In what way is 'A Christmas Carol' an allegory? Explain how Dickens uses symbolism in the story.

In what way is 'A Christmas Carol' an allegory? Explain how Dickens uses symbolism in the story. By Michael Taubman ' A Christmas Carol' is a straightforward allegory. An allegory is a type of narrative story in which events or characters represent a certain idea or theme, which relies heavily on symbolism. Dickens's story is about a greedy, selfless man called 'Scrooge' who is the opposite of what Christmas means. The first line of the novel 'Marley was dead', Marley we learn was once Scrooges partner and who comes back as a phantom to warm Scrooge to change his ways otherwise he will become a wondering phantom like Marley once dead. Dickens uses symbolism before the book is even open. The title 'A Christmas Carol'. The novel isn't about a carol but carols show joy, happiness and a time for everyone to come together. The main character Scrooge shows the opposite to the title as he was a greedy, cold man, 'No warmth could warm, nor wintry weather chill ... ...the heaviest rain, snow, hail and sleet could boast of the advantages over him in only one respect'. The way Scrooge is described in the novel, is as the weather, as the fog in the courtyard thickens as he leaves work, as if the fog were Scrooge. Musical imagery is used, like the title, as staves and used not chapters, which shows that the theme of the 'carol' is brought through the whole novel. This creates a

  • Word count: 2098
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How does Dickens use the character of Scrooge to teach his readers, old and young, his moral and social lessons?

How does Dickens use the character of Scrooge to teach his readers, old and young, his moral and social lessons? Charles Dickens is the author of A Christmas Carol. He came from a less privileged background of debt as his father had to work in a debtor's prison. Eager to get his father out of prison, he worked hard to earn money to end his fathers debt. Charles Dickens had chosen to write the book at Christmas, because it was a time of giving and celebration, yet there were many people at this time who weren't as fortunate - people who were poorer. Many of the poor worked in various places such as the workhouses under the poor law, and the people who managed the poor took advantage and made lots of money out of them. Dickens has written this story for two audiences, the first is for the entertainment of children, and the book would be read to them by the second audience - the adults. Society back then was much harsher - Dickens was angry in the way people were suffering, and it gave Dickens inspiration to write this book in the hope that it could improve society. The book is set in 1843 and the main character or caricature is Scrooge. Because he is a caricature, we have to suspend our disbelief in order to understand fully what Dickens is doing with Scrooge in wider detail. In the book, Scrooge, a greedy middle class businessmen gets visited by spirits who open his

  • Word count: 3820
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"A Christmas Carol" as an Allegory.

"A Christmas Carol" as an Allegory I read and studied "a Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. Dickens was born on the 7th of February 1812 at Portsea in Hampshire. He had eight brothers and sisters who all lived with their parents, John and Elizabeth Dickens. John Dickens worked in series of different places and had to continuously move houses to avoid paying his debts. However, these were probably the high pints of Charles childhood as they were soon shipped back to London where his father's debts became inferior. Charles had to depart school early and work to try and help his dad's economic problems. Nevertheless, John Dickens was arrested and sent to Marshalsea, a prison for debtors and soon after, the rest of the family followed him. As john's mother died in 1824, they were released from prison but spent the rest of their lives worrying about returning there. Charles resumed his school education and achieved the role of a clerk for a solicitor. Charles started his writing career by publishing short stories in local magazines and newspapers. It wasn't until the 1840s that he started writing "A Christmas Carol". During this time, the area in which he lived in was congested with poverty. This was also the time when new laws were enforced to endow with better living conditions for children. Among these laws, was one, which made education compulsory for children under the

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"A Christmas Carol" By Charles Dickens

