Social Classes in Victorian England

Social classes in Victorian Times
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Research and discuss classism in England during Victorian Times. What were the social classes of this time? What problems were caused because of classism?

During the Victorian age classism was common, and the society was divided based on the economic and social status, with discrimination of the poor working class prevalent in the society (Andrews, 2012). Dickens contrasts the life of the coal miners in the North who were exploited and mistreated by the wealthy elite, while working in unsafe working conditions. Class stratification in the society affected poor people disproportionately as there could only work in poorly paid manual jobs. The rise of the capitalist class was associated with exploitation of the underclass highlighting the emerging theme among critics of the Victorian society that the poor were increasingly oppressed. The gulf among the low, middle and upper class widened in Victorian England because of discriminatory social norms and exploitation of the poor.
The low class had little wealth and status while they mainly worked in manual jobs, toiling for the upper class who owned factories (Dickens, 1996). The underclass was also part of the low class and relied on handouts and charity. There was also a middle class that had considerable wealth and status. The upper class was the owners of capital and land during the Victorian age and they dominated the political structure, and included the nobility, officers and businessmen (Anonymous, 2013). The opportunities available were different since children of the low class rarely attended school as they sought to supplement their family’s income. Classisms create a society where the poor working class were discriminated against and had few opportunities and marketable skills for being poorly educated.
As the industrial revolution changed the Victorian society the worst affected were the underclass, and Dickens highlights the working conditions that characterized the factories. For instance the coal workers had faces that were black as though they had been covered in oil, as they worked under in...