Agitation for Social Justice and Moral Reform in Yeast and Alton Locke: Dialectical Interplay Between Rigid Attitudes and Humanistic Approach

Abstract

In his attempt to bring about social reform of the appalling conditions of the working class, Charles Kingsley turned his fictional works into serious instruments of social justice and platforms to spread his views to the public. He envisioned his novels, as opportunities for readers to see with new eyes the possibilities of cooperation between classes, and called for a change of heart and for the prevailing of fellow-feeling and human brotherhood. The shadowy and degraded figures of Alton Locke and Yeast, are shown as victims of the prevailing social class division and morally irresponsible industrial relationships. Kingsley draws attention to their miserable conditions but does not delve deep into their problems. He makes touching pictorial description of their miserable conditions for the sake of raising his readers' pity, and he uses them as instruments of bringing about social reform.