"A Christmas Carol" By Charles Dickens Charles Dickens lived in the 19th Century (1812-1870) until the age of 58, and in that time he wrote many books including "A Christmas Carol". Charles Dickens is one of the most wildly recognised writers in English history. During his life, he lived in London, in the Victorian times when people were either very rich, or very poor. Charles Dickens had a troubled childhood and lived in increasing poverty, his father at one time was in debtor's prison. In his novels Dickens told of the 'darkness' and his childhood experiences. He was haunted by his troubled childhood i.e. he knows what it is like to be poor and dependent, due to his father's mistakes. When writing his novels, which made Dickens very rich, he always remembered and thought of his troubled childhood upbringing. Charles Dickens wrote "A Christmas Carol" to tell the people who had the money to help the poor people who did not have money although they worked very hard. A 'Christmas Carol' tells the story of a man called Ebenezer Scrooge, a wealthy man but described by Dickens as a 'wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner', 'hard and sharp as flint from which no steel ever struck out a generous fire.' Scrooge was an unhappy and lonely man who cared for nothing for friendship or companionship. The novel tells of the change from this uncaring and unloved

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"By Close Analysis of Staves One and Five Show How Dickens Portrays the Transformation of Scrooge and To What Effect"

A CHRISTMAS CAROL (BY CHARLES DICKENS) "By Close Analysis of Staves One and Five Show How Dickens Portrays the Transformation of Scrooge and To What Effect" In December 1843, Charles Dickens wrote and published "A Christmas Carol." He published this book when he needed money; he needed money badly because he was in debt. He decided to link it to things that are happening; that Christmas was not taken seriously, it was fading out and ghost traditional Christmas tales. Dickens used the genre of ghost stories, but Dickens did something unusual, he changed the fact that ghost stories are meant to be frightening, in this book, the ghost stories were scary. In 1843 (ancient times), there were no security, pensions, national health nor compulsory education. You were expected to work six days a week and on Sunday, you go to church (only if you had a job). Those who had no job couldn't go to church, because they were probably in prison or workhouse. There were no holidays, you had to work on Boxing Day, and if you ended up in debt, you would be put in debt prison. Dickens grew up in this prison with his dad, he started work at the age of 12 (it was a terrible work). Looking at the Book, it was about ghosts, and ghost stories were always told during Christmas. Books were always in chapters, but Dickens wrote his in staves; musical notes. Dickens starts to compare, first, looking at

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"Dickens had intended through a stirring and entertaining tale, to awaken his readers' minds and hearts to the suffering of the poor." Did he succeed?

"Dickens had intended through a stirring and entertaining tale, to awaken his readers' minds and hearts to the suffering of the poor." Did he succeed? Dickens's concern in 'A Christmas Carol' was to make his reading public aware of the very real abuses in society. When Dickens wrote 'A Christmas Carol' in 1843 the terrible plight of the poor seemed unnoticed by many educated people so Dickens knew that a stirring tale would be more effective in pointing out the evils in society than a dull, worthy tract. I intend to prove that Dickens had intended to awaken his readers' minds and hearts and show them the suffering of the poor through a stirring and entertaining tale. Dickens knew that it was useless to write a mere polemic. The readers must be entertained, amused, enthralled and moved. He planned a Christmas book because ghost stories were traditional at Christmas and also, because the new German way of celebrating Christmas emphasized present giving and concern for children. Middle class Victorian Children were considered very precious and were much sheltered from the realness of life. Working class children were treated as economic units and expected to earn their keep from an early age. Have a look at some of the characters: Martha Cratchit is a milliner, a trade notorious for its low pay and appalling working conditions. Many girls resorted to prostitution in

  • Word count: 977
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How Does Dickens Portray Scrooge in the Beginning of "A Christmas Carol"?

