The Big Ben, formally known as the Elizabeth Tower, is a clock tower that presides in London, England that was built September 28^th, 1843 (“Big Ben”). While many are unsure of how this structure got its name (some believe it was named after a boxer called Benjamin Caunt, while others believe it was named after a civil engineer called Sir Benjamin Hall), what is noticed is the sheer size of the tower; coming in at a staggering 15.1 tons (“Big Ben”). The main purpose of the Big Ben is to house parliament, but it also serves a practical purpose as a clock; the structure chimes every hour while smaller chimes can be heard every fifteen minutes (“Big Ben”). The reason I thought of this structure in relation to A Christmas Carol is because of the importance placed upon the clock that Scrooge hears within the work. One such moment can be seen in the quote: “Scrooge lay in this state until the chime had gone three quarters more, when he remembered, on a sudden, that the...

In Dicken's A Christmas Carol, it is mentioned in the first stave that Marley is buried in St. Paul's Churchyard; "And even Scrooge was not so dreadfully cut up by the sad event, but that he was an excellent man of business on the very day of the funeral, and solemnised it with an undoubted bargain" (Dickens, Satve 1). This location is mentioned in many pieces of literature and poetry as it is a popular Marketplace, especially for foreign book trades. In 1484, King Richard III passed an Act of Exemption for Forgin Printers, which encouraged them to sell their products in London (Mumby). The Church and its neighboring churchyard have been both a place of worship and a place of trade since the 14th century when it was a popular place to converse and meet. It was often in competition with Paternoster Row starting in the later 14th century as England was starting to print its own novels. St. Paul's stayed in the lead until the late 17th century. Currently, the St. Paul...

During the Victorian Era, British engineer Sir William Cubitt designed the “treadmill” to implement into prisons. The device was constructed of wooden steps around a cylindrical frame; the punishment could handle up to forty convicts at one time. The treadmill would rotate causing the convicts to step along a series of planks. Occasionally the power from these devices would be used to grind corn or pump water; however, sometimes the treadmill was strictly used for no purpose other than punishment. Executions of the prisoners were still public at the time; Charles Dickens, along with 30,000 other people, watched the execution of two notorious murders in 1849. Also, during the Victorian times, the British followed "common law" meaning the decisions of court cases were based on previous rulings; they felt that this style of governing added to the "rugged English character" (British Library).

In Dicken's "A Christmas Carol", Scrooge makes a comment questioning if there...