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Childhood experiences and sympathy for the poor inspired Charles Dickens to write A Christmas Carol.

Charles was 12 years old when his father was imprisoned for debt. Charles had to pawn his collection of books, leave school and take a factory job. During this time he was humiliated at his condition and witnessed many other impoverished families. This short period of life had a profound effect on Dickens' writings.

Years later he visited mines where he saw firsthand the effect the Industrial Revolution had on children. After seeing the appalling conditions of child labor, in 1843 he planned to write a pamphlet titled "An Appeal to the People of England, on behalf of the Poor Man's Child." This pamphlet would later become the story of A Christmas Carol.
It's been said he wrote it to pay off a bet. He saw the way the poor were being treated, many were left to starve whilst mine and factory owners made more money. In addition he was against child labour which was being used at the time so that the business owners didn't have to pay so much. Dickens own father was found to have debt when he lost his job as a shipping clerk, he was sent to the workhouse which left Charles having to find work to help his family live. To highlight the scale of deprivation across Britain at the time and the ignorance of the money masters to the growing issue of child labour and deaths from a lack of basic welfare
To highlight the use of child labour in areas such as mining and indusrtyu across Britain, to bring a focus on the scale of poverty that was being ignored by many of the influential people in parliment of the time and to being about changes in laws that forced people in to the work house

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9y ago

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