Charles Dickens and George Eliot are both writers whose novels experienced a very significant impact on nineteenth century Victorian readers. Dickens' A Holiday Carol and Eliot's Silas Marner were written during the time of the Industrial Revolution in Great britain and it exposed people's eye to the unwanted effects that the trend was having on common world. The authors saw industrialization as a loss of individualism and a period where individuals were being cared for like machines by the cruelty of utilitarianism. It was destroying the type and the individuals values that rural Victorian areas once kept. Through these books, Dickens and Eliot exemplify the way the Victorian example on industry and the greed of money hardens the hearts of the rich and physically and emotionally oppresses the less prosperous; thus, shattering the human being spirit, threatening romantic relationships, and breaking the bonds of community.
Dickens passionately portrays his opposition to the Industrial Revolution in A Xmas Carol. He exposes and makes others aware of the inhumane surroundings and nature that the indegent were at the mercy of during the industrial phase of the nation. The novel starts with an benefits to Scrooge and identifies him as "a tight-fisted hands at the grindstonea squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! Hard and pointed as flint, that no steel got ever before struck out ample fire; technique, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. " (Dickens 40) This information of Scrooge creates the reader to understand the characteristics of some the rich people of time. He is compared to physical objects that are not with the capacity of any feelings or feeling, and therefore illustrates him to be very inhuman.
Scrooge is portrayed as very capable of breaking people's spirits along with his cruel words and activities. If the "portly gentlemen" tackle Scrooge to ask him for a donation for the poor, he responds by expressing that he "can't afford to make idle people merry" and that it is not his "business" to help the regrettable (Dickens 45). There is excellent irony in his words as he can very well "afford" to do anything he desires, being the wealthy man and creditor he was. The fact that he claims that the problem has nothing in connection with his business is very untrue as he'd not even be in business were it not for the lower class citizens making him all the amount of money he was accumulating. This dialogue demonstrates Scrooge is nearly feared in society credited to his position and the unkindness that comes with it. Dickens portrays the severe certainty of Scrooge and the ones of his school early on in the book to cause visitors to react also to anticipate seeing how the identity changes throughout the novel; thus exemplifying that they can transform as well.
Scrooge damages any make an effort by his nephew to build a marriage with him. He's so preoccupied with his greed for the money that he doesn't recognize that it's the very thing that is making him miserable. Although Scrooge's nephew is poorer than him, he pleads along with his uncle expressing, "I want little or nothing from you; I ask nothing at all of you; why cannot we be friends?" (Dickens 43). Dickens illustrates here that people aren't even after Scrooge for his money, but simply want him to be open to the idea interpersonal romantic relationships and happiness. Plainly, industry makes the abundant richer, however, it also destroys their ability to be truly content with what they have. It creates them ignore the need for human relationships and commences to change the wealthy into heartless people.
The personality of Scrooge denies any ties to the community and strives to reside in for himself by themselves. The spirits remind Scrooge that he used to be packed with pleasure before he let industry in his way of enjoyment. At the idea of the indegent dying credited to lack of necessities, Scrooge replies, "If indeed they would rather diethey possessed better do it, and decrease the surplus inhabitants" (Dickens 45). This attitude towards community did not are present before industrialization as people performed along and depended on one another for support. Here, Dickens exemplifies the selfishness that comes along with industry. It all boils down to self achievement, and the prosperous continue to shoot for more riches at the price tag on the lives and pleasure of others. Dickens mentions the Poor Law and requests for people to recognize the difficulty of these whom regulations has released of place and influenced into poverty. He expresses the duty that society must give them compassionately. In his book, Dickens puts onward that materialistic, cruel world powered by industry can be reformed by becoming a more generous society that values the people life more than materials prosperity. As he demonstrates with the type of Scrooge, it ultimately ends up with the pleasure and success of the contemporary society all together rather than the unhappiness of the rich and the oppression of the indegent.
Eliot reveals her Silas Marner and critiques industrialization similar to the ways in which Dickens opposes it with his novel. She actually is attracted to the pre-industrial beliefs and makes an attempt to prove that love of others is ultimately more rewarding than love of money. She does this through the type of Silas Marner, who becomes obsessed with the riches he earns for his work and commences hoarding it, using it as little than it as possible. Equally Dickens does with his information of Scrooge, Eliot represents Marner using physical objects that are incapable of any sense or emotion:
Strangely Marner's face and body shrank and bent themselves into a constant mechanical regards to the things of his life, so that he produced the same type of impression as a handle or a crooked tube, without any meaning standing aside. The prominent sight that used to look trusting and dreamy, now appeared as if that they had been designed to see only 1 kind of thing that was very small, like small grain, for which they hunted everywhere you go; and he was so withered and yellowish (Eliot 25)
Here, Silas is described as looking like "a cope with or a crooked tube". It really is difficult to assume someone's physique as looking such as this and it therefore, shows how much he has let his body degrade because of his love for money. Silas also provides an indicator of industry in the rural community of Raveloe as his life is degraded to the position of a machine. His ability to see only "one kind of thingfor that they hunted all over" implies that Silas can only just see one thing in his life-money. His work and his prosperity is the thing that drives him in life. Although it is costing him his health insurance and is prematurely maturing him, he's blinded by industry to discovering not his profit.
