To what extent does Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' fit into the genre of the supernatural story and how does Dickens use it as a vehicle for his social views?
To what extent does Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' fit into the genre of the supernatural story and how does Dickens use it as a vehicle for his social views?
For hundreds of years supernatural stories have been told with the intention of scaring the reader or listener. These kind of stories are often set in darkness or places where vision would be distorted; this is to enhance the terror in the atmosphere. Supernatural stories are written in such a way that they will play on the reader's subconscious fears and their worries on life after death. 'A Christmas Carol' is different to this however as it has a moral and the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, learns from his mistakes and becomes a better man.
One of the most important elements of a ghost story is the atmosphere. Special effects, the setting and the plot all help to build up tension in the atmosphere. They add a sense of mystery which keeps the reader or listener on the edge of their seat.
The setting is also important in a ghost story as it helps with the suspense and mood. Ghost stories are usually set in dark, eerie places with the weather also playing a part as it is normally raining or stormy outside. The reason for ghost stories being set in the dark or at night is to make the main character feel vulnerable due to the senses being heightened as people tend to look more carefully for danger when all is in darkness. This causes feelings to be over exaggerated. The protagonist is also usually alone; this gives expectations that something bad will happen. The person being haunted is usually evil, making the purpose of the haunting to teach that person a lesson.
The spirits in 'A Christmas Carol' are trying to help Scrooge which is why the story is different to typical ghost stories. The three ghosts that haunt Scrooge each teach him a different lesson. With the first spirits the atmosphere is jolly and happy, the settings add to this by being brightly lit. However, the third spirit is dark and sinister, creating a mood of decay and despair.
The typical plot of a ghost story usually includes a battle between good and evil. The main character whom which the story is based around doesn't believe in the supernatural but is converted when the apparitions appear to show the protagonist a life they could have which is better than the one they are living at the time. Modern day ghost stories rarely have a moral, they're merely to scare and horrify the reader.
The majority of ghost stories are based on the return of the dead in the form of a ghost which interferes with the living, or haunts a house or building. The main features in a good ghost story are the sound of footsteps, bloodcurdling screams, ringing bells, the levitation of objects, spirits walking through walls and a sudden drop in temperature. Originally, ghosts were friendly but as the stories became more popular, the ghost gradually became more evil. Usually the ghosts cannot physically harm the characters but have many different ways of scaring them.
The author of 'A Christmas Carol', Charles Dickens, was born on the 7th February 1812. He and his family had to leave their house when he was only seven months old as his father, John Dickens, had problems managing his money. In 1812, John Dickens went to work in Portsmouth at the British Navy headquarters. His family then spent two years in Chatham, London. In 1817, Charles went to school where he learned how to read and write. In 1822 at the age of ten, he and his family moved to a poorer conditioned house in Chatham, this ...
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The author of 'A Christmas Carol', Charles Dickens, was born on the 7th February 1812. He and his family had to leave their house when he was only seven months old as his father, John Dickens, had problems managing his money. In 1812, John Dickens went to work in Portsmouth at the British Navy headquarters. His family then spent two years in Chatham, London. In 1817, Charles went to school where he learned how to read and write. In 1822 at the age of ten, he and his family moved to a poorer conditioned house in Chatham, this started an unhappy period of his life. He didn't attend school for two years, wandering the streets instead. He then started working in a blacking factory, labelling jars of boot-black. His father also got sent to a debtors prison so Charles' life became even more deprived. Being poor in those times was extremely hard, the homeless spent the nights cold, hungry and suffering.
Charles' grandmother died shortly after, fortunately leaving him some money. This started a prosperous period in his life. He went back to school for three years, afterwards going on to study law, but he mocked the legal system as he felt there was a too greater divide between the rich and the poor. At the age of seventeen he fell in love with Maria Beacnell. He spent four years with her until she became fat and grotesque, Charles wondered how he ever found her attractive. In 1835 he fell in love again with Catherine Hogarth and got married to her. He also wrote 'The Pickwick Paper' which made him a lot of money and put an end to his poverty. In 1837 he had his first child and started writing 'Oliver Twist'. Unfortunately, his wife's sister died at the age of seventeen, Charles was devastated which makes you wonder how happily married he was.
Charles Dickens became a public figure and his friends were very important to him, especially a man called John Foster. Altogether Charles had nine children but was separated from his wife Catherine. He visited America but was disappointed as there were no copyright laws. He later had an affair with Ellen Turner, in those days this was a great scandal. On the 6th June 1870, Charles died from a stroke. He was mourned throughout the world.
Charles Dickens took a great deal of care with his money unlike his father. He never forgot the hard times he endured as a boy. He donated vast amounts of money to the poor and destitute. He also wrote many of his books to educate the rich of the daily struggles of the poor. He was a perfect example of the successful self-made man of the Victorian era.
People lived in diabolical social conditions in the Victorian era. Children went to work as soon as they could in the industrial revolution if they were of the working class community. Many children never got an education, which Dickens believed was the only way out of poverty. There was little to do for leisure, and what was available was only really affordable for the rich, so the only affordable pleasure for the poor was sex, but as contraception wasn't available then, there was a very high birth rate resulting in thousands of children ending up in poverty. In 1839 almost half of the people who died in the UK were children under the age of ten. This was probably due to poor housing, too little food and accidents at work.