How Does Dickens Portray Scrooge in the Beginning of "A Christmas Carol"? In this essay I am going to describe how Scrooge has been portrayed by Dickens in Stave One of "A Christmas Carol". I will be exploring Dickens' use of language to create Scrooge's miserable and mean character and the effects of this. I will also explore how the reader sees Scrooge from the point of view of other characters in the first stave and how Dickens' treatment of Scrooge shows us aspects of other characters in this novel. Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth in 1812 and died in 1870 before finishing his final novel. He had a large family and many friends. The novels he wrote were Oliver Twist (1837-1839), Nicholas Nickleby (1838-1839), A Christmas Carol (1843), The Chimes (1844), Bleak House (1852) and Hard Times (1854), as well as various other books. Many of his novels were first sold as serialisations, which means that there are cliff-hangers at the end of each chapter so readers would look forward to and buy the next instalment. A lot of his work was not only entertainment but aimed to give a voice to the poor and act as a critic of Victorian society. When Charles Dickens was twelve his father was imprisoned for debt. His later work was inspired by this humiliating experience and he felt a moral obligation to tell readers about the actual conditions of the poor and make them feel how bad

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Explore how the theme of the Victorians society is present by Charles Dickens in 'A Christmas carol.' What comments do you think the writer might be making about his own time?specify

Explore how the theme of the Victorians society is present by Charles Dickens in 'A Christmas carol.' What comments do you think the writer might be making about his own time? Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth in 1812 and died in 1870. He was not poor when his parents were not poor when he was born but his dad went bankrupt when he was twelve years old and they were all sent to debtor's prison. Charles Dickens was then sent to work in a blacking factory and earned six shillings a week, he did that until his aunt died and they used the money that was left for them to repay all their debts. When they moved to London he decided to become a writer and decided to write about the poor, to raise the awareness of the rich Victorians who did not care about the injustices of their society. The conditions in London in the Victorian times was not very good because there was a constant smog over it and people drank the unfiltered water from the River Thames. The streets were full of dung, which led to the spread of disease; the houses were overcrowded (30 people to 1 house). There was no proper sewage or housing and many poor people were sent to workhouses or prisons. Many turned to crime as a means of support. Christmas in the Victorian time would have been good if you were rich but if you were poor it was the worst time of the year. The poor would get some coal, nuts and oranges

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How does Dickens set the scene for the appearance in Jacob Maryles Ghost in stave 1 of a Christmas carol?

How does Dickens set the scene for the appearance in Jacob Maryles Ghost in stave 1 of a Christmas carol? Dickens immediately sets the scene by writing a forceful, yet mysterious beginning to the first scene. "Marley was dead to begin with" The effect of this opening is startling and also shocking. This is a very unusual way to open a story. Also this is a question to his death, so he is dead but could come into the story later. Dickens exaggerates this point of that Marley is dead and is very repetitive in this manor. So this makes the reader ask themselves why the writer is doing this and repeating such a bold point. But then dickens puts the reader back into reality "Old Marley was as dead as a doornail". So this reassures the reader that Marley is dead and also dickens has used a simile with alliteration. The use of alliteration emphasises the meanings of words so that the word compared to the object is bolder. Introduction. Charles Dickens was born in 1812. His father worked for the navy pay office. So Dickens 's early life gave him plenty of chances to see life on and around the Thames. He attended a small school until he was eleven, when he and his family decided to move to London. His family contained himself, five other children and his mother and father. His father wasn't bringing enough money so his mother thought she could get a job but this was not meant

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How and why does the character of Scrooge change in 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens?

How and why does the character of Scrooge change in 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens? Charles Dickens wrote the novella, A Christmas Carol, in 1843 to compensate for the money he was losing on Martin Chuzzlewit, the novel he was then publishing in monthly instalments. In this essay I will look at the reasons why Ebenezer Scrooge develops from being a wealthy miser to a happy, generous person. How he is shown that life is short and that it is a person's responsibility to look after others, and how he comes to realise that it is possible to be happy and that happiness has nothing to do with money. At the beginning of the story, Scrooge is basically a cold, miserly creditor "Oh! but he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner!...." (Stave 1). He did not love or care for anyone; he lived for money. He has a mean spirit and a cold heart that "No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him." (Stave 1). He does not care that his clerk's family and his nephew are nearly starving as long as he is a man of business and everyone leaves him alone. When asked for contributions to a charity, he asks where the workhouses and prisons are. When told that many of the poor will not go there, and many would rather die, he suggests that if they are going to die "they had better do so and decrease the

  • Word count: 1485
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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