A Christmas Carol - Marley's Ghost.
A Christmas Carol Stave One Marley's Ghost Marley was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it. And Scrooge's name was good upon 'Change for anything he chose to put his hand to. Old Marley was as dead as a doornail. Mind! I don't mean to say that I know of my own knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a doornail. I might have been inclined, myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in the trade. But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the country's done for. You will, therefore, permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as dead as a doornail. Scrooge knew he was dead? Of course he did. How could it be otherwise? Scrooge and he were partners for I don't know how many years. Scrooge was his sole executor, his sole administrator, his sole assign, his sole residuary legatee, his sole friend, and sole mourner. And even Scrooge was not so dreadfully cut up by the sad event but that he was an excellent man of business on the very day of the funeral, and solemnised it with an undoubted bargain. The mention of Marley's funeral brings me back to the point I started from. There is no doubt that Marley was dead. This must be distinctly
The novel 'A Christmas Carol', by Charles
The novel 'A Christmas Carol', by Charles Dickens was written in 1843 and reflects poverty in Victorian times where poverty and ill health was very common. The book was published a week before Christmas and was presented in a small gold and crimson book - the perfect Christmas gift. Dickens wishes to use the character of scrooge to make the reader see that being selfish and cold hearted gets you nowhere and encourages everybody to be generous and loving. The novel is about a cold and mean hearted man called Ebenezer Scrooge who runs a business. Scrooge is very tight fisted and one Christmas is visited by the ghost of his dead business partner, Jacob Marley. The spirit shows him how he is now, and how he will become as he grows older. There are 4 ghosts that show him his past, present and future. When visited by the spirits, he is given a chance to change. He turns from a mean old man to a generous one, to the delight of his family and new found friends. Dickens uses many devices to introduce Scrooge's character, such as similes, metaphors and comparisons to the weather. The presentation that Dickens gave of Scrooge was so clear that "Scrooge" is still used in language today, having the meaning of someone who is tight with money, cold hearted and who hates Christmas. I will be examining these points in my essay. Victorian London was a very difficult time to live in. If you
Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and Priestley’s An Inspector Calls have strong messages for the reader.
Dickens' A Christmas Carol and Priestley's An Inspector Calls have strong messages for the reader. Charles Dickens wrote "A Christmas Carol" in 1843 in the form of a novel, it was very successful and is still popular today. The play "An Inspector Calls," was written in 1945 by J.B Priestly and was set in 1912. These two texts are similar as they both convey a message that we should follow and live by. The author's views are quite similar as they both refer to middle class and working class in socialist terms. Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in 1843 to aware people of the homeless children living in terrible conditions. In the same year he visited Field Lane Ragged School that taught the poorest children of the time to read and write. Dickens was appalled at the terrible conditions and was also deeply shocked by a parliamentary report by the Children's Employment Commission. To get his socialist views across he first decided to write a pamphlet called, "An Appeal To The People Of England On Behalf Of The Poor Mans Child," but then decided to write a novel as he was the most popular novelist at the time and therefore he would be more successful. A Christmas Carol was published on the 17th of December 1843 and by the 24th of December it had sold 6,000 copies. It is still a popular novel today and appears in many versions for the young and the old. The word "Scrooge"
‘The First Miracle’ by Jeffery Archer, ‘Memories Of Christmas’ by Dylan Thomas and ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens
'The First Miracle' by Jeffery Archer, 'Memories Of Christmas' by Dylan Thomas and 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens Turkey, Santa and presents are just a few of the things we associate with Christmas. There are also many stories that have been written about or set around Christmas-We have read three: 'The First Miracle' by Jeffery Archer, 'Memories Of Christmas' by Dylan Thomas and 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens. This is a summary of what these particular stories are about. 'The First Miracle' is about a young boy in roman times, living with his mother and father in Bethlehem, He goes to the market to do some shopping and on his way home he witnesses the birth of Jesus. When he gets home he experiences a miracle when his dad beats him because he doesn't believe the boys story, the boy is completely unharmed. 'Memories Of Christmas' is a collection of Dylan Thomas' own Christmas memories from when he was a child living in Wales all rolled into one slightly poem-like story. And 'A Christmas Carol' is about a mean wealthy man called Scrooge who pays his workers badly and doesn't like Christmas at all until one night (Christmas eve) three ghosts appear to him as predicted by another ghost (his dead business partner) They show him the past, present and future Christmases of his family and friends and the progress of a small cripple boy Tiny Tim. Scrooge is so moved
To What Extent does Dickens's '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 Dickens's 'A Christmas Carol' fit into the Genre of the Supernatural Story, and how does Dickens use it as a vehicle for his social views? The supernatural story has a long history as a popular literary work. Many people enjoy them even today. The original supernatural stories would have been told by a storyteller in villages when many people had little or no understanding of the ways of the world. Many people would have been illiterate so the stories would be passed down through the generations. When Shakespeare was writing in the 16th and 17th century people believed that the witches in Macbeth were real so people feared them. By the time Dickens was writing in the 19th century people didn't believe that witches and other beings created to explain the unexplainable existed. The supernatural story had changed a lot by Victorian times to be more psychological than literally and tended to play on the fears of the reader. This was because science had explained many phenomenans but, even today; debates still take place over the existence of spirits and other supernatural beings, even today science cannot fully explain the truth about ghosts. P.J. Stead wrote in his book 'Supernatural': "The oldest and best supernatural stories are to be found in the great mirrors of popular imagination - in the Arabian Nights, in the fairy tales collected by the Brothers
Prose - A Christmas Carol
Prose Essay - How is the character of Scrooge influenced by the three spirits and how does Dickens use the three spirits to convey his message? Charles Dickens wrote 'A Christmas Carol' in 1843, which was published on December 17th of the same year. This novel of spiritual renewal received a joyful welcome from the public. Readers were moved by the story of the delightfully, yet despicable Scrooge, a heartless old miser who undergoes a miraculous rebirth at Christmas time, the only time 'in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open up their hearts freely'. Dickens wrote about the society he saw around him, and so his inspiration for the didactic novel was the social divide between rich and poor. He chose to enhance this situation in his novel by setting it at Christmas, for this would have separated the rich and poor even more, especially in Victorian times. At the time 'A Christmas Carol' was written, the conditions for the poor in the Victorian era were awful. The gap between the rich and poor was large not only in wealth, but also in rights. Working conditions for the lower classes were appalling, but the rich, all of whom enjoyed their life in luxury, had nothing to do with these problems. Dickens did however. He didn't agree with the social divide among rich and poor, and so chose to highlight this situation in this novel. The poor
Dickens is trying to change Victorian society. How does he use the ghosts to do this in 'A Christmas Carol'?
