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The Death Of Child Labor Or A Poor Health Care System

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Smog fills the air as a boy runs along the streets of London. He passes the Thames River filled with who knows what. He gets home to his mother who is suffering from cholera, and he tries to make her comfortable in her final hours. He wished he could find a doctor that would come see her, but they have no money and cannot afford it. Later that day, she coughs a few times, then gradually more and more as the day progresses, until she takes her final breath. It is silent. In the Victorian Era, this is what life was like- filled with hunger, pollution and disease (Currie 29). Charles Dickens was subject to this lifestyle, for he too grew up in Victorian England (Collins 1). However, some of the problems that were faced then are still problems today. For example, hunger, child labor or a poor health care system can all be traced from the nineteenth century to today (WHO/PAHO 18). As a beloved author and ardent social activist in the Victorian Era, Charles Dickens would abhor the substandard healthcare that is set up in Haiti, but would idolize the Affordable Care Act that was passed in the United States. The Victorian Era is often seen as synonymous with the Industrial Revolution in Europe. Workhouses were springing up for the poor, and diseases were being passed around like a hot potato. However, some citizens chose to use their trade to help inform the population of what was going on in society. One of these people was Charles Dickens. He used his writing to inform the public

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