The Good Earth: Wang Lung’s Changes and Challenges

“His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him” (68). How wonderful it must be for the man to be satisfied with what he has and did for others. This man, surprisingly enough, is Ebenezer Scrooge, the main character of Dickens’ classic novella, A Christmas Carol. In the story, Scrooge, a pessimistic old miser, is haunted by four ghosts who strive to teach him what Christmas and life are all about. In doing so, he is given a second chance at life, and begins to share his newfound Christmas spirit to others. As he was haunted by the ghosts, however, Ebenezer Scrooge learns of the importance of relationships with family and friends, the reality that happiness can exist without money, and the idea that to have no regrets, you must live for others.

A significant lesson Scrooge learns is the importance of relationships with family and friends. For instance, at first, when Fred invites Scrooge to dinner on Christmas Eve, he “said that he would see him . . . went the whole length of the expression, and said that he would see him in that extremity first” (4). One can see that Scrooge is shunning his family and friends away from him as if their relationships are unimportant and useless to him. Creating this “wall” around him separating him from other people socially, Scrooge is treating others unkindly, because he may have been treated the same way in the past. Thereafter, he is starting to think in another way, clearly shown when he remembers Fan and her son, as he “seemed uneasy in his mind; and answered briefly, ‘Yes.’” (23). Clearly, this revival of his memory of Fan, who was a child brimful of glee, made Scrooge rethink and regret his actions towards his nephew, who carried the spirit of Fan. Hence, Scrooge is starting to r...

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...g for others. In sum, this clearly depicts the great value in living for others, for in the future, you will have no regrets as to what you did in the past.

In final analysis, Ebenezer Scrooge learned quite a lot in his intercourse with the ghosts, as shown by him being contented with his own heart laughing. Scrooge realizes in his enlightening journey that relationships with family and friends are important to maintain, that money isn’t needed to find true happiness, and that you must live for others to have no regrets. Like money, happiness can be given, but in this case, the giver is compensated with a life rich with worth and significance. Overall, through his book A Christmas Carol, Dickens’ wants everyone to go out to the world and be compassionate and giving, to eliminate all ignorance and want in one’s life, because in the end, we can make a better world.