answersLogoWhite

0

" Oh God, to hear the Insect on the leaf pronouncing on the too much life

among his hungry brothers in the dust."

The quotation is from the Ghost of Christmas Present commenting on Scrooge's

utterance made about the poor.

"If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.'"

The Ghost is stating that it is cynical and wrong for those who have what they need (the insect on the leaf) to complain about the population who are disadvantaged or starving (the hungry brothers in the dust). To put this into context, it is like condemning people in Greece, who are badly afflicted by poverty and the recession, that they shouldn't have had so many children. Such comments suggest that poverty is the fault of the poor and that, therefore, they do not deserve help or compassion.

User Avatar

Wiki User

13y ago

What else can I help you with?