he got five bright guineas put into his hand; no man expected a talk about of these, and he treasured no man that he should offer him a showit was enjoyable to him to feel them in his hand, and look at their shiny faces, which were all his own: it was another element of life, like the weaving and the satisfaction of being hungry (Eliot 23)
Silas sees his riches as gratifying as fulfilling his hunger. Assessing the accumulation of riches to essential such as food demonstrates money is what his very existence is about and little or nothing, including his health, issues just as much. This portrays the machine-like lifestyle that comes along with industrialization. Equally as machines are just seen for the labour they produce and need nothing at all in return, many people such as Silas have the same manner as they don't care for their physical needs but only turn to increase their material wealth.
Eliot uses the individuals Godfrey and Dunstan to portray how industrialization and the greed for the money can corrupt and break romantic relationships. These two rich brothers use each other and others to consider benefit of any selfish wish they can declare. Dustan blackmails and bribes Godfrey to build up more wealth from him for his own selfish love of gambling and taking in. Godfrey on the other hands, allows his first partner and daughter to suffer due to his ignorance and moral cowardice. Although they have more riches than most in Raveloe could ever dream of, that craving for an infinite amount of prosperity that comes with industrialization corrupts all the human relationships these brothers have with others. Dunstan ends up dying without experiencing his saved wealth and Godfrey is remaining to reside in a life of regret as he's struggling to have children along with his second wife and unable to get back his real child Eppie. Eliot demonstrates that these human relationships are more valuable than riches but the ones that ignorant to it, wrap up losing the connections.
Silas is shown as choosing his romance to Eppie over his lack of riches. This however, brings about joy that prosperity can never attain: "Eh, my valuable child, the blessing was mine. If you hadn't been sent to save me, I will ha' gone to the grave in my misery. The amount of money was taken away from me in time; therefore you see it's been kept-kept till it was required for you. It's wonderful-our life is wonderful" (Eliot 158). Silas' dehumanized being is restored once Eppie gets into his life and shows him what real delight is.
The gold had stored his thoughts in an ever-repeated circle, resulting in nothing beyond itself; but Eppie was an thing compacted of changes and dreams that compelled his thoughts onwardThe gold had asked that he should be seated weaving longer and longer, deafened and blinded more and more to all things except the monotony of his loom and the repetition of his web; but Eppie called him away from his weaving, and made him think all its pauses any occasion, reawakening his senses with her fresh life, even to the old winter-flies that came up crawling forth in the early spring sunlight, and warming him into joy because she possessed joy. (123)
This passage demonstrates the never-ending structure of industrialization. It pulls people into a circuit that forces these to bypass and around without the real purpose or gain. Because they follow this cyclical routine, they allow the physical body and their feelings to deteriorate. They continue to be "deafened and blinded" to the devastation that industry is creating in their lives and community. Life becomes a dark place without any sunshine or the heat of love, as people become immune and ignorant to such things unless they grab of the cycle. Eppie, in cases like this, pulls Silas out of this never-ending cycle in to the light, where he can see properly again.
The sense of community portrayed in the rural Raveloe is completely contrary to the industrialized place where Silas is actually from. In Raveloe's trade-based community, every person plays a essential role in the success of the town. However, Silas and Eppie return to Lantern Backyard, he sees that his complete community has vanished which a large manufacturer has been placed where the chapel one was. This is very significant because the chapel is the place where all different types of men and women gathered as you community. This sense of community is destroyed by the energy of industrialization and completely eliminates all the traditions, memories, and principles the place once placed.
Eliot's Victorian visitors would have understood what Eliot was trying to accomplish through her novel. As Victorian modern culture was already exceptional influences of industry before the novel, they could have looked upon Raveloe and its sense of community as the image of what they had lost. The professional landscape that came into existence with the trend was frightening, detrimental, and dehumanizing; destroying all the memories of the better former.
Both Dickens' A Holiday Carol and Eliot's Silas Marner present industrialization as the unavoidable leader to the dehumanization of labour, as personnel are reduced to nothing more than machines and the amount of money that their work will probably be worth. By showing these novels to Victorian population, these authors attempted to instruct and make aware the remarkable unwanted effects industry was having on the poor's welfare, the joy of the rich, and community bonds all together. An interesting facet of both novels is the fact that children are being used in the redemption process of both heroes: Scrooge says, "It is good to be children sometimes" when it comes to their reaction to Xmas (Dickens 229). Silas says, "But yet men are led from threatening damage: a palm is placed into theirs, that leads them forth lightly towards a relaxed and bright land, in order that they look forget about backward; and the hand may be a little child's" (Eliot 128). This is significant because although children are exposed to industrialization in different ways, they choose to love, build romantic relationships, and uplift the individual nature by default. Therefore, both writers present the theory that it's better to be like them. By delivering the reformation of Scrooge and Silas, these authors attempt to show that restoration is possible if people are prepared to get out of the cyclical style of industrialization and return to the pre-industrial prices of culture.