Question: Dickens is trying to change Victorian society. How does he use the ghosts to do this in 'A Christmas Carol'? 'A Christmas Carol' is a novel by Charles Dickens, written in the Victorian era about a man named Ebenezer Scrooge. The book was written to remind people that we should all be kinder and more generous towards one another, and keep the spirit of Christmas all the year, not only in the Christmas season. Scrooge is a representation of most of Victorian society, and he is used by Dickens as a literary device. He is described as "squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping..." a reflection on the Victorians, many of whom were selfish and did not care to help those less fortunate than themselves. In Scrooge's own words, "Are there no prisons?"; "Are there no workhouses?" Scrooge believed that those people who could not afford to live independently should go to these establishments, a view held by many Victorians. Charles Dickens recognised that this attitude towards those in need was morally unacceptable. 'A Christmas Carol' was written in instalments which were published monthly in a magazine. His intention was that the many readers of the magazine would comprehend and take note of the messages he tried to deliver in his writing. By writing the novel in instalments Dickens managed to strike a good percentage of his target audience, who were in particular the upper
A Christmas carol by Charles Dickens-what do we learn about the conditions of the poor in society and attitudes towards them in A Christmas Carol?
'A Christmas carol' by Charles Dickens-what do we learn about the conditions of the poor in society and attitudes towards them in 'A Christmas Carol?' In this essay I will be answering the question 'What do we learn about the conditions of the poor in society and attitudes towards them in A Christmas Carol?' In the 1840s, in England, the poor and the unfortunate had to face a terrible life. Many poor people were homeless as the city of London had become an overcrowded and dirty place due to the industrial revolution-because of the industrial revolution there was an increase in job requirements in cities especially London. People from the countryside and from other cities came to London in search of jobs which caused an increase in the population ergo making London an overcrowded city (as mentioned before). Young children were used as labourers who were required to work fourteen hours a day in an attempt to help their families pay bills-these bills mostly consisted of debts which the family had to loan out in order for the family to be provided with essentials such as food and clothing. Most of the times these loans were necessary as workers usually had low wages. In A Christmas Carol, the underprivileged are symbolized by Bob Cratchit and his family. Bob Cratchit is a character in the novel who lives in a congested 'hovel'. He provides for his family with only 15
Show how Dickens presents the change in Scrooge's view of life and death. Look particularly at how the world of business
Show how Dickens presents the change in Scrooge's view of life and death. Look particularly at how the world of business is seen and at ideas of the after life. "Bah!" said Scrooge. "Humbug!" These famous words unfold a tale that renews the joy and care at Christmas. Ebenezer Scrooge is a bitter old man who will keep Christmas his own way. However this soon changes once he is visited by the ghost of his deceased partner Jacob Marley who drags the weight of his chains that he forged for himself in life. He learns that it's not too late for Scrooge to redeem himself and change his life. Marley comes back to haunt Scrooge and warns him. Scrooge is visited by three more spirits that Christmas Eve, his past, present and future. Each of the three spirits takes him to a fantastic yet unbelievable journey through time and space, showing him how his ways are wrong and what will happen if he doesn't change. The story begins in the afternoon of a frigid Christmas Eve, as a mean spirited man named Ebenezer Scrooge sits in his office. Scrooge is a cold hearted and selfish miser, who isn't in the spirit of Christmas. He scares all the carollers away, and refuses to donate money to the poor "I help to support the establishments... they cost enough..." Every so often, he shouts "Bah!" or "Humbug!" He is a penny pinching miser in the first degree. He cares nothing for the people around
How Does Dickens Prepare the Reader for the Change in Scrooge (From Mean-spirited Miser in Stave 1 to Kind-Hearted Man in Stave 5)?
How Does Dickens Prepare the Reader for the Change in Scrooge (From Mean-spirited Miser in Stave 1 to Kind-Hearted Man in Stave 5)? The novels written by Charles Dickens are well known and appreciated even in the present day. His novel, 'A Christmas Carol', is a story which tells of an old businessman called Ebenezer Scrooge. It describes his attitudes towards things such as Christmas, charity and money, and shows the reader that Scrooge is a bitter and cold man. The story starts with Scrooge being a miserable and hateful man then one night he is haunted by his own business partner Jacob Marley, who warns him of the future that awaits him if his attitudes don't change. He then tells Scrooge that he will be haunted by three Spirits that night. When the first Spirit arrives it shows Scrooge his past, the second shows him the present, and the third the future. These spirits shock Scrooge, eventually making him change his ways. In the final chapters of this novel written by Charles Dickens, we see a complete transformation in Scrooge's attitude, as he becomes a warm and generous man. The novel was written in 1843. It was very popular at the time and remains so, to this day. This is because all the themes that are in the play are still issues even today such as greed charity and family. The novel also makes the reader think about how they act at Christmas time, for it reminds