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A christmas carol literary analysis essay
A christmas carol literary analysis essay
A christmas carol literary analysis essay
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Scrooge in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens The novel, ‘A Christmas Carol’, is more than just a mere story instead it tries to expose the negative side of Victorian society and the reason behind this horror, the greed of the wealthy, through the development of the character Scrooge. All this while attempting to prompt readers with Scrooge’s similar wealth to make a change. As mentioned earlier, the development of Scrooge’s character is vital to this and I will explain how his character develops as the story proceeds and how it is used to accomplish the aim as mentioned above. In the first stave, Dickens tries to point out that Scrooge is a character that society considers negative. In the introduction, Dickens points out Scrooge’s wealth to immediately aim any point about society not only to average people but in particular to people of Scrooge’s similar wealth, he does this by describing Scrooge as ‘an excellent man of business on the very day of the funeral’, this not only proves Scrooge’s wealth but also that Scrooge is a cold character, the first hint of the truly negative character of Scrooge to be revealed later in this stave, since he has the heart to do business on the day of the funeral of his long time business partner. What makes this worse is that Marley was Scrooge’s equal in terms of character as far as the story goes since Dickens chose to describe what Scrooge meant to Marley as ‘his sole executor, his sole administrator, his sole friend and his sole mourner’, therefore since Scrooge showed little sympathy in the death of ‘his equal’ it gives the readers a sense of cannibalism since Scrooge is practically turning his back on Marley in his death. Even in the introduction, Dickens ... ... middle of paper ... ...as changed as Scrooge is not usually earnest at all. Not only which, Scrooge seems to be a lot happier after this change as proven by the quote “Oh, glorious.” This is Scrooge describing the environment, in his description he describes it positively showing a sign that he is happier. This is important as it is a signal to readers in Scrooge’s financial situation that they will be happier after the change. My conclusion is that Scrooge’s character is used by Dickens to represent an exgaratted stereotypical version of the Victorian wealthy businessman who is greedy. The story is not only an attempt by Dickens to tell these businessmen what they are missing out on by being greedy(as proven by Scrooge’s happiness after the change) but also meant to expose the unfairness in Society where the rich who can do the most to improve lives do not even try to do so.
Dickens displays guilt as the main form of how Scrooge’s character develops into a compassionate person by the end of the novella. As Scrooge feels this quilt, it's purely based on the visions that the ghosts provide which further causes Scrooge to realise the consequences of his actions. His alienation from specific characters that he used to love such as Belle, “...has displaced me…” whom left Scrooge, due to his desire for money and wealth which grew. This desire grows with him as he is rejecting the christmas joy and spirit as he continuously states that Christmas is a “humbug,” but by stating this it provides comparison. Dickens depicts that Scrooge has become a better person because of fear but in the end he has become kinder. As the
Scrooge was and owner of a factory and made a whole bunch of money, but he did not care about anyone else. “Merry Christmas said his nephew, what right do have to be merry you are poor enough”. This shows that scrooge is mean to family and does not care about Christmas.
'I am here tonight to warn you, that you have a chance and hope of
These similes provide the reader with a clear image of Scrooge as somebody who is wealthy but is unwilling to share what he has got. In writing the novel Dickens presents a portrayal of the rich and poor people in 1843. The fictional works of Charles Dickens are profoundly intertwined with the real events of his past. Dickens' themes often prove to have powerful reference points in his personal experience, particularly to those of his youth and adolescence.
In the beginning of the play in spite of being selfish Scrooge is also cheap, cold-hearted, and cruel. Scrooge behaves in this manner to his nephew, Fred. One way of proving this is when Fred said “Merry Christmas.” Scrooge replied salty saying “Humbug Christmas is just a time for spending and wasting money.” Not only he treats Fred badly but many more people. For instance take one of his quotes towards the Gentleman Visitor, “Are there no Jails for the poor, are there no
The novel introduces Scrooge as a man of greed. This is shown in the first stave when Scrooge's clerk Bob Cratchit can barely keep warm by such a small fire "that it looked like one coal." Because of Scrooge's greed, he insists on storing up on his wealth by burning less coal, despite it's lack of warmth. Furthermore, one can notice Scrooge's greed as he refuses to give any donation from his surplus wealth to the poor and destitute that the collectors were raising money for. Scrooge's selfish response to the collectors was, " 'I wish to be left alone...I don't make merry myself at Christmas, and I can't afford to make idle people merry..."
