A Christmas Carol: The Economics of Efficiency and Grace
analytical Essay
1111 words
The leading character in A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, has become an icon of what it means to lack a Christmas spirit. Ebenezer Scrooge possesses a title much like “The Grinch”; his name conjures the thought of a man who through stinginess steals away happiness from everyone around him. Scrooge’s foil in the story, Bob Cratchit, characterized as a man of humble means, possesses an unyielding spirit for the Christmas season. Dickens’s religious readers could describe Cratchit as full of Christian charity, while they would call Scrooge a man untouched by biblical principles. However, the distinction between Cratchit and Scrooge’s Christianity cannot be cut so clearly. The biblical principles surrounding diligence and fair wages align with economic values of efficiency and mutually beneficial trade; however, the Bible also requires much more of employers who must combine justice and mercy, these requirements clash with every rule of free trade. Bob Cratchit, the ideal worker, who has a heart of contentment and generosity; this is what Dickens wants his readers to believe, but a closer look shows Cratchit hardly pulls his weight. When Scrooge hired Cratchit, they both agreed to the wages Cratchit would be paid. Since neither side entered the agreement by force, their agreement must have been mutually beneficial. Cratchit traded his services for Scrooge’s wages and both benefitted from specialization, Scrooge from Cratchit’s clerk skills and Cratchit from Scrooge’s brilliant accounting. Matthew 20 tells the story of workers who agree to a set wage, but then complain about their pay when more employees are hired and paid twice as much for the time they work. Cratchit, like the workers, agreed to the terms of hire because he fou... ... middle of paper ... ...pay him more so Cratchit can raise his family out of poverty. The biblical principles of diligence couple uniquely with the requirements of providing for the poor. Evaluated on different standards, Scrooge may not be entirely the amoral business man Dickens presents him as, nor Cratchit the inculpable clerk the who Scrooge sorely takes advantage of. Works Cited "Bible Gateway." BibleGateway.com: A Searchable Online Bible in over 100 Versions and 50 Languages. N.p., n.d. Web. Nov. 2013. . Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol. Gadshill Edition ed. London: Chapman and Hall, 1897. Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library. 1993. Web. Nov. 2013. .
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the bible encourages workers to earn their wages, but it requires employers to consider the alien and poor of by allowing the less fortunate to glean their fields.
- Analyzes how scrooge has built a successful business with clients who trust his discretion with their investments. the parable in luke 7 encourages lenders to act mercifully towards their debtors when they default on loans.
- Analyzes how scrooge & marley runs at maximum efficiency; the clerk's salary represents his exact economic value and shows how much employers are willing to pay.
- Analyzes how ebenezer scrooge's title conjures the thought of a man who through stinginess steals away happiness from everyone around him, while bob cratchit possesses an unyielding spirit for the christmas season.
- Explains that bible gateway is a searchable online bible in over 100 versions and 50 languages. dickens, charles. a christmas carol.
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- Theme Of Greed In A Christmas Carolanalytical essayA Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens is a tale of the morality changes of a man. The uncharitable, cold heart of the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, melts with ardent love as he receives visitations from three Christmas spirits who enlighten his soul with wise lessons and bring a warm change to his heart. In the beginning of the novel, Scrooge expresses his vices of greed and cold heartedness by his words and actions, but as the story unfolds, his life is renewed by these Spirits who shed light and truth upon him, resulting in making him become a better man, portraying the virtue of charity.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how dickens' a christmas carol portrays the morality changes of a man. the uncharitable, cold heart of ebenezer scrooge melts with ardent love as he receives visitations from three christmas spirits.
- Analyzes how the novel introduces scrooge as a man of greed. he refuses to give any donation from his surplus wealth to the poor and destitute collectors.
- Analyzes how scrooge expresses his vice of cold heartedness through his bitter attitude towards the cheerfulness of his nephew fred and by thinking christmas a "humbug."
- Analyzes how scrooge becomes a great model of charity as he purchases the prized turkey and charitably sends it to bob cratchit's family on christmas day.
- Analyzes how charles dickens' a christmas carol tells the story of a man who changed for the better.
611 wordsRead More - A Lack of Charityanalytical essayIn Charles Dickens’s books, Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol, the theme of lack of charity is pronounced. Throughout Oliver Twist, society turns a “cold shoulder” to those in need of help (Miller 30). The Victorian England society prohibits inhabitants of the lower social realms from moving up in society. Rarely do lower class members receive attention, and the attention they do receive is far from par (Reeves). Ebenezer Scrooge, the main character of A Christmas Carol, learns to be charitable through a lesson on the true meaning of Christmas. At the beginning of the book, Scrooge is a grumpy old mad, who only cares about himself, but on Christmas Eve, his visions of ghosts turn his life around (Boan).
