Different time, different culture, dude.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Sadly though, still relevant today. It's unfortunate.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Relevant today, yes. But back then, if you demanded more money and quit if you didn't get it? You would get a black mark that would prevent you from working or making a living in that field ever again.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Blacklisting is still very prevalent today, isn't it?

by Anonymous 2 years ago

It's a lot easier today to just not list a previous employer as a reference, or even leave them off your resume entirely. We don't live in small towns and small villages where everyone knows each other, and everyone who works in the same field automatically knows everyone else. If Joey Schmidt isn't happy with his compensation at HamburgerHut, it's easier for him to leave that job and go apply to a dozen other places. Joey's boss likely doesn't have the connections (or the desire) to call and try to blacklist him from every restaurant in the area.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

People during that era quit all the time for better jobs, just like today. Plus a black mark from Scrooge would have been irrelevant since everyone hated him anyway. There would have been a dozen similar businesses that would have loved to have a good, intelligent employee like Cratchit and would have paid him well.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

The "era" doesn't matter, what happens in the book does

by Anonymous 2 years ago

\*Sighs. Here we go again with the "just find another place to work" argument.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Why not? That is what smart, hard working people do, which Cratchit clearly was. The story takes place in London during the mid-1800s. The British economy was thriving at that time. He was clearly old enough and experienced enough to find a better job in that environment.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Cratchit is just there as an antagonist to Scrooge. Cratchit isn't the main character. He's there to prove a point. It doesn't work for the story if Cratchit is well-off under Scrooge's rule.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Yea, I am aware of that. It's kind of obvious that the story would not work if he was written to have a single ounce of common sense regarding his situation. With all of that in mind, rather than see him with sympathy and as a victim, he should be seen as the slacker that he was.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Our culture had reached such a wretched point that I can't tell whether this is meant to be satire

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Well, think of it this way. If you worked in finance/business, in the financial capital of the world, and you had experience, ambition, and education, would you work for a dick like Scrooge or would you take one of the much better jobs that were clearly available?

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Goddammit, I still can't tell! We've gone backwards.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

By that logic he should have just killed scrooge and taken his money.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

It's fiction.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Well there were a lot of kids.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

This is deep.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Not everyone is capable of getting a better paying job.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

But Bob Cratchit certainly was. By a mile.

by Anonymous 1 year ago