A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens)

The journey to his childhood results in visible signs of emotion in Scrooge, which we do not associate with him to start with, as this one of the first ways that Dickens presents the change in Scrooge. ‘“Your lip is trembling”’. ‘“And what is that upon

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol was first published in London on the 19th of December 1843, the novella was instantly popular and still is to this day. Dickens inspiration for the short story seems to come from his childhood experiences and his sympathy for the poor. In the story a miserable old man, Ebenezer Scrooge, is shown the error of his ways and what will come of it if he doesn’t make drastic changes. Various ghosts and spirits slowly transform him into a kinder more pleasant man. A Christmas Carol is a powerful novella that uses symbolism like the children Ignorance and Want, Scrooge’s transformation, and Scrooges nephew Fred, to reinforce significant themes like social isolation, rebirth, and family.

Following this bitter blow, the Ghost of Christmas Present leads Scrooge on a tour of two more families: that of his nephew and of his clerk. The vision of Scrooge’s clerk’s family – the Cratchits – paints an intricate example of the beauty of family. As Dickens explains, “They were not a handsome family; they were not well dressed; their shoes were far from being water-proof; their clothes were scanty… But they were happy, grateful, pleased with one another, and contented with the times…” (page 54). The Cratchits possessed minimal earthly wealth, and even had an ill son, yet they displayed incredible joy! The joy, warmth, affection, and laughter surrounding the Cratchits’ Christmas celebration brought Scrooge to the realization that the “Christmas spirit” does not depend on any material possessions, or even on situations. Joy is a choice, and that choice is made easier when we are surrounded by the ones we love.

During the Industrial Revolution in London, the poor were treated as inadequate citizens. Most worked just so they could have food and shelter. In A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens uses Ebenezer Scrooge to convey his critiques of Victorian society. Dickens uses the character Scrooge to express his judgements of Victorian society, greed, and the treatment of the poor. He also suggests a reform to these problems, charity and the spirit of Christmas.

Dickens also uses his characters to endorse other lessons that he believed were essential in keeping Christmas ‘well’. Scrooge’s behavior in Stave 1 towards the two portly gentlemen and his rudeness displayed towards his ‘ruddy’ nephew Fred, encapsulates all the attitudes

In the first stave, Dickens tries to point out that Scrooge is a character that society considers negative. In the introduction,

Dickens intentionally dresses the ghost in symbols of Christmas to accentuate the idea of what the Christmas spirit should be – “free…genial…cheerful”. Scrooge observes The Cratchit Family’s situation - their “thread-bare clothes” and “twice turned gowns”- through the ghost, and he learns how his actions have been detrimental. Scrooge recognises that Bob Cratchit is deserving of more; more than a “dismal

‘Show me no more!’ Scrooge cries to the Ghost of Christmas Past. What he sees is a punishment to him. ‘But the relentless Ghost pinioned him in both his arms, and forced him to observe what happened next’ (Stave 2). The phantom as literary device enables Dickens to explore the social and moral issues central to his fiction: – poverty, miserliness, guilt, redemption. The ghosts borrow in their appearance from a tradition of allegory. There is the strange child/old man that is Christmas Past, clutching a branch of holly yet trimmed with summer flowers. There is the large and avuncular Ghost of Christmas Present, tinged more and more with age as his visions draw to their close. And there is ‘The Phantom’ that is the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, shrouded and ‘stately’ and mysterious. Their shapes tell you about author's moral

I should like to have given him something that is all.” (Dickens 36) This passage truly marks the beginning of the metamorphosis and transformation that Scrooge will undergo throughout the story, which also happens to be the overall theme of Dickens’ novella. The Ghost of Christmas Past takes the greedy Scrooge and forces him to experience the Christmases of his past; when he lived at school and never saw a Christmas, when his sister Fan told him he was coming home for Christmas, and even the party thrown by Fezziwig. Even at this party the light of the Ghost of Christmas Past as he comes to realize that the boss of the workplace truly influences the mood and environment, and he even tells the reader this when he says, “It isn’t that, Spirit. He [Fezziwig] has the power to render us happy or unhappy; to make our service light or burdensome; a pleasure or a toil. Say that his power lies in words and looks; in things so slight and insignificant that it is impossible to add and count ‘em up: what

The England depicted by Charles Dickens in his “A Christmas Carol” was also the world that influenced Karl Marx, for he was living in England when he wrote the Communist Manifesto. What Marx had to say about the nature of capitalist society and about the struggle between classes can be applied to the idea of economic relations offered by Dickens in his book. Dickens was a social critic as well as a writer and often commented on the social order of his time in his writings. In “A Christmas Carol”, Dickens’ view of the economic structures of British capitalism in the nineteenth century is clearly evident and helps define and shape the character of Ebenezer Scrooge and those who interact with him.

Dickens' Use of Language and Structure to Build Up a Picture of the Joy of Christmas Present

A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, presents the theme that greed and uncaring cause you to become oblivious towards the needs of others, ultimately bringing suffering to you and the community. The main character of the story, Ebenezer Scrooge, is a selfish old businessman whose only concern is generating profits. He is so inattentive and overcome with desire that he neglects even the smallest measures of comfort. Thus, his clerk must endure the cold weather with a fire that “looked as if it was one coal.” And although he has the financial resources, Scrooge is unwilling to contribute when two men ask for donations for the poor and destitute, instead supporting the workhouses and prisons. Scrooge puts greater value on wealth than on human

Dickens uses strong and emotive language, including similes, metaphors, adjectives and verbs to portray an image of a 19th century miser. “Solitary as an oyster”. This shows that scrooge is someone who likes to keep to himself, and spends a lot of time on his own. In this quote Dickens uses the word “oyster”, this comparison gives us the idea that scrooge is like an oyster he is locked away from everyone else. “He carried his own low temperature”. In this quote Dickens uses the words “low temperature”. This then creates the idea that scrooge is always a cold person; he's never warm to anybody and never has any interaction with other people. This has an impact on the reader’s picture of a 19th century miser.

It is ironic that the comforter which should provide warmth and comfort, bears little protection from the cold and suffering. Similarly, Bob Cratchit is not permitted to replenish his fire because Scrooge withholds the coal box inside his own office. This coal symbolizes the basic necessities of life which the gluttonous upper class individuals withhold from the working-class, in a complete disregard for their well-being. Therefore, having seen poverty first-hand, Dickens implies via the poor salary, the harsh working conditions, and through the lack of heat that the capitalists willfully abuse their workers as to retain extra capital for their personal use.

Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’ presents a warning to society through the representation of characters and the journey and transformation of the notorious miser, Ebenezer Scrooge. Dickens warns society of the grim future that awaits humanity if people fail to respond to the plight of the poor. Finally, if Dickens intentions weren’t made clear enough through these examples, his preface says it all. “I have endeavoured in this ghostly little book, to raise the ghost of an idea…May it haunt their houses pleasantly, and