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the theme of lack of charity is pronounced in charles dickens's books, oliver twist and a christmas carol.
- Analyzes how dickens' life and experiences are his sole inspiration in advocating for the poor. he sympathizes with people struck with poverty because he deals with the same situation in his life.
- Analyzes how oliver twist is a parody to the victorian lifestyle. the upper classes don't care about the lower classes because their main concern is money.
- Analyzes how oliver runs away to find security with a man named fagin, who controls gangs of pickpockets and keeps the boys trapped.
- Opines that a regard for number one holds us all together and must do so, unless we would all go to pieces in company.
- Analyzes how fagin's gang appears harmless and the members seem to be enjoying themselves, but the group’s adhesive is their belief that each member should always look out for himself.
- Analyzes how dickens manipulates mr. bumble's words to destroy the entire principle of the so-called charity in oliver twist.
- Analyzes how the opening events of a christmas carol demonstrate ebenezer scrooge’s original thoughts on charity.
- Analyzes how scrooge is the perfect example for the new capitalistic mindset brought on by the industrial revolution. he enjoys capitalisms and applies the concept to every aspect of his life.
- Analyzes how scrooge doesn't like christmas one bit, not because of the christian values of christmas, but because christmas takes away from business.
- Analyzes how the ghost of christmas yet-to-come delivers scrooge to witness his own death, and he is filled with compassion for bob and his family.
- Opines that scrooge was better than his word. he did it all, and infinitely more. tiny tim, who did not die, was a second father.
- Analyzes how dickens demonstrates the corruption of the victorian society because of a lust for money in both oliver twist and a christmas carol.
- Cites boan, devon's "a christmas carol." literary reference center, ebscohost.
- Describes dickens, oliver twist, and goldstein's "a christmas carol."
- Analyzes how miller, j. hillis, and reeves, bruce d. “oliver twist.” literary reference center.
1704 wordsRead More - Working Life In A Christmas Carolanalytical essayScrooge is a great example of the wealthy, who never gave to the poor and would rarely put money into charities. Dickens was appalled by the conditions the working class had to endure. “Dickens felt that self-interest, uncontrolled, subject to the passions and desires
In this essay, the author
- Opines that life in the victorian times was hard if you were poor. after the great reform bill, the liberal whig leadership struck a snag.
- Analyzes how dickens felt that self-interest, uncontrolled, subject to the passions and desires of unworthy men, was responsible for the mess in which victorian society found itself.
- Opines that scrooge was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone. he was hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire.
- Opines that scrooge hated people, and was known to shout "bah, humbug!" (dickens) to anything he disagreed with. he approved of his foul nature and liked being mean.
- Analyzes how scrooge hated christmas and never celebrated it. he told his nephew, "every idiot who goes about with merry christmas on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding and buried with a stake of holly through his heart."
- Analyzes how scrooge reacts towards giving away money. he never gave to the poor, paid his only worker, bob cratchit, a very small amount, and locked up the coal used to fuel the fire.
- Analyzes how scrooge was too addicted to money for his own good, and too set on his goals to give any other care in the world, but that was soon to change.
- Opines that to hear scrooge expending all the earnestness of his nature on such subjects would have been a surprise to his business friends in the city, indeed.
- Analyzes how scrooge sees old friends and thinks back to the night before when there was a caroler at his door. the first vision ends when the ghost shows him the flashback of when belle breaks off the engagement.
- Analyzes how the ghost of christmas present shows scrooge a bakery in stave 3, where he argues that the church should be ashamed for closing its doors on the seventh day.
- Opines that there are some upon this earth of yours who lay claim to know us and who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill-will, hatred, envy, bigotry, and selfishness in our name
- Analyzes how the ghost doesn't want scrooge to think that the whole church should be judged based on these evildoers' actions. there are good people in the church, and they have the best intentions at hand.
- Analyzes how the ghost takes scrooge to bob cratchit's house and asks him if tiny tim will live.
- Analyzes how scrooge hung his head low, to hear his own words quoted by the spirit, and was overcome with penitence and grief.
- Analyzes how the spirit warned the boy, "beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy. deny it!"
- Analyzes how scrooge felt sorry for the children, the poor, and grief for all the bad things he has done.
- Narrates how scrooge is shown some of his colleagues, who are laughing about his death, bob cratchit’s house, and finally, his gravesite.
- Opines that scrooge changed for good. he will honour christmas in his heart, and try to keep it all year.
- Describes how scrooge wakes up, laughs, raises bob cratchit's salary, becomes a second father to tiny tim, and gives money to the poor.
- Analyzes how patrick t. reardon wrote in the national catholic reporter that "a christmas carol isn't about a sinner."
