In Charles Dickens’s novella, A Christmas Carol, social responsibility and respect are the significant themes that criticize social injustice. Dickens uses the story to critique the features of Victorian society that used to keep people in poverty. One significant scene that illustrates the theme of social responsibility is when the Ghost of Christmas Present reveals Want and Ignorance, two emaciated children, who hide under the robe, to Ebenezer Scrooge, a selfish businessman who is visited by three spirits on Christmas Eve. The Ghost of Christmas Present warns Scrooge that both children are the offspring of humankind and they are doomed to suffer in society, citing Scrooge’s own words that there are no workhouses anymore. The Ghost, through these words, exposes Scrooge’s hypocrisy and indifference as well as double standards to the poor, saying that they are doomed to live adverse lives until society changes its ways. This scene reflects how Dickens has used symbolism and irony to convey his message of social responsibility to the readers and the world.
Romantics like Coleridge and Whitman have deep regard for nature and natural beauty as they emphasize the beauty of the untamed nature and have a deep reverence for nature and its connection to the divine. The excerpt from Coleridge’s To Nature depicts nature as piety and joy but also as a fantasy that the world may not accept: “It may indeed be fantasy when I/ Essay to draw from all created things/ Deep, heartfelt, inward joy that closely clings; And trace in leaves and flowers that round me lie/ Lessons of love and earnest piety.” (Coleridge). Through these words, Coleridge shows an intimate and personal relationship with nature as well as God but also reflects a sense of detachment from the outside world as he believes that his belief in the sacredness of nature and “fantasy” may be mocked by others. Building on Coleridge’s emphasis on the transcendent aspects of nature, I agree that he reminds readers of the existence of God through nature and inspires them to appreciate and respect nature and natural beauty in all its presence.
Works Cited
To Nature by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. https://allpoetry.com/To-Nature.
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