Use of Ghosts to Change Victorian Society in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
'A Christmas Carol' is a novel by Charles Dickens, written in the
Victorian era about a man named Ebenezer Scrooge. The book was written
to remind people that we should all be kinder and more generous
towards one another, and keep the spirit of Christmas all the year,
not only in the Christmas season.
Scrooge is a representation of most of Victorian society, and he is
used by Dickens as a literary device. He is described as "squeezing,
wrenching, grasping, scraping…" a reflection on the Victorians, many
of whom were selfish and did not care to help those less fortunate
than themselves. In Scrooge's own words, "Are there no prisons?"; "Are
there no workhouses?" Scrooge believed that those people who could not
afford to live independently should go to these establishments, a view
held by many Victorians. Charles Dickens recognised that this attitude
towards those in need was morally unacceptable.
'A Christmas Carol' was written in instalments which were published
monthly in a magazine. His intention was that the many readers of the
magazine would comprehend and take note of the messages he tried to
deliver in his writing. By writing the novel in instalments Dickens
managed to strike a good percentage of his target audience, who were
in particular the upper classes who could afford to buy luxury items
such as magazines.
As every reader would be reading each instalment at about the same
period, it provided a stimulus that people could unite in and discuss,
so that Dickens' ideas would be passed not only to the readers of the
magazine but also to ...
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specifies the genre of the novel by writing "Once upon a time,"
however Dickens' fairy tale is not one to be forgotten when put down.
Instead, he intended his readers to reconsider their own lives, and
see if they could make the same sorts of changes that Scrooge did, not
only in Victorian Society, but for as long into the future as "A
Christmas Carol" is read. A pun on ghostly spirits and alcoholic
spirits informs readers that Scrooge "had no further intercourse with
Spirits, but lived upon the Total Abstinence Principle." As
teetotallers refrain from all alcohol, so did Scrooge abstain from
further ghostly emissaries? For the Ghost's mission had been
accomplished: Scrooge keeps Christmas, and he keeps it well. "May that
be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God
Bless Us, Every One!"
After the previous spirit disappeared, Scrooge looks up to find the final spirit, The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. The phantom remains silent and simply takes Scrooge toward the city, where they eavesdrop on a few conversations between people. One of them was between two men who were talking about how someone had recently died. They retorted about how nobody liked the man and, consequently, they expected nobody to show up to the funeral. The twain continued to another pair of businessmen who had also heard the news that someone had died, but did not care. Scrooge, oblivious as to who they were talking about, tries to ask the spirit some questions, in which the spirit doesn’t respond. The phantom just drags Scrooge to a nearly abandoned
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
A Christmas Carol is presumably the most famous cost of fiction that Charles Dickens at any point composed.
Attitude Toward the Poor in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol Dickens encourages readers to change their views by showing what scrooge is like before, during and after the ghosts have visited him. " A Christmas Carol" is about a horrid old accountant and how people react around him on Christmas Eve. He is visited by 3 ghosts and they try and change his wicked ways. Dickens knows what it is like to work in factories because, as a child. he used to work in one, putting labels on shoe polish bottles.
WE THE WILLING, LEAD BY THE KNOWING, TO DO THE IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE UNGREATFUL, WE HAVE DONE SO MUCH FOR SO LONG THAT WE ARE CAPABLE OF DOING ANYTHING WITHOUT NOTHING AT ALL, GD!
work for a long working hour and not get any break or time off at any
Dickens' A Christmas Carol and the Industrial Revolution Besides being the secular story of Christmas time in an urban setting, A Christmas Carol, tells the sacred story of Christmas as well. With A Christmas Carol, Dickens initiated an ongoing creative process in the Anglo-American imagination. As a result of the Industrial Revolution and the growth and development of cities people's lives changed drastically as they moved from the life and traditions of the country into those of the city. As industrialization continued, for many people in the city living and working conditions worsened. As reports of horrible working conditions increased so did the literature of social concern for reform..
The play “A Christmas Carol – A ghost story of Christmas” by Charles Dickson, directed by James Black in Houston, TX was performed in a similar way in “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickson, directed by Michael Wilson in Washington, D.C. The both plays had similarities and differences throughout the play in which demonstrated different creativity from the different directors. The rating that was given by the reviewer of the play in Washington gave a 5 out of 5 star rating. For the play that I went to watch the rating I would give it would be a 5 star rating.
unhappy man whose only wish is to make the rest of the world as sad as
A pill bug is an insect that forms a hard shell around its soft flesh whenever startled or scared. Just like this pill bug, humans guard themselves from anything that hurts them without realizing that they are shutting out the most precious moments of their lives. Ebenezer Scrooge, the main character of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, is a cold man. He finds what he defines as true happiness in the form of money and wealth. At first he only seems to be a machine living in a human form, but as Scrooge's true journey and hardships are revealed, it becomes difficult to blame only Scrooge for his independence. It is inevitable that Scrooge's rudeness and impudent ferocity towards people led to the mistreatment of his dead body, but Scrooge's walls were not built for nothing. As the story progresses, and his true story from start to finish is revealed. There is no one person to blame, for it was the wrong of everyone. As Blaise Pascal once said, “All of humanity's problems stem from a man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”
“A Christmas Carol” written by Charles Dickens, is about a man named Ebenezer Scrooge , who realizes that all actions in life has a consequence. Ebenezer Scrooge was a nasty, mean, and cold-hearted person. He wouldn’t let his employees take off work for Christmas, he was rude to visitors that came to see if he would donate money and he was greedy. In fact he was so greedy that the woman he was engaged to called off the engagement because he was becoming to greedy. This is one example of actions have consequences. Another example is he was being rude to Bob Cratchit and wouldn’t let have the day off for Christmas in fact he wanted to work more. As a result, he had to witness and his own niece and nephew laughing
being seduced to. It has been said by many at the time that sex was
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.
classes, and so he knew what it was like. It was very hard for the
ourselves. God calls us to Himself so that everything we are, everything we do, and