Assignment
Prose
Name: Rabia Khan Class: MA 3C
Question:
Ruskin is critical of a society in
which the poor become poorer and the rich, richer. What social reforms does he
propose for the economic relief of the poor class.
Answer:
According to Ruskin, there is an imbalance in the society where the situation of the poor is
becoming worse and the richer are becoming more upgraded. He has a very
realistic approach in the face of this world in which there is an un-even class
division.
Being a social reformer
he takes this problem on a very serious note and according to him, there should
be a change in this uneven distribution. He himself is very keen on changing
such status and perspective of the society. There are certain reforms that
Ruskin points out in order to give some relief to the poorer.
Firstly according to him, a
man should be paid according to the work he has done. It means that a man
who works should be paid a fair value of his work and the one who chooses
laziness should be paid according to his work time. In this way, it will do proper justice to the ones who work as compared to the ones who do not. No
discrimination will arouse if one is paid in accordance to its work time.
Secondly, the work should be
done clearly and fairly. This means that honesty should be the key to the
work done. It is that people who have connections with higher authorities
choose shortcuts in order to get their work done and the ones who don’t have
such opportunities have to work with the capabilities they have. So this
creates an unfair environment which leads to class discrimination. So Ruskin
suggests that such racial discrimination should be avoided for the betterment
of the poor or the working class.
Our Education system also
plays an equal and important part in promoting such discrimination. From the
very start, the teachers taught us that if we get good grades we can become a
part of the higher society and if we don’t we are left behind and become a part
of that social circle that lives from hand to mouth to fulfil their basic
needs. So this thing needs to be changed and the mindset of the students should be
made on this fact that whoever works hard is paid more than the one who does
nothing. Because Education is the one thing that makes a child the man he is
today. A strong impact of schools can lead a child to become a man of great
capabilities and a hard worker.
Another point that
Ruskin points out is that one should do work in order to live a life, not for
the sake of materials. According to him the greed and desire of
materialistic objects (money) lead a man to the negotiation of his soul. He
becomes self-centred and neglects the main purpose of work. Especially this
kind of situation happens in the poor class, so money should only be taken as a
source to fulfil the basic needs of life, not everything. It should only be
treated as a reward for the work you have done. Such morals should be generated
in order to overcome the lust for materialism or materialistic objects. As a quote
says:
“There are somethings that money
can’t buy
Like manners, morals and
integrity”
So everything is not
related to money and that is why money shouldn’t be considered as an answer to
every problem.