A Christmas Carol
By
Charles John Huffam Dickens
The book, A Christmas Carol was written by Charles John Dickens in 1853. The author uses the tale of Christmastime to convey his personal, sombre emotions to the reader. Although A Christmas Carol is set in a different time period, even today it teaches valuable lessons to the reader. The main character of the story - Ebenezer Scrooge, begins by having no feelings for anything or anybody. However, as the story progresses he changes from his gloomy, ignorant perpetuating-self and by the conclusion of the yarn he is transformed into someone quite different. Charles Dickens expresses his thoughts about the state of Victorian society through A Christmas Carol with the sole moral that "kindness can lead to happiness" and the story shows how the Christmas spirit and caring people can change a person and their outlook on life.
Ebenezer Scrooge is a miserable but wealthy business man. One could put his desolate existence down to his selfish heart and thoughts, as Scrooge treats everyone with a callous and nasty spirit. Understandably, Scrooge therefore despises Christmas, since Christmas is a festival of sharing, generosity and happiness - emotions that Scrooge doesn't believe in. In the tale, Scrooge's reaction to the mentioning of this secular festival is greeted with "Humbug!" All of Scrooge's dialogues are spoken in a monotone as if he was devoid of any emotion, which helps to characterise Scrooge's personality and his short blunt sentences give everything a meaning to end.
The fact that Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol during the Industrial Revolution is reflected in the character of Ebenezer Scrooge. His mean, hateful and careless attitude towards his workers is typical of the high stature businessmen at the time. Dickens shows that not only were the affluent capitalists offhand in dealing with their employees, but also illustrates their reluctance to part with their money. At the beginning of the narrative, when two charity workers came into his shop asking for a liberal donation, Scrooge declines gravely. His refusal is portrayed in a very disturbing manner to the reader, in a scene where he uses very disturbing language. He tells the confused workers that if the poor die, it would be accommodating, as it would just help the population problem that was plaguing the country at the time. It would seem thoughtless and cruel but at the time it was a reality. Dickens felt that the significant gap between the upper and lower classes was wrong and he held this liable to the higher class's ignorance of the grim situation that overwhelmed the poor. Another example is Scrooge's stance regarding his clerk Bob Cratchit. Bob's measly wages from Scrooge are barely enough to support his large family. His son Tiny Tim is barely clinging to life as he is crippled and Bob is unable to afford proper care for his son. Despite this no-win situation, Bob Cratchit still manages to have the Christmas dinner prepared and he doesn't let his unfortunate situation destroy his Christmas spirit. Dickens is presenting a clever irony. By doing this he is symbolising a truth where Bob Cratchit represents the working class - a working class who are doing their best to survive and are just thankful to be alive and Scrooge is representing the rich who have all the material wealth, but still cannot enjoy life because of their attachment to their possessions. Tiny Tim's suffering because of his disability is seen as him being an innocent victim, but his happiness is denoting that having a spirit and goodwill cannot be equated with one's wealth or status.
By
Charles John Huffam Dickens
The book, A Christmas Carol was written by Charles John Dickens in 1853. The author uses the tale of Christmastime to convey his personal, sombre emotions to the reader. Although A Christmas Carol is set in a different time period, even today it teaches valuable lessons to the reader. The main character of the story - Ebenezer Scrooge, begins by having no feelings for anything or anybody. However, as the story progresses he changes from his gloomy, ignorant perpetuating-self and by the conclusion of the yarn he is transformed into someone quite different. Charles Dickens expresses his thoughts about the state of Victorian society through A Christmas Carol with the sole moral that "kindness can lead to happiness" and the story shows how the Christmas spirit and caring people can change a person and their outlook on life.
Ebenezer Scrooge is a miserable but wealthy business man. One could put his desolate existence down to his selfish heart and thoughts, as Scrooge treats everyone with a callous and nasty spirit. Understandably, Scrooge therefore despises Christmas, since Christmas is a festival of sharing, generosity and happiness - emotions that Scrooge doesn't believe in. In the tale, Scrooge's reaction to the mentioning of this secular festival is greeted with "Humbug!" All of Scrooge's dialogues are spoken in a monotone as if he was devoid of any emotion, which helps to characterise Scrooge's personality and his short blunt sentences give everything a meaning to end.
The fact that Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol during the Industrial Revolution is reflected in the character of Ebenezer Scrooge. His mean, hateful and careless attitude towards his workers is typical of the high stature businessmen at the time. Dickens shows that not only were the affluent capitalists offhand in dealing with their employees, but also illustrates their reluctance to part with their money. At the beginning of the narrative, when two charity workers came into his shop asking for a liberal donation, Scrooge declines gravely. His refusal is portrayed in a very disturbing manner to the reader, in a scene where he uses very disturbing language. He tells the confused workers that if the poor die, it would be accommodating, as it would just help the population problem that was plaguing the country at the time. It would seem thoughtless and cruel but at the time it was a reality. Dickens felt that the significant gap between the upper and lower classes was wrong and he held this liable to the higher class's ignorance of the grim situation that overwhelmed the poor. Another example is Scrooge's stance regarding his clerk Bob Cratchit. Bob's measly wages from Scrooge are barely enough to support his large family. His son Tiny Tim is barely clinging to life as he is crippled and Bob is unable to afford proper care for his son. Despite this no-win situation, Bob Cratchit still manages to have the Christmas dinner prepared and he doesn't let his unfortunate situation destroy his Christmas spirit. Dickens is presenting a clever irony. By doing this he is symbolising a truth where Bob Cratchit represents the working class - a working class who are doing their best to survive and are just thankful to be alive and Scrooge is representing the rich who have all the material wealth, but still cannot enjoy life because of their attachment to their possessions. Tiny Tim's suffering because of his disability is seen as him being an innocent victim, but his happiness is denoting that having a spirit and goodwill cannot be equated with one's wealth or status.