In Conclusion, in the 1st Stave Dickens presents Scrooge as an evil, aged, prosperous man. As you read the Staves 2, 3 and 4, Scrooge’s behaviour, thoughts and attitude changes gradually. In Stave 2 a quote to show how shrude Scrooge is 'All he could make out was that it was still very foggy and extremely cold' this shows that Scrooge is an unpleasant ‘a covetous sinner’. This has an effect upon the reader as it shows how the cold weather can hurt and be distasteful to people just like Scrooge. Scrooge is described as the weather as he is like it; he hurts the people around him. Finally, in the 4th Stave he changes and he admits it, here is a quote “Spirit!'' he cried, tight clutching at its robe, “hear me! I am not the man I was.” This shows Scrooge is pleading that he has changed. I think he has transformed because of the experience he had by the four spirits.
He is like Victor and chooses to be isolated for how he treated others. For example, Scrooge says, “I wish to be left alone. Since you ask me what I wish, gentlemen, that is my answer. I don’t make merry myself at Christmas, and I can’t afford to make idle people merry” (Dickens 16). Scrooge is showing the reader that he is an ungrateful and a non-friendly man. The author wants us to know that he has no Christmas sprit and is selfish man that is also very stingy with his money. He also is rude to the people that come to his store. Charles Dickens describes him in A Christmas Carol as “a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, clutching, covetous old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel has ever struck generous fire; secret, and self contained, and solitary as an oyster” (Dickens 12). This description of Scrooge shows that he is a very negative person, that chooses to isolate himself, and keeps things all to himself. He does not care about anyone other than money and himself. He loves money and also watching his clerk; “the door of Scrooge’s counting-house was open that he might keep his eye upon his clerk” (Dickens 13). Scrooge was always watching what his clerk was doing; he was not a friendly guy. There is an example of this in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein also, where Victor was being watched constantly by the monster, everything victor did the monster was watching. Scrooge
When we first met Scrooge, we are informed, and also observe that he is cold, miserly, and bitter. However, after the visit of the Ghost of Christmas future, Scrooge changes into a generous and cheerful man. It is clear that something must have caused a man who is really nice, turn into a mean and nasty person, in this case it was the Industrial Revolution.
In this essay I am going to distinguish the personality of Scrooge also show you how he was at the beginning of the novella in the 1st Stave to how he changes at the end in the 5th Stave.
In this essay I will be talking about how Dickens presents Scrooge’s fear in A Christmas Carol. It is about how Scrooge’s change throughout the novel through various techniques Dickens uses to convey this.
On page 64, we see how Scrooge shows sympathy in the quote, “There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door last night. I should like to have given him something. That 's All.” After being shown a memory of himself as a boy, Scrooge regrets being harsh to the boy caroling and not giving him any money. Seeing his own sadness as a child made him realize it would have been nice to give the boy something to make him happy. He will probably do nicer things in the future because he now realizes that the boy would have been upset because of how Scrooge turned him away so harshly. He is changing his actions, and regretting bad actions in the past. He wants to fix what he did wrong, and he feels sympathy for the boy. People want to be shown compassion, so in the future if he helps people out and is kind, he will not be as isolated. Another quote to show how he becomes less detached from humanity is on pages 92-93, ‘”Spirit,” said Scrooge, “Tell me if Tiny Tim will live.” Scrooge feels sorry for Bob Cratchit because the spirit says if the future remains unaltered he will die. He feels upset that Tiny Tim will die, and sympathy for Bob because his son will probably die. He probably regrets not giving Bob more time with his son. He had made a comment earlier that if someone will die they better go and die to decrease the population, when the donation collector
“hear me! I am not the man I was. I will not be the man I must have been but for this intercourse.” “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach. Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!” (Dickens, Stave 4, Page 84) Finally, Scrooge changed for good.
things to feel happy about in life. If we want to live a happy life,
During the story, Scrooge is visited by the Ghosts from Christmas past, present, and future, who shows the ill-tempered Scrooge how to be feel compassion towards others human beings. A large quantity of the story revolves around money, and it plays a large role, to contrast how generosity is viewed in society. Scrooge is incredibly wealthy, as he lives a l...