1763 wordsRead More - Children’s Literature has been a way for Children’s to have hope. To believe in something that would help them find peace in Heaven, because of all the suffering that was happening around them. But it didn’t just help Children it also helped Adults save their own souls from themselves. Two text that support this is A Token for Children by James Janeway, and also The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. In these two text not only does it show the suffering of children’s, but they connect because they both show that they lived by the teachings of Christianity. In this essay my goals is to show the difference and the similarities, and why it’s connected to the suffering and also saving the souls of children and adults, that is shown in A Token
In this essay, the author
- Narrates how james janeway wrote a token for children, which is an example of children's believing in jesus, and that there was another place for them.
- Analyzes how the christmas carol helped scrooge, a grumpy, cold-hearted, miserable, and selfish old man who didn't care about helping others.
- Explains that children's literature has been a way for children to have hope, because of all the suffering that was happening around them, but it also helped adults save their own souls from themselves.
- Analyzes how scrooge showed the oppose of what christian socialism represents — he represented someone from a high class, and changed the social structure by letting everyone see what others could do for those in need.
1569 wordsRead More - Selfish Scrooge In A Christmas Carolanalytical essayRobin Sharma, a famous writer, once said, “Change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end.” Many people believe that change is a very big decision. It takes time and can get a little messy on the way. The truth, however, is a small decision, Like donating money for the poor in need. Unfortunately, in the play, A Christmas Carol, the main character, Scrooge, is a selfish miser. Fortunately, by the end of the play, Scrooge realizes that he was selfish and no good and changed his ways. For example, he donated to the poor.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end. however, it is a small decision, like donating money for the poor in need.
- Analyzes how scrooge is cheap, cold-hearted, and cruel to his nephew, fred. he is also disrespectful to bob cratchit, his employee.
- Analyzes how scrooge transforms with the help of two wise spirits. the ghost of christmas past is young and old and tells him, "touch my heart."
- Analyzes how scrooge meets the ghost of christmas future at the end of the play, a christmas carol.
863 wordsRead More - Bob Cratchit Character Analysisanalytical essayBob Cratchit was Scrooge’s only employee. He is a very joyful, and kind man. Though him, his wife and four kids are living in poverty, he has a great attitude every day. No matter how much work he does for Mr. Scrooge, he is always so parsimonious to Cratchit.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that bob cratchit was scrooge's only employee. he is a joyful, kind, and parsimonious man.
- Describes cratchit as not very short, nor tall, but he has goof hair, is kind, and maybe mid 40s or 50s. he has four kids and a wife, belinda, martha, peter and tiny tim.
- Analyzes how bob cratchit is nice to everyone and makes up for everything mr. scrooge did wrong. he wears a tall top hat, has facial hair on his face, and is scary but loving.
- Analyzes how cratchit looked at all the other characters the same way. he was nice to them and didn't judge anyone. even when the christmas past took scrooge back, he saw that
- Analyzes how bob cratchit was kind and nice and how mr. scrooge could’ve learned alot from him. although he and his faimly are poor and in poverty,
318 wordsRead More - The Critique Of Charles Dickens Historic A Christmas Carolanalytical essayCharles Dickens Historic A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens wrote the novel A Christmas Carol because he believed that he can have an influence on the situation in England in the 19th century(Bio). He included the character’s greed and want that are a part of Scrooge during his visits with the Ghosts of Christmas. Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812 in Portsmouth, England. He was the second of eight children, and his father, John drove them into poverty.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that charles dickens wrote the novel a christmas carol because he believed that his character could influence the situation in england in the 19th century.
- Narrates how dickens wrote his first book, sketches by boz, in 1836. he married catherine hogarta and published oliver twist through bentley miscellany.
- Explains how dickens began freelance reporting for two major london newspapers before writing a christmas carol in 1843.
- Explains that he earned $95,000 dollars in his time, which equates to an estimated $1.5 million in today’s u.s. dollars. he toured the us in 1842, but did not tour again until 1867.
- Analyzes how dickens wrote novels to get his mind off his breakup with his wife. he was pleased with the influence that his books provided.
- Analyzes how dickens criticized the government openly throughout his life. he revealed these ideas in his books based off his words through his tours and the real-life settings and scenarios that he carefully selected.
- Analyzes how scrooge's novel, the christmas carol, features a protagonist who went by the name. the setting is in the 1840’s in england during the christmas holidays.
- Analyzes how scrooge refuses kindness to his nephew fred during the opening of the story, despite his jolly spirit. he is visited by a former business partner named jacob marley on christmas eve.
- Analyzes how the ghost of christmas past takes scrooge into the past to show that he lost his wife because of his greed for money.
- Analyzes how scrooge wakes up on christmas day with no altercations and becomes "wet with tears." he takes advantage of his second chance by quickly touching everyone with compassion.
