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How Dickens Conveys Moral Lessons in a Christmas Carol Essay

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What are the moral lessons Dickens wished to convey in A Christmas Carol and how effectively does he convey them?

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is a classic Christmas story which contains stern moral lessons, written in 1843. These lessons are designed to make the readers of that time, the Victorians, conscience of the injustices that were present in the rapidly expanding cities of Britain, due to the Industrial Revolution. The story includes three morals, demonstrated by the three Ghosts of Past, Present and Future, which attempt to convert the protagonist, Ebenezer Scrooge, from his greedy ways. The morals of this novella, as a result, which was originally written to communicate with the Victorians, is just as relevant today, …show more content…

The fact that he would rather have his relatives keep Christmas “in [their] own way” displays his lack of love for others, which is a symptom of his loneliness. In addition, Dickens displays Scrooge’s extension of his hatred to the public. This is shown when he rejects the carol singer in the middle of Stave 1, where he gathers rage and lashes out at the poor singer when Dickens describes: ‘Scrooge seizes the rule with such energy and action, that the singer fled in terror, leaving the keyhole to the fog.’ This outrage shows Scrooge’s hatred of Christmas and festive celebrations expel him from the rest of the world. The final strand of the sentence, “leaving the keyhole to the fog”, emphasises how Scrooge’s actions leave him isolated and alone.

The Ghost of Christmas Past and Future teach Scrooge the lesson to do unto others as he would have done to them. Dickens scares the reader into understanding that doing good to others is in our own interest. The Ghost of Christmas Past, by showing Scrooge his earlier life, teaches him to show pity for the carol singer and Bob Cratchet when he displays the neglection Scrooge suffered when he says: ‘A solitary child, neglected by his friends, is left there still.’ This conveys that Scrooge himself felt lonely during his childhood, where the words “solitary” and “neglected” emphasise that Scrooge experienced similar troubles to those he rejects in his normal time. This shows that Scrooge, after knowing

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