Dickens' Presentation of Scrooge in A Christmas Carol

2072 Words5 Pages

Dickens' Presentation of Scrooge in A Christmas Carol

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 were

poor, then you had virtually no hope of becoming someone of any

wealth. Rich people didn't care for the poor and needy, and kept

themselves to themselves. Poverty was a big issue in Victorian times

and ...

... middle of paper ...

...ou can change for the better and

make people happy. Dickens' presentation of Scrooge is a very good one

because it shows you how seeing a different side of things, no matter

how big or small, can make you a completely changed person. People in

this day and age can relate to the settings of this novel also, as

poverty and ill health is around today too. It encourages people to

give to the homeless and be aware of people not as fortunate as

themselves. The character of Scrooge and the way he changes is a moral

lesson for the reader. People can be quite mean with money, but if an

illness such as cancer touches a family member of that of a friend,

they tend to give to cancer charities more. Overall Scrooge is a

character that everybody remembers because he is a very realistic one,

and people see parts of themselves in him.

Open Document