A Christmas Carol
By: Charles Dickens
Comparative Literature
According to Wikipedia, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol has had more film adaptations than just about any other book in the English language beginning all the way back in 1901 with a silent short titled Marley’s Ghost. Ebenezer Scrooge has been reinterpreted by many live actors.
Murray’s character is manic and narcissistic, whereas Dickens’ Scrooge was a bit more of a understated workaholic. The original Ebenezer Scrooge wanted money, but he also sought solitude and isolation, locking himself away in a cold and empty house after work. Alternately, Frank Cross is comfortable hamming it up on an awards stage and flattering the pants off people he secretly loathes. He’s an incredibly
One difference in the movie was that the Ghost of Christmas yet to come has a hand of skin. Not a hand without skin that was wrote in the book. I think that this makes a difference though because it doesn't show a big impact on the story. I think Charles Dickens put the skinless hand in his story to give his story a "chill-factor". I don't think that the director of the movie version of A Christmas Carol thought that it was a big deal or a big impact to the rest of the story. Another difference between book and movie is that Scrooge doesn't go to church at the end of the story. I think it makes a big difference though, because it shows how much Scrooge has changed since the three spirits came to visit him. It shows a before and after effect which I think made a big impact on the story. The last significant change between the book and the movie is that when Scrooge follows the Ghost of Christmas yet to come, he ends up falling into his grave. This is significant because Scrooge gets to meet the old Scrooge and gives him a slap in the face of reality of what's going to happen if things don't change. It's ironic too because it's the new Scrooge that wakes up on the bed in the morning.
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.
“A Christmas Carol (2009)” is a 2009 Disney film adaptation of the Charles Dickens novella of the same name. It is directed by Robert Zemeckis and made by using Motion Capture. The movie is talking about a crotchety miser named Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge is an old man and he has a partner Jacob Marley who died in 7 years ago. For 7 years, he runs his business with an employee who called Bob Cratchit.
In 'A Christmas Carol', Dickens represents Scrooge as a 'squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner' who is against Christmas and happiness and values money, yet given a chance to redeem his fate. Marley's Ghost has come to warn Scrooge to change
Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol, which took place in 1843. The main character, Ebenezer Scrooge was very wealthy and greedy. Three ghosts try to help him become a kinder and generous man by haunting him. A Christmas Carol is the story of how Ebenezer Scrooge transformed from an uncaring greedy man to one who realized there was more to life than money.
Twas the night before Christmas, two creatures on trial, one who is cheap, and the other who is vile. The Grinch from Dr. Seuss’s, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol are head to head against each other to be the meanest this Christmas. The Grinch is a putrid green monster who lives up in a deep, dark cave, hating all cheer. Scrooge is a miser who hates all human life and never buys anything that’s not cheap. The Grinch is meaner because he goes down to Whoville, rips everything with holiday cheer away from the poor Whos, and doesn’t even care, he just smiles with hatred to Christmas. He does all this just for the fun of it.
From the story, “A Christmas Carol”, to the movie, “Scrooged”, there are many similarities and differences in the characters, symbols and even plot although much of it is due to the change in setting from the early 1840’s to the late 1980’s. Beginning with characters, Ebenezer Scrooge carries his overall theme of generosity or lack thereof into the movie where he is referred to as Frank Cross. Cross shows this in his Christmas gifts that he gives out to family and employees which happen to be no more than a fluffy towel. Scrooge expresses his lack of generosity by giving Bob Crachit, his employee, little to no christmas bonus and being unhappy with his request to take Christmas day off. In both the book and movie, Scrooge and Cross both start out with a very annoyed and almost depressed demeanor, both having a short temper and being very dismissive towards others. Cross was vain and very dedicated to his television company while Scrooge was a workaholic and the only thing he cared about was money. He also craved isolation as he would return home
Although it is a ghost story, A Christmas Carol is an uplifting tale. To what extent do you agree?
In Scrooged Frank Cross interferes during his live broadcast to make a speech about just that. Everything was running on the success of this showing and he was under severe pressure from his boss for it to be perfect. He speaks about his mistakes with honesty and criticizes the audience for not turning their screens off on Christmas. As a television company, that's counterproductive choice for business, and it shows just how much of a sacrifice Frank was willing to make to make his point. He breaks the fourth wall and speaks directly to the viewers of the movie. In a technological age, humans must make time for the people they love and put their screens away. Frank Cross conveys that especially around the holidays it is necessary to reach out to connect with people and spread love. Scrooge or a different era follows the same message at the end of the novella. He gives his employee a raise just as Franks did. He buys a turkey for Tiny Tim’s family and spends Christmas with his nephew. All of these actions put aside the urge to keep up with a changing technological age with workaholic tendencies to spread love and celebrate the Christmas spirit of
#1. A Christmas Carol takes place during the time of the Victorian Era, the years of 1837-1901. We learn that the Cratchits live in a town called Camden Town during this time. Camden Town is located in an area of northwest London. Charles Dicken’s (the author of A Christmas Carol) family lived at 16 Bayham Street in Camden Town.
Ebenezer Scrooge had changed a lot throughout the screenplay and movies. In the story, Scrooge had started out as a rich miser who didn’t care about anything but himself and his business. He ended up being a kind man who helped everyone he could and gave back to the community. He had changed in many ways and had been shown what he had become. Marley helped Scrooge realize that he had made everyone turn away from him and think poorly of him, and that some people like Bob Cratchit and his nephew, had hoped that he could change. Scrooge’s encounters with the spirits had shown him the most.
Scrooges attitude dramatically changes throughout the story. In the beginning of the story Scrooge is just a self-centered, rude, and arrogant character. This is mainly because his life was always surrounded by negativity, therefore he felt as if he had to show the same emotion. ¨Darkness was cheap, and Scrooge liked it.¨ (Dickens Stave 1). This quote really shows how Scrooge felt he could only show one emotion because that melancholy attitude was easy to
The movie “A Christmas Carol” is better than the book. The book is a very descriptive christmas novel. The movie shows more feeling than the book did. The setting and lighting has set a better mood overall than the book.this is why the movie is better than the book.
Another character that quite a grave deal of inspiration was drawn from was Frank Cross as portrayed by Bill Murray in the 1988 feature Scrooged. Not
Scrooge figured out who the dead man was in the book at his grave. After he realized it was himself, he cried and pleaded that he would change. On page 77 of “A Christmas Carol,” It states, “...hear me! I am not the man I was. I will not be the man I must have been but for this intercourse. Why show me this, if I am past all hope?” In the movie, Scrooge also figures out he is the dead man at his grave and he is also saddened by the news, but after he discovers this, he is dragged down into a pit reaching the bottom of the Earth itself, which is way past the normal burying standards at six feet! This all shows how much a movie and a book can be so similar, yet so different!