How fitting is the title for the novella, A Christmas Carol? Explore the ideas of generosity of spirit/Christmas in the novel.
Transfer-Encoding: chunked How fitting is the title for the novella, A Christmas Carol? Explore the ideas of generosity of spirit/Christmas in the novel The novella written by the renowned author Charles Dickens centralises around the theme of Christmas, as a pivotal motif for not only the celebration of Christ, but for its analogous time of unification of people of different social classes. It also possesses a metaphorical meaning of ‘rebirth’ as the underpinning story is about the physiological rebirth of the allegorical Ebenezer Scrooge from a callous misanthropist – the rich gentry - into a benevolent being willing to recognise the plight of the working class. This therefore calls for a celebration: Christmas. A time of bestowing material and emotional wealth, which Scrooge has unearthed, and become a part of in the festivity. The theme of Christmas and generosity is exemplified throughout the novella by characters such as Fred, Fezziwig, the Ghost of Christmas past and present and Scrooge as he changes into someone who believes in Christmas and its spirit of generosity. In the novella, Dickens asks, in effect, for people to recognise the plight of those whom the Industrial Revolution has displaced and driven into poverty, and the obligation of society to provide for them humanely. In the exposition of the novella we are told that ‘it was Christmas Eve’,
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol. A Christmas carol was written by Charles Dickens in 1843, it is based around the character of Scrooge, and a journey he has on the night of Christmas Eve. The theme of this book is that of social injustice and poverty, their causes and effects. Scrooge is a tight-fisted, cold-hearted, selfish man at the begging of the book, this is shown greatly through his description "The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, made his eyes red, his thin lips blue, and he spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice ..." this suggests a man who you would not like to cross or do anything that would get you in his bad books. I will be looking at how the different characters in this book change scrooge at the end of the novel. At the beginning of the book Scrooge is in his house having a little supper when he gets a visit from his old college Jacob Marley. Marley having died beforehand is naturally a ghost in this novel and plays a vital roll in setting up what will happen in the remainder of the story. He has the same dress and appearance he had when he was alive but is transparent and has a chain attached to him, it is described as "long and wound about him like a tail; it was made... of cash-boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds, and heavy purses wrought in steel." This gives the reader an image of what Marley's chain looks like and gives an idea
A Christmas Carol
Christmas Carol . A Christmas Carol is a story all about the morals of Christmas time. The main character is Ebenezer Scrooge who is an old, grumpy man who is obsessed with money and he also hates everything about Christmas. The story is about the journeys Scrooge gets taking through the past present and future, by three different ghosts. Charles Dickens, the author of A Christmas Carol, was born the 7th of February in 1812 and lived to the age of 58 where he died at Gad's Hill Place on June the 9th 1870. During his life he wrote many books including David Copperfield, A Dinner at Popular Walk and Oliver Twist. 2. At the beginning of the text scrooge is described in a way that makes you think he isn't a very nice person. "Hard and sharp as flint." You associate the noun flint with a cold, grey rock with no life in it. The word cold can sometimes be used to describe someone who has very little feelings about anybody else and is very self-centred. Another view on what the author could be trying to say about Scrooge is that he is very hard to get close to and talk to. I say this because of the word "sharp." The word sharp could mean he was sharp at the edges in a metaphoric way. This would mean that it is very hard to get close to him for fear of getting hurt. Another quote used to describe him is: "Solitary as an oyster." This quote means he is ether lonely
A christmas Carol
How does Dickens use the character of Scrooge to teach his readers moral and social lessons? Charles Dickens was born in 1812 near Portsmouth, where his father was a clerk in the navy pay offices. His family was very poor and his father was put in prison for debt. Young Dickens was sent to work in 1823 to a blacking warehouse to support his family. Dickens' poor upbringing made him very sensitive to the plight of the poor in society when he was older. Most of the books that Dickens wrote dealt with the issue of poverty; his main aim was to send the message through society that the poor needed charity and generosity. He wrote 'A Christmas Carol' to point out the differences between the rich and the poor, and to encourage the rich to share their wealth and help the poor, and the needy. The book
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol In my essay, I will be answering the essay question "Compare Dickens' description of Scrooge at the beginning and at the end of A Christmas Carol." In between the beginning and at the end of A Christmas Carol. In the novel, Scrooge is told by his old boss Jacob Marley that he will be visited by 3 ghosts that night. The three ghosts where; The Ghost of Christmas Past, The Ghost of Christmas Present and The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. Scrooge has a nasty voice. "Grated voice." The word grated could mean sharp. This means his voice is an unfriendly one, and matches with his personality. People in the novel are afraid of him, and his grated voice helps us to picture him as a nasty old man that no-one likes. The word grated could also mean a blade. Blades are not nice things, and often are associated with death. Scrooge would like a lot of people dead, especially the poor people who had people out collecting money for them. Scrooge is an old man. "Shrivelled his cheek." Shrivelled has more than one meaning. It could mean old. This describes Scrooge as being a wrinkly old man, as shrivelled could also mean wrinkled. Now some old people are nice, but it's the opposite in Scrooge's case. Scrooge is probably the most unfriendly character you will ever come across. As he also wants the poor people dead, there could be a reference to that. He'd
