Engels'+Conditions+of+the+Working+Class+in+England+in+1844

Analysis of //The Conditions of the Working Class in England in 1844// (1845, trans.1847)

Friedrich Engels was born on November 28, 1820 in Barmen Westphalia, Germany. The eldest of eight children, Engels was expected to take over his father’s textile business. Consequently, at a young age, his schooling was interrupted and he was sent forth to Bremen in order to learn the ways of the merchant. It was at this time, during his merchant schooling, that Engels acquired his “radical literary ambitions” and joined such writing clubs as Young Germany and the Young Hegelian Circle in Berlin (Jones para.1). Engels carried this passion for writing with him when he travelled to England, which subsequently led to his creation of //The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844.// // The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844 // contains numerous chapters, with each documenting different aspects of the effects of industrialization on England’s poor. These include such topics as the clothes, diet, medical care, and education of the working class. This analysis will concentrate specifically on the chapter titled “The Great Towns”, which focuses on the living conditions of the working class. In the beginning of the chapter//,// Engels opens with a description of the industrialist grandeur of London with its “countless ships” and “giant docks” (Engels //Broadview Anthology// 104). He continues on with numerous descriptive passages which all lead to the conclusion of London as the “commercial capital of the world” (Engels //Broadview Anthology// 105). Engels exhibits his descriptive prowess in these passages, and builds up London to resemble qualities of the finest and most majestic cities in the world. Next the narration diverges from the positive description of London, to the negative. The reason for this narrative dichotomy is that Engels wishes to expose what makes London a “great town”. By building London up as such an amazing city, his argument has an even greater effect when he tears down the façade. Engels shatters the veneer by exposing the truth of the appalling and horrific conditions in which the working class live. Engels exclaims that Londoners are “forced to sacrifice the best qualities of their human nature, to bring pass all the marvels of civilization” (105). This quotation exemplifies Engels’ determination to expose the true reason for London’s greatness: the working class. Richard Altick, in his book //Victorian People and Ideas; A Companion for the Modern Reader of Victorian Literature,// points out thatEngels argues this “enslavement of the masses by the capitalist bourgeoisie” is not only common in London, but is the main principle of society throughout England (46). Engels states that “what is true of London, is true of Manchester, Birmingham, and Leeds” as well (//Broadview Anthology// 105). This helps bolster Engels' claim that London is not an isolated example, but others cities have also been affected by the growth of industrialisation.

To support his expose of England’s main cities, Engels deploys an arsenal of literary devices in order to expose the true nature of the working class living conditions. Imagery is by far the most prevalent device employed throughout the whole work. For example, Engels describes the working class streets, using visual imagery, as “uneven [and] fallen into ruts” and is lined with “masses of refuse, offal and sickening filth” (60). Engels also utilises amplification alongside imagery to describe the full extent of the working class situation. While Engels is walking through a slum he encounters a “horde of ragged women and children” who are as “filthy as the swine that thrive upon the garbage” (60). While describing the houses the workers live in Engels uses enumeration to convey the stuffy and cramped living spaces with “ventilation [which] is impeded by the bad, confused method of building (Engels //Broadview Anthology// 106). With these literary devices Engels gives powerful descriptive examples of working class living conditions.

While Engels originally intends //The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844// for his fellow German citizens, when the book was published it also in context for the wider debate, Engels’ book demonstrated to the middle and upper class of England the struggles of working-class daily life. Engels presents a multitude of problems with the current “victimization” of the working class “by the cycles of the marketplace” (Harrison 21). It is because of problems such as inadequate diets, medical care, and education that debate arises about the working class and their conditions. Many of England’s “politicians, intellectuals, and leaders”, who eyes are opened by Engels book, demand of the “government and employers to take responsibility for the industrial poor” (Steinbach 85). By publishing his text in the form of a book, Engels limits who can read his work. On page ten of his introduction in //The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844//, Engels dedicates his book to the working class of England. This is quite intriguing for since it is published in the format of a book, little if any of the working class would have been able to read it. This dedication illustrates Engels belief in “doing justice” for the “oppressed and calumniated [working] class of men” (10). While he may dedicate his book to the working class of England, the main demographic Engels intends the book for are his fellow German compatriots. It is meant as a warning of the social degradation brought on by the energies of industrialization. Germanies industrial revolution, at this period of time, is similar, to England’s. Engels shows an explicit example of the consequences of industrialization, if Germany continues on their current trajectory. The secondary demographic the book is intended for are the scholars of England such as professors, upper-class citizens, and political leaders. Engels knows that many of the English scholars are proficient in the German language, and will be able to read //The Condition of the Working Class in 1844//, before an English translation is made available. Engels’ intent towards the English scholars is to change their views on cities that they believe they are familiar with, while also open their eyes to the degradation of England’s working class.

A work that is similar in quality and subject matter is Henry Mayhew’s //London Labour and the London Poor.// Published in 1851, seven years after Engels’ //The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844//, Mayhew’s interview offers insight into the “dwellings of the unrelieved poor” of London (Harrison 22). Although Mayhew does not offer a course of political action, both he and Engels exemplify, in detail, what existence is like for the working class.Through fastidious description and rigorously in-depth research Engels is able to effectively convey the lifestyle and living conditions of Victorian England’s most unspeakable and horrifying slums. With flawless execution of the juxtaposition of the poor and rich, Engels is able to exhibit how the working class of England has reached the “lowest level of humanity” and send a warning to his fellow German citizens (60). CS/Engl387/Fall2014/UVic

Works Cited Altick, Richard D. //Victorian People and Ideas; A Companion for the Modern Reader of Victorian Literature//. New York: Norton, 1973. Print.

Engels, Friedrich. From "//The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844//." //The Broadview Anthology of Victorian Prose 1832-1901//. Ed. Mary Elizabeth Leighton and Lisa Surridge. Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press, 2012. 104-08. Print.

Engels, Friedrich. //The Condition of the Working Class in England//. Edinburgh: George Allen and Unwin, 1968. Print. Jones, Gareth Stedman. ‘Engels, Friedrich (1820–1895)’, //Oxford Dictionary of National Biography//, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Sept 2012 accessed 03 Oct 2014

Steinbach, Susie. //Understanding the Victorians: Politics, Culture, and Society in Nineteenth-Century Britain//. London: Routledge, 2012. Print

Harrison, Antony H. From “//1984”// //A Companion to Victorian Literature and Culture//. Ed. Herbert F. Tucker. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 1999. Print.

Other Resources Consulted Engels, Friedrich. //The Condition of the Working Class in England//. Ed. Victor Kiernan Suffolk: Penguin Books, 1987. Print.

Gilmour, Robin. //The Victorian Period: The Intellectual and Cultural Context, 1830-1890//. London: Longman, 1993. Print.

O'Gorman, Francis. //The Cambridge Companion to Victorian Culture//. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Print.