A Walk in the Workhouse

I found “A Walk in the Workhouse” by Dickens to be quite interesting. I was not really sure what I workhouse was at first, but after reading it I have a better understanding of what it is and what took place there. I found it quite sad that the workers were not treated very highly just because they were poor. I was also shocked to find out that being put in jail was better than actually staying at a workhouse since prisoners had more opportunities. I found it sad that people were actually treated this way, in not only workhouses but in many other similar situations, like slavery. Although, I believe slavery was worse, I think both groups of people were definitely treated badly and looked down upon by many.      

I think that the two upper class men really show how much people really cared for the poor.  Even though the paupers expressed how little food they got and how badly they were treated, the two upper class men really did not seem to care. I have noticed that the people during this time and lower only seemed to care about themselves, particularly the rich. The rich also seemed as though they were better than everyone else. Even though they are humans like everyone else and only have more money and/or land than many others.    

I thought that Dickens really painted a good picture of how the workhouse workers were treated, and also how regular poor people could be treated too. One instance of when I noticed it was when the old men were trying to figure who died in a bed last and they couldn’t remember. It really shows how little a person’s life was valued at a workhouse. I was also annoyed to find out that the working conditions and the environment were only good enough to the point that the product would not receive any contamination. I would never want to work in such a place or even walk through there; I can’t imagine how awful it must have been living like that, especially when no one really cares about you.

Discussion Questions:

Would the story have been less affective if the men that walked through the workhouse happened to be in the middle or a lower class?

Do you think Dickens hoped to accomplish getting rid of workhouses or did he just want to inform people of what was happening there by writing this story and similar ones?