If you failed to pay your bills in the Victorian era you were sent to a debtors prison or your family went to a workhouse where they would probably be split up. Then there was a greater gap between the rich and the poor. The rich knew very little about poverty and destitution and, in my opinion, thought themselves superior to the poor. Many people from the countryside went to the cities to find jobs but many lived in cheap accommodation with no running water or toilet. There weren't any bin men so rubbish was thrown out onto the streets causing various diseases which was another reason for a high death rate.
'A Christmas Carol' is about a tight-fisted, money-obsessed man called Ebenezer Scrooge. It begins with Scrooge's long-term business partner, Jacob Marley's funeral. Seven years later on Christmas Eve the sign above Scrooge's office still read 'Marley and Scrooge'. Scrooge's nephew visited him in his office and was full of Christmas spirit, he invited Scrooge to Christmas dinner. Scrooge called Christmas 'humbug' and couldn't understand what he had to be merry about, "What right have you to be merry? What reason have you to be merry? You're poor enough." This is a fine example of how Scrooge only thinks of money and nothing else. As Scrooge's nephew walked out, two charity workers came in. They asked him how much they could put him down to give to charity, Scrooge replied "Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?" The charity workers told him many would rather die. Scrooge then said coldly, "If they would rather die, they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population." This shows how cold-hearted Scrooge is. Bob Cratchet, Scrooge's clarke, asked if he may have Christmas Day off but Scrooge was very reluctant to allow it. "A poor excuse for picking a man's pocket every twenty-fifth of December!" But he eventually gave him the day off. This being yet another example of how Scrooge is so money-obsessed.
After that, Scrooge went home. As he was opening his front door a spirit appeared in the doorknocker, then disappeared. The same happened again but on his bedroom door handle. When he got into his bedroom he locked the door. Later, as he was eating his gruel, bells started to ring, the locks on the door opened and Marley's ghost appeared. He looked the same except for a few things. "The chain he drew was clasped around his middle. It was long, and wound about him like a tail, and it was made (for Scrooge observed it closely) of cash-boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers and deeds and heavy wrought steel." Marley warned Scrooge that three ghosts would haunt him. ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. And that listening to them was the only hope of escaping the same fate as Marley.
When the bell tolled one, the ghost of Christmas past visited Scrooge and took him back to his old school where he spent a depressing Christmas. The spirit also showed him a Christmas party at where he used to be an apprentice, Scrooge saw himself enjoying Christmas. Afterwards he was taken to see the breakup of him and his only love, Belle. The reason for the breakup was that she believed Scrooge loved money more than her.
The following night at the same time, the ghost of Christmas present visited Scrooge and showed him people in debtor's prisons enjoying Christmas. He also viewed his nephew's Christmas dinner; he saw him and all his guests enjoying it. Then he was taken to Bob Cratchet's house and was shown his family enjoying a very meager Christmas dinner. Then the spirit predicted if the future events don't change then Tiny Tim, Bob's son whom is crippled, will die. Scrooge was then taken back to his own house but just before the spirit died it uttered these words, "Are there no prisons?" said the spirit, turning on him for the last time with his own words, "Are there no workhouses?" This scared Scrooge and made him realise how selfish he'd been.
On the last stroke of midnight the last ghost visited him. The ghost of Christmas future showed him a man who died. The man's business associates showed not one drop of remorse for his death and would only attend the funeral if there was free food on offer. Scrooge was then shown a chairwoman, laundress and undertaker stealing the mans possessions and selling them. Scrooge was then taken to the grave of the man who died, "Scrooge crept towards it, trembling as he went, and following the finger, read upon the stone of the poor neglected grave his own name, Ebenezer Scrooge." This is the darkest point within the story, the tension builds up into desperation as Scrooge confronts his potential death and sees his life for the waste it could be if he didn't mend his ways.
The next morning Scrooge awakes to find himself still alive and he is ecstatic. The first person he saw was a young boy and he got him to buy him the prize turkey in the butchers and got the butcher to deliver it to Bob Cratchet's house anonymously. As Scrooge walked the streets in a happy manner he bumped into the two charity workers and made a big donation. He then went to his nephew's Christmas dinner and the next day he gave Bob Cratchet a pay rise and promised to help his struggling family.
Ebenezer Scrooge represents the affluent community of the Victorian era that Charles Dickens despised. Scrooge is the protagonist in 'A Christmas Carol'. Scrooge only cares about money, but he is so obsessed that he never spends any, just counts it. His personality is miserly, selfish and self-centred. If he had his way Christmas would be banned as he believes there is no profit or gain in it, just a waste of time when he could be making money. This is how Dickens describes Scrooge: "External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. No warmth could warm him, no wintry weather chill him." When his business partner Jacob Marley died he didn't even show any emotion, he didn't even consider him a friend although they worked together for many years. He didn't even replace the sign that said 'Marley and Scrooge' after seven years after Marley's death. Scrooge didn't have any friends, just business associates.
'A Christmas Carol' has a typical moral to it as there is a fight between good and evil where good triumphs. It also teaches people to be kind, considerate, live life to the full and be thankful for what they've got. It also makes you think about the people in the poorer communities.
The social intent of 'A Christmas Carol' is to try and educate the rich of the lives of the poor and destitute. Also to make the rich aware of their responsibility to the poor.
'A Christmas Carol' is a good supernatural story as it has a good moral plot which teaches us many lessons which are still relevant today.
