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analysis of a christmas carol
analysis of a christmas carol
how is scrooge described in a christmas carol
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The Three Spirits in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol
In Dickens’ Ghost story ‘ A Christmas Carol’ we are shown a story of
redemption. Dickens uses description, sarcasm and many other effects
to create the sudden changes of atmosphere in the novel. I will look
at how Dickens creates such a structured book and what causes it to be
so effective. However before I begin to examine Dickens’ methods I
will see how each of the mysterious spirits affect Scrooge and how he
responds to them.
Ebenezer Scrooge is a miser if ever there was one - grasping and
covetous, rich and penny-pinching. Dickens describes how he keeps a
clerk, Bob Cratchit, on a measly fifteen shillings a week and a very
small fire. His only family, a nephew named Fred, tries to get him to
spend Christmas with him and Scrooge's only reply is "Bah. Humbug."
The name Scrooge itself sounds sinister in itself… His name screw +
gouge shows he is hard -hearted.
He is visited by four spirits. The first is of his former partner,
Jacob Marley, who arrives on Christmas Eve. Jacob tells him he made
his chain link by link and his spirit is condemned to walk the earth
desperately trying to help his fellow man to no avail. He tells
Scrooge their last hope is to be visited by three Ghosts - the Ghost
of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of
Christmas Yet to Come. Scrooge dismisses his vision, saying "there's
more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are" and goes to
sleep.
Scrooge is redeemed because he learns how to let his spirit walk among
his fellow men. He shows this by becoming 'a better man, a better
master' as the good old city ever knew. He reveals his progress slowly
by his actions, reactions and emotions.
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... middle of paper ...
...th the discovery that many think him a monster of a man.
Scrooge finds most out about himself from this Spirit, and mixes his
joy with his remorse and pain.
The Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come is perhaps the least accessible
character, but the line “the kind hand trembled” right at the end of
its visit shows that it has goodwill. Its lack of violence and terror
impresses Scrooge further. It must put the finishing touches to
Scrooge, ensuring he is aware of his own mortality and to encourage
him to change his life for the good.
Scrooge’s dream is a growing process, starting from the one extreme of
an old boring humble miser, and finishing up as a model of goodwill
and religious generosity. Charles Dickens achieves what he attempted
to do. With the use of humorous words and fantastic Ghosts he tells us
a deep moral story which is still relevant today.
Explore how Dickens makes his readers aware of poverty in A Christmas Carol One of the major themes in "A Christmas Carol" was Dickens' observations of the plight of the children of London's poor and the poverty that the poor had to endure. Dickens causes the reader to be aware of poverty by the use and type of language he uses. He uses similes and metaphors to establish clear and vivid images of the characters who are used to portray his message. Dickens describes his characters like caricatures. Dickens exaggerates characters characteristics in order to make his point and provide the reader with a long living memory.
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.
In the play, Mr. Scrooge is a greedy man who thinks Christmas is “Bah Humbug!” (Dickens 3). His family has always wanted him to join them for a Christmas feast, but Mr. Scrooge has never wanted anything to do with Christmas. Marley, Mr. Scrooge’s old business partner, didn’t want Mr. Scrooge to end up like him with chains of greed attached to him when he died, so he sent Mr. Scrooge three spirits: Christmas Past, Present, and Future. Those three spirits visited each day to haunt him about his Christmases. Eventually, he traveled with two of the three spirits, but when the spirit of Christmas Future arrived, Mr. Scrooge realized that he would die in a few years. Ebenezer begged for mercy and promised to celebrate Christmas with joy and festivity. (Dickens 7-32) After the haunting with the spirits, Mr. Scrooge woke up and asked a boy what day it was. When the little boy, Adam, replied that it was Christmas, he ordered the boy
In conclusion, Scrooge is a cold-hearted, tight fisted, greedy man, who despises Christmas and all things which engender happiness. After a visit from the Ghost of Christmas Past, he finds happiness again and the wrong decisions he made him the man he become in the present, The Ghost of Christmas Present made him learn or remember joy, happiness, coming together at Christmas with friends and family and his moral responsibility to society. Finally, the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come shows him where his current life choices will lead him and makes Scrooge have a epiphany and because of these experiences, he changes.
A 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.
Dickens' Use of Language and Structure to Build Up a Picture of the Joy of Christmas Present
The Presentation of the Three Spirits and Marley's Ghost in A Christmas Carol In a Christmas carol by Charles Dickens, the four ghosts are all described differently. They all help to change scrooge into a nicer person. The ghosts all act disparately and look disparately. Scrooge has a different effect on each one of the ghosts, two of the ghosts he likes and one of the ghosts he dislikes.
The Ghost takes him to the Cratchit's house first. At the house, Scrooge sees a lot. He sees that Tiny Tim is hurt and he wants to know why. The Ghost tells him that Tiny Tim has a disease and that he doesn't have enough to eat so it just gets worst and worst. Scrooge is curious about why Tiny Tim doesn't eat that much. The Ghost of Christmas Present tells Scrooge that because you only give Bob Cratchit 15 shillings he can only provide so much for his family. Scrooge started feeling so guilty because he knows he has the power to give more money to the Cratchits. Mr. Cratchit gives a toast about Scrooge and Mrs. Cratchit got upset because Scrooge has done nothing to help this family. Bob Cratchit defends Scrooge and says that he still believes in Scrooge. Scrooge feels guilty because after all that could and has happened Bob Cratchit still believes in him. The Ghost then takes Scrooge to see his nephew Fred. Everyone in the room with him is saying mean and cruel things about Scrooge and Fred defends him. He stands up for him and shows that he still believes in him. Scrooge feels really guilty because both of these people still believe in him and all he does is treat them
In the Novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, Ebenezer Scrooge is an old man who despises Christmas with all of his frigid heart. Three spirits come to his aid to have an intervention about his hatred for Christmas, and will try to change him into a merry man. In the Novella A Christmas Carol of the three spirits the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is the most influential. The other two ghosts have an impact but the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is the final nail in the coffin of Scrooge’s austere heart.
