ETS 490 Chapter Notes - Chapter Mayhew: Ragged School, Making Money, Richard Dennis

• School: Syracuse University
• Department: English Textual Studies
• Course: ETS 490
• Professor: Morrison

Document Summary

Amidst the flower petals and floral scents of victorian london, young poor girls were working daily to make enough money to survive. This illustrates the conditions that not only children, but all working class people had to face during this period in history. In victorian london, class lines were drawn even more distinctly and sharply than in modern times. While the wealthy were having grand, opulent times, the working class were struggling to survive. Flower-selling was only one method of making money, though. For many women, prostitution was another common way of earning the money that they so desperately needed to survive. Other so-called street folk made small amounts of money by selling at the market, or begging for money. Mayhew describes these working folk in terms of deserving and undeserving and in moral terms, suggesting his prejudices toward the people he writes about.