- Explains that dickens visited a school in london in 1843, and was dismayed by the status of the school and began writing a christmas carol after it.
- Analyzes how charles dickens used his town ‘carnden town’ that he grew up in as the setting in the novel the christmas carol. he wanted to raise questions about who and what was responsible for the well-being of the poor.
- Analyzes how dickens would show their hardships to allow readers to understand the effects of the poor laws that were in place in england.
- Analyzes how scrooge refuses happiness and charity to anyone around as his past mistakes in his life had left him cold-hearted. in the christmas carol, he rejects two poor gentleman and throws them out of his office.
- Analyzes how dickens shows the importance of togetherness by showing the cratchit family staying kind-hearted while supporting each other to the best of their abilities.
- Analyzes how dickens uses realism in his novel to inspire change in the way that the wealthy treat the impoverished families and children.
- Analyzes how charles dickens told the story of a wealthy man named scrooge, who struggled with greed and poverty his whole life.
1737 wordsRead More - A Christmas Carolanalytical essayThe well known holiday of Christmas today is far from what it was in it’s former being. Many aspects led to the change in Christmas, however Charles Dickens, a Victorian era author was arguably the most influential in the change. There was a time when christmas was not much more important than your average holiday. Without the work of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Regency Christmas would not have changed to be the way it is today. As we examine the Regency Christmas, the Christmas events in A Christmas Carol, new Christmas ideas, and today’s new christmas we will form the true Christmas.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that charles dickens, a victorian era author, was arguably the most influential in the change in christmas.
- Compares the early christmas celebrations of the victorian era with the pre-victorian, or regency period christmas (1811-1820).
- Analyzes how dickens changed a christmas carol into a two-day holiday. scrooge donates money to the poor and gives tiny tim christmas gifts.
- Explains that dickens' a christmas carol was a big part of the new christmas thanks to scrooge's generosity to the cratchit family.
- Explains that christmas today is very much unlike it was before scrooge's time. different families have different traditions, some go to mid-night mass, others simply share a nice meal with close family or friends.
- Explains that the regency christmas, a christmas carol, new christmas ideas, and today's new christmas form the true christmas. the majority of christmas is now celebrated in two days, thanks to dickens.
- Cites the victorain web's article, "dickens the man who created invented christmas."
- Explains mann, stephanie a., the impact of dicken's "a christmas carol." supremacy and survival: the english reformation, december 19, 2012.
- Analyzes how charles dickens' a christmas carol saved his career and revived our holiday spirit.
824 wordsRead More - A Christmas Carol Rhetorical Analysisanalytical essayIn the story, “A Christmas Carol”, Scrooge goes through many changes, one of Scrooge is him being one of the most closed minded people in his hometown to the most thoughtful person. This happened when the Ghost of Christmas Present visited Scrooge and showed him Cratchit and his family. Little did Scrooge know one of Cratchit’s children, Tiny Tim, was dying. Him seeing this showed Scrooge what his little pay to Cratchit was doing. As a result, Scrooge began to feel a little more thoughtful and raised Cratchit’s salary in hopes of being able to raise enough money to cure Tiny Tim and to support his family. Doing this, Scrooge became like a second father towards Tiny Tim.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that people have transformed or changed throughout their lives, either in a positive or negative way. to transform, one needs to see the true meaning of things and be happy.
- Analyzes how scrooge changed from being closed-minded to thoughtful when the ghost of christmas present visited him and showed him cratchit and his family.
- Analyzes how scrooge was moodier than a stormy day in london. he saw everyone was happy and giving on christmas eve, even though most were poor and living in the streets.
- Analyzes how scrooge was selfish and narrow before he was visited by all three ghosts, but when the ghost of christmas present showed him the poor family, the mother didn't want to separate, she wanted to stay with her family.
- Opines that it is possible to change, just need a reason and motivation, like how you need the motivation to do things to love.
494 wordsRead More - Similarities Between A Christmas Carol And The Gift Of The Magicomparative essayRemuneration can lead to hostility in social groups. The Gift of the Magi, written by O. Henry, has a synopsis of two people who willingly devote their hard-earned money for each other, although they hanker for a renovated lifestyle. They are a bit morose when dealing with their living situation. On the other hand, A Christmas Carol, scribed by Charles Dickens, tells a story of an affluential man who indulges in downright fruitless behavior towards humans and, after an abundance of procuration, is goaded by three spirits to culminate his lifestyle. People treat others miscellaneously based on wage as evinced by their contrasting outlooks on the world, conversiality of sacrificial choices, and relationships toward others.
In this essay, the author
- Compares o. henry's the gift of the magi and dickens' a christmas carol.
115 wordsRead More