are so determined to be content and not mention their poverty or the small quantity of

food that they have nobody said or thought it was at all a small pudding for a large family it would have been

flat heresy to do so any crit would have blushed to hint at such a thing clearly their family has a lot of

pride and are not prone to complaining despite their lack of money to Scrooge in the average Victorian reader who was

not in touch with the workingclass lifestyle this would have provided a much different view of the poor than the

assumptions they were used to it might be expected that Bob would be the Penny Pincher at Christmas rather than Scrooge

but his surprising generosity and uncomplaining attitude are much easier for readers to relate to and support if

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Bob's generosity of spirit extends to Scrooge too as he calls him the founder of the Feast at dinner which is far more

than he deserves as Mrs cratchet points out Mrs ket's Outburst is the only sign of complaint that we see the whole

evening and to be honest it is kind of warranted given their situation however Bob simply responds

with the children Christmas Day this brief interaction is important for several reasons his wife's REM Mark

brings the reader back to reality and reminds us that although this family really really tries to make the most of

what they have they are still desperately poor it's easy to think of Bob as just a silly Sentimental Man but

his exclamation of the children is very telling as it reveals that he is acutely aware of the difficulties they are

facing for the sake of the children however he chooses to set a good example for them by being cheerful and not

complaining as he knows he has to hold his family together during these tough times times and ensure they have the

best Christmas and childhood possible additionally Bob's mention of Christmas Day reflects the Christian attitude of

forgiveness on this holiday in particular which would have been admired by Victorian readers who generally

viewed the working class as unco Bob's religious ideals are also mentioned earlier on when he returns

home with Tiny Tim in dickens's time Christianity was the prevalent religion and so bulb's

religious Faith would have truly EX exemplified him as the ideal workingclass man to the readers the

tremble in Bob's voice However betrays the fact that despite his faith he's afraid for Tiny Tim's future later in

the evening there's another instance like this which shows that Bob knows the seriousness of his son's situation and

that this is probably the last Christmas he will ever have these solemn moments are interjected in the otherwise bubbly

and cheerful scene to remind the readers of the Stark reality of the cratchet poverty and to show Scrooge that his

poor treatment of Bob has real and fatal consequences that he had not considered or cared about previously as he had no

connection with the poorer class his whole life and his children's lives are completely dependent on the decision of

his employer which is why it is so important that Scrooge is touched by the plight of Tiny Tim it is this

realization that really drives Scrooge's transformation from here on out as he is determined to let Tiny Tim experience

the kind of fatherly love from Bob that he never had this sentiment is really driven home

in the fourth Stave when Scrooge revisits the cratchet house with the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come in this

scenario Tiny Tim has died and there is a stark contrast between the fast-paced joyful atmosphere of the previous

Christmas and the more somber quiet atmosphere of this one Bob does his best once again to put on a brave face for

his family speaking to them cheerfully and lovingly but he cannot help but let out some emotion now and then the

repetition of little when Bob refers to Tiny Tim shows How Deeply affected he is by losing him at such a young age and

draws attention to how fragile he was it also highlights the deaths of the thousands of other young children in

England at that time who were forced to live and work in awful conditions with rampant illnesses and extreme

deprivation Dickens was profoundly moved by the plight of these children and that is why in many of his novels he includes

the character of a small innocent child that has been wronged by the system Tiny Tim is one of these characters and he is

there to illustrate the consequences of the class divides that existed in England many of these children's lives

could have been spared if the upper middle class employers simply raised the salaries of their employees so that they

could better support their families despite this terrible tragedy that Bob has been through he is still

the same man that he was previously the head of the household that does his best to hold his family together while they

grieve this contrasts what happened in Scrooge's life after the death of his mother Scrooge's father sent him away to

boarding school and did not let him return home even for the holidays for many years this decision drove their

family apart whereas Bob uses Tiny Tim's death to bring his family together even closer that takes Incredible strength

and proves that Bob is far more than a two-dimensional comedic or sympathetic character

as a poor man in a class- divided Society there is so much that he cannot control but the one thing he can is his

attitude towards the situation in the final Stave Bob probably has the most extreme reaction

towards Scrooge's transformation when he says and therefore I'm about to raise your salary Bob trembled and got a

little nearer to the ruler he had a momentary idea of knocking Scrooge down with it holding him and calling to the

people in the court for help and a straight waste coat it is much more plausible to Bob that Scrooge has simply

lost his mind rather than offer to pay him more money which reminds the reader that to those who did not witness his

journey Scrooge's Redemption would be almost unbelievable importantly Scrooge tells

Bob right away that he is going to raise his salary and help his struggling family which is a major moral of the

story Bob's development as a character is completely reliant on Scrooge's transformation as his whole life is

affec Ed by how much he is paid in a society where the upper and middle class held the power to drastically improve

the lives of others Dickens wants employers to see themselves in Scrooge and make an effort to pay their bul

cratchet more money something else to note is that in direct contrast to the opening Stave Scrooge mentions bul ket's

name four times in their final interaction which implies to the reader that he is no longer just a nameless

Clark to Scrooge but a fully realized human being if you're interested in getting an in-depth look at some of the

other characters in A Christmas Carol check out my character analysis of Fred here so to summarize Bob cratchit's

character in this Nolla gave Victorian readers a deeper look into an unfamiliar subject as poor people were rarely given

much depth of character in books at the time he and his family provide a window into the struggles of the poorer working

class to the upper and middle class readers who had no connection with them in real life they are also portrayed in

what would have been in a surprising way dignified hardworking full of joy and with what was considered proper

Christian ideals Bob also teaches the readers the value of money he reveals that money cannot buy things like

happiness and fatherly love but what it can do is represent the difference between life and death for the poor

while class divides may not be as apparent as they were in Victorian England the lessons that Dickens teaches

through Bobb are still relevant today his stoicism and hard times and determination to hold his family

together rather than push them away is something that many of us can learn from or relate to and even though the stakes

may have been higher back then Employers in modern-day workplaces can still do more to help their employees and look

after their well-being and we can still be sympathetic and generous to those less fortunate than

us thanks for watching guys stay tuned for follow-up analysis videos soon to come see you next time

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