The first of these spirits is the Ghost of Christmas Past. This ghost shows a younger Scrooge who was not yet influenced by the greed and selfishness that now encloses his soul. This most significant part is when Past shows Scrooge his former sweetheart. Scrooge was just starting to get greedy so his sweetheart “freed him from his contract”, or broke up with him, in other words. When she did this, Scrooge didn’t even notice that she had ever left because he had his money. However, present Scrooge starts yelling at his former self, “You fool! Don’t let her go, you fool!” Eventually he stops because he realizes he can’t change the past, but it shows that he is recognizing what he’s done. Moreover it shows that he is changing the way he thinks about, and treats, other people. This change is also shown in Scrooge’s interaction with the Ghost of Christmas Present. This ghost brings him to Cratchit’s house, where he sees that Cratchit’s family is going through tough times. The salary Scrooge is paying him isn’t enough to provide for the family he has, especially given Cratchit’s youngest son, Tiny Tim, has medical issues. In addition, The Ghost of Christmas Present says, “I see a empty seat next to the Chimney, and a pair of Crutches with no owner.” this indicates that Tiny Time has died because Scrooge wasn’t paying Bob enough to help Tiny Tim’s condition. However they still toast to Scrooge at Christmas dinner because the Cratchits may not have much money, but they are rich with the love and happiness they provide each
This is shown in the quote:” Not so much in obedience, as in surprise and fear.” When Marley tells Scrooge to stop when he reaches the window he does as he is told but not because he is respecting Marley’s command but because he is terrified of what he might witness. He is afraid of what it might mean and what it could lead to as “The air was filled with phantoms, wandering hither and thither in restless haste.” Dickens uses the motif of fear to portray Scrooge’s fate if does not change. The words “restless haste,” shows how not only will he be regretful and sorrowful as Marley was but also he will never be free. The phantoms move around desperately wanting to be free in hope that they can change their ways and make up for the things that they didn’t do but it’s too late as they burdened by the weight of their regrets. This foreshadows Scrooge’s fate if he resists change. This gives the reader an understanding and warns modern day readers and the Victorians to change before it is too late. It foreshadows the truth that Scrooge is so afraid of as he stops “not so much in obedience, as in surprise and fear.” Scrooge is the result of us realising our mistakes. And that is what Dickens was trying to
In this Stave, Dickens shows the importance of kindness by showing Scrooge’s absence of it and the effects of his harmful indifference. Scrooge is taken into his own past and shown memories of when he was young. The Ghost shows him scenes of when he was small and alone on Christmas. This memory makes him regret his harshness towards a young caroler that had come to his door the previous day. He sees that he lacked kindness and wishes he gave something to the caroler. His indifference towards the caroler insured that Scrooge would remain alone. The Ghost also reminds Scrooge of his beloved sister, Fannie who had died and left only her son. “’Always a delicate creature, whom a breath might have withered,’ said the Ghost. ‘But she had a large heart!’ ‘So she had,’ cried Scrooge. ‘You’re right. I will not gainsay it, Spirit. God forbid!’ ‘She died a woman,’ said the Ghost, ‘and had, as I think, children.’ ‘One child,’ Scrooge returned. ‘True,’ said the Ghost. ‘Your nephew!’ Scrooge seemed uneasy in his mind; and answered briefly, ‘Yes.’” (pg. 33-34). Scrooge’s only connection to his kind and gentle sister is his nephew, who also shares Fannie’s sweet nature. Scrooge is then filled with regret because of his callous treatment and lack of relationship with his nephew, who only wanted to be kind and spread the joy of the season. Scrooge’s sheer indifference and lack of kindness towards his nephew prevented
Charles dickens classic novella “A Christmas Carol” endorses the notion that “Generosity involves more than the giving of money, it’s also about the giving of one's goodwill, compassion, sympathy, empathy and kindness. By taking his seemingly irredeemable protagonist Ebenezer Scrooge on a supernatural journey, Dickens’ intends to convey to all of society the importance of generosity. He proclaims that generosity of the spirit defines Christmas, and goes a large way towards defining true humanity for him as well.
The true description of Scrooge first appears about quarter way through the book, before then there are only a few minor references to his character. The description begins metaphorically as it features the words “ A tight-fisted hand at the grindstone”. Its metaphorical because it is trying to portray that Scrooge is literally as tight as the hand to the grindstone. Then soon after this seven adjectives follow, “ Squeezing, Wrenching, Grasping, Scraping, Clutching, Covetous, Old sinner”. They are used effectively as each one has an individual meaning describing seven trates of Scrooges character, which begins to give the reader a visual picture of how the character may conduct himself. So far all qualities of Scrooge have been negative and so it continues. Then the writer brings in the object “flint” and states all the negative quality’s of flint then compares them to Scrooge.
In "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens, Ebenezer Scrooge undergoes a transformation as a result of his encounters with three ghosts and becomes a kind, happy, and generous man. His greedy, cruel, and grumpy demeanor is replaced seemingly overnight, but he doesn’t just wake up and decide to be nice. It takes three Spirits to change his outlook on life - The Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Future. The Ghost of Christmas Past makes Scrooge begin to regret his selfishness, and the Ghost of Christmas Present begins to teach him about others. This second Ghost helps to make him realize that money doesn't buy happiness. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, however, teaches the most profound lesson of all: unless he changes, no one will care if Scrooge dies. Because of the Ghosts, by Christmas morning Ebenezer Scrooge is a completely different person from the man who went to bed on Christmas Eve.