A Christmas Carol
Discuss Charles Dickens' use of Ebenezer Scrooge in 'A Christmas Carol' Charles Dickens was brought up in Victorian England. The Victorian era had a major effect on Britain. As it was the times of the industrial revolution, but apart from this, it was a time or great poverty. Many poor people, including children, and also criminals, if not jailed had to work long and hard in workhouse. When Charles Dickens was twelve, he was considered old enough to go to work. He got a job in Warrens boot blacking factory, he worked ten hours a day to help provide for his family. Growing up in a poor family environment, Dickens could see the social injustices inflicted, in the Victorian era. When he began to write, Dickens pointed out these flaws and often criticized them in his books, In the opening pages of a Christmas carol, straight away Dickens gets the audiences' minds thinking, as he describes Scrooge, by making the sounds go into rhythm when reading, as they all end in the same -ing sound. For example 'A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping. Clutching, covetous old sinner'. These words make you feel an automatic distance from the audience towards Scrooge, as Dickens paints a picture of a truly awful man in your mind. Dickens is setting up the book here, and exaggerates his points and descriptions, but this is a clever device used by Dickers, as he describes Scrooge as a
"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 a series of different places and had to constantly move houses to avoid paying his debts. However, these were probably the high points of Charles' childhood as they were soon shipped back to London where his father's debts became worse. Charles had to leave school early and work to try and help his dad's financial 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 was polluted with poverty. This was also the time when new laws were enforced to provide better living conditions for children. Among these laws, was one, which made education obligatory for children under 13. According
'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens.
'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens Ghost stories are easily identifiable because they contain classic features. Each aspect links together slowly creating a traditional tale. By looking at four simple features, we begin to piece the story together bit by bit. We tend to identify most often; settings/places, characters, events and language/tone. For example a typical ghost story setting could be in an old, abandoned house, desolate moors or even a family home. One pattern in these places is that there is usually an air of mystery about it, this is usually where the ghost makes its first appearance. An expectant reader will always assume this, but the personality will always be used to surprise the reader. Such as it could be either lonely, or revengeful, or merely just warning. The tone and language that go along with the ghost and its surroundings help create suspense. It normally uses certain qualities like long descriptive paragraphs filled with carefully chosen verbs and adjectives. This seems to always create a personal identity. Most ghost stories display certain events for example "When she bends, she breaks", has sudden shocks and leads up to the appearance of the ghost in a subtle, but surprising way. If we take the a closer look at the story "When she beds, she breaks." We can see all the aspects that we find supplied in a traditional ghost story. It is set in
A Christmas Carol By Charles Dickens
Sarah Lindsay English Pre- 20th Century Literature Coursework May 2001 A Christmas Carol By Charles Dickens Ebenezer Scrooge under goes an amazing transformation in the book a Christmas Carol. Using relevant quotations and detailed reference to the text, trace and explain how and why Scrooge changed. Explain what Dickens is trying to convey to the readers through this transformation and the story in general. Charles Dickens wrote the book "A Christmas Carol" in 1843. It was first publish in a newspaper, in sections, leading up to Christmas. The story proved to be very popular. So popular that the next year, 1844,it was republished as a book. This popularity is still constant to day, as it has been made into many films, which are shown every year at Christmas. It has also been adapted into many children's' stories, films, and books. The story was written to convey the concerns that Charles Dickens had about London at this time. The message was aimed at the middle class families of London. The message being that there were poor families around and they needed their help. It was no use to ignore them because that wouldn't make them go away. Dickens did not like the way poor people in London were treated. I think that by writing his novels show both richer families how poorer, less well off families live and it is a way for Dickens to release his emotional
'A Christmas Carol' is an allegory which relies heavily on symbolism to convey meaning and atmosphere. Discuss.
Amanda Walters 'A Christmas Carol' is an allegory which relies heavily on symbolism to convey meaning and atmosphere. Discuss. The novel 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens can be represented in different ways. It can be represented as a simple story with a moral, where a man named Scrooge is visited by four ghosts who give him a chance to mend his ways. However Dickens also gives the novel a more profound meaning by using symblosim and so it can be represented as an allegory. The four ghosts are repeated symbols that give structure to the novel. The book is divided into chapters that end after each ghost has left Scrooge. This is due to each ghost giving a different atmosphere in the novel. The four ghosts that come to visit Scrooge are: Marley, the ghost of Christmas past, the ghost of Christmas present and the ghost of Christmas yet to come. Scrooge's dead business partner, named Marley is the first ghost to visit Scrooge. You first see his face as Scrooge's door knocker. This represents Marley trying to enter his life. The knocker 'had a dismal light about it, like a bad lobster in a dark cellar', symbolising Marley is there to enlighten Scrooge by giving him hope and help to amend his life. He is also an example of what will happen to Scrooge if he does not mend his ways. The terrors that Marley goes through can be seen by the horror in Marley's face (as the