A Cristmas Carrol

A Christmas Carol

After visiting the Cornish tin mines in 1842 Charles Dickens wrote ‘A Christmas Carol’ during the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution made a big change in people’s life because this was the introduction into machines in the workplace.

In the Victorian times there were lots of poor and rich people, but the rich didn’t talk to the poor and saw them as worthless slaves and did not talk to them. ‘A Christmas Carol was aimed to teach the rich in 1842 a lesson ‘people are more important than money.’ Dickens knew what it was like to be poor as he lived in poverty as a child.

In ‘A Christmas Carol’ the main character is Ebenezer scrooge, he is the meanest, most self-centred man in London, dickens describes his personality “The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, made his eyes red, his thin lips blue” this gives the impression that scrooge has no warmth and will always be lonely. The key words that show this are “The cold within him.” This makes the reader feel scrooge is old, frozen and has no love at all.

Dickens wanted scrooge to represent the worst of the rich in 1842, he wanted to change there ways. Scrooges looks reflect his personality, scrooge is unfriendly to everyone even his family and employees like his book-keeper Bob Cratchit.

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The way scrooge lives also reflects his personality Dickens shows this by using personification “They were a gloomy suite of rooms, in a lowering pile of building up a yard, where it had so little business to be, that one could scarcely help fancying it must have run there when it was a young house, playing at hide-and-seek with other houses, and forgotten the way out again.” This reflects the opposite of scrooge’s childhood and is stuck just like scrooge. The key words that show this are ‘forgotten the way out again’ this makes the reader feel that scrooge is lost and so is the house.

The people in dickens time were very religious, they believed in heaven and hell, angles and ghosts. This would have shocked them. The ghost of scrooges old work partner Jacob Marly visits scrooge to warn him that he with have three spirits visit him.

Scrooge is visited by the three ghosts of Christmas. The ghost of Christmas past, present and yet to come.

The ghost of Christmas past visits scrooge first and shows him shadows of his childhood. Scrooge loves money more than people, he lost his girlfriend because of this “He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dog days” this shows that scrooge wants to be isolated. The keywords that show this are “He carried his own low temperature always about with him” this makes the reader feel sorry for scrooge but also that he pushed her away and now he regrets it.

Dickens wanted the reader to learn about childhood in the Victorian times and how the rich always seamed to look down on them.

The ghost of Christmas present is the next to visit and shows scrooge bob Cratchits family on Christmas day “And now two smaller Cratchits came in, screaming that outside the backer’s they had smelt goose and known it for there own and basking in luxurious thoughts of sage and onions these young Cratchits danced around the table” this shows that the Cratchit family enjoy being around each other and love one and other. The key words that show this are “these young Cratchits danced around the table.” this makes the reader feel that the Cratchit family are a loving family and just because there poor doesn’t mean they can’t be happy.

The ghost also shows scrooge two children that have died from starvation. This was meant to shock scrooge and the reader into wishing they had done more to help the poor.

The next ghost is the ghost of Christmas yet to come. He shows scrooge his future, if he caries on being mean, the ghost shows him that he will end up with no family and die a old lonely man. Scrooge is shocked to see that when he’s dead no one cares and the poor steal his things. ““Ha ha” laughed the same woman when old Joe produced a fanal bag with money in it told out there several gains upon the ground. “This is the end of it you see he frightened everyone away when he was alive to profit us when he was dead! Ha ha ha.”” This quote shows that when scrooge is dead people are making money off of scrooge’s possessions this makes scrooge upset and mad, he feels this is unfair. The keywords that show this are “old Joe produced a bag with money”. This makes the reader feel that scrooge deserves it for not giving money to the poor when scrooge was alive.

The rich in 1842 would have been scared of this happening to them.

Dickens wanted to shock the reader and make them change there ways because only the rich would have been able to read in 1842. After being visited by the ghost’s scrooge changed his ways for the better, many people after reading dickens book became more thoughtful. In the novel dickens paints a clear picture of what it was like for both rich and poor people in Victorian times. The themes in the novel are still in our society today greed and love. At Christmas people in today’s society are more bothered about presents under the Christmas tree than family.

By Megan Calderwood