Christmas Carol

Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

1.      Theme

In my opinion the major theme of A Christmas Carol is about celebration of Christmas. This story tells how Christmas Day can change the character of people to be better. A Christmas Carol talks about main themes that are about charity, greed and regret.

 

2.      Main Characters

This novella is dominated by one character, Ebenezer Scrooge. The story focus tells us about how and why he changes.Scrooge is a hard, cold miser who spends his days counting his profits and wishing the world would leave him alone. He doesn't believe in charity, and he is certain that those who do are just lazy bums looking for a handout. Scrooge's entire life is his business and he shuts out his nephew who is the only relative he has.

The change of his character can we see in stave 2. As a child he enjoys the pleasures of the imagination, and he is close to his sister. As a young man working for Mr. Fezziwig he has not become greedy for gain. But a reasonable fear of poverty which drives him to work to gain security against hardship becomes his dominant passion. His own statements and feelings are the biggest clue to his changing attitude. Belle, his ex fiancé, is the first to see how money has changed him. She rejects money and finds happiness in her family. Because of what he sees and learns with the visit of the Ghost, Scrooge opens his heart to the people around him and learns charity and love and saves himself from the doom of which Marley warned him.

3.      Summary of the Story (plot)

This novel has 5 stave. The story begins with introduction of miserable but wealthy old man name Ebenezer Scrooge. He works in his counting house with his clerk. It is Christmas Eve and he has several visitors. First visitor is his nephew, Fred, who comes to invite him to have dinner with him for Christmas like in years before. But just like usual, Scrooge always refuse his invitation, because he really do not care about Christmas. Fred is not angry or disappointed of his uncle and wishes his uncle well. After he leaves come two gentlemen who are collecting for charity. Scrooge refuses to give anything to them, and saying that he had supporting prisons and workhouse to helps the poor. He is too cheap to care about the suffering and the poor people around him. From this we know about Scrooge partner, Jacob Marley, who died on Christmas Eve seven years ago. Because Scrooge does not give them anything, the gentlemen left his counting house. Even though Scrooge does not care about Christmas, but he allow his clerk to have Christmas day as holiday, and he want his clerk back to work earlier in the next day. Then he returned to his lodging, and suddenly the bells ringing that mean he has visitor again. When he opens the door, he saw Marley’s face. He closed the door and he open again hope that it just his illusion, but Jacob Marley still standing there who is weighed down by a massive chain. He said that the ghost who interaction with other people rarely in life must travel among them after death. Marley says Scrooge wears a chain too which larger than his. Marley tell him that he will get visitor by three more spirits which will help change his ways.

           
         The first spirit which comes is the ghost of Christmas past which reflected Scrooge’s past. The reflections begin with see him as a boy school. First when he sits alone in school room and reading a book, later on we see him with his older sister who has come to bring him home for holiday. From this scene we know that he does not like his sister who much kinder than him.Then we see him as a young who work in workhouse of Mr. Fezziwig. At seven o’clock on Christmas Eve, Mr. Fezziwig tells young Scrooge and his other workers to make his warehouse ready for Christmas party. Everyone is welcome to Mr. Fezziwig’s party and Scrooge very enjoys it too. The Ghost tells Scrooge that Mr. Fezziwig had done nothing special, only spent little money just to give their happiness. The last scene we see Scrooge’s ex-fiancé, Belle. The most Scrooge’s fear when he was younger is being poor and his love just for money. Belle releases Scrooge from his engagement because she can see that he no longer loves her. And then we see another glimpse of Belle about seven years ago. She sits with her daughter who Scrooge think is Belle first but then realizes that belle is now older.  Then come her husband tells her how he saw Scrooge working alone in his office while his partner, Marley, was died. Scrooge realized that they are not wealthy as he is financially, but they arericher than he in other ways. Scrooge thinks of how good it would be if he has daughter as Belle. And then he sank into heavy sleep.

            
        When he awake he know that the next ghost is coming. And the next giant ghost introduces himself as the ghost of Christmas present. The Ghost brings him to see how Christmas is celebrated by his Clerk’s family, Bob Cratchit. Scrooge has never been to Cratchit’s house. Now he can see how the Cratchits can be happy at Christmas even if they are poor. Bob and Mrs. Cratchit struggle because their family is big with six children, include Tiny Tim who is sick. Scrooge sees how frail Tiny Tim is, and he asks the Ghost if Tiny will live. The Ghost tells him that unless something changes in the future, the child will die. Then Scrooge is reminded of his words earlier. “If they would rather die, they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population”. (Stave 1: when he refuses to give money for charity). And then The Ghost take Scrooge to place outside London where he sees Minners’s family in a hut, two lighthouse keepers and sailor on a ship celebrated Christmas as far as they can. All of them are made more aware of other people and feel more kindly toward them because it is Christmas. And Scrooge is taken by the Ghost to see and hear how his nephew, Fred, having Christmas party. In there, Fred explains that his uncle is to be pitied, not despised. And he can see when the guests play the game, the sister of Fred’s wife guesses that mystery object is Scrooge and it make everybody amused. Then Scrooge and the Ghost were again upon their travel. Much they saw, and far they went, and many homes they visited, but always with a happy end.

            The last stave, Scrooge realized himself that the last Ghost who came beside him is the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. And he also realized that the Ghost will show him shadows of the things that have not happened, but will happen in the time before them. The spirit is more like the kind of ghost we meet in conventional ghost stories. It is a hooded phantom, its face is unseen and it points at things but does not speak. Scrooge is again taken to place he does not know. First he sees some wealthy man who discussed someone was died that seems unpopular. In other, the poor Old John buys stolen property from three people, they are a laundrywoman (Mrs. Dilber), a charwoman (a cleaner) and the undertaker's assistant. The poor people have taken things from the dead man. Scrooge asks to the Ghost to show him some emotion caused by this man’s death. First he sees scene of a young couple who owed the man money. The wife, Caroline, fears they are ruined but her husband says there is hope now because their creditor is dead. The debt will be transferred to someone else, but no one else could be too merciless as the man who has died. Next Scrooge returns with the Ghost to the Cratchits' home. They are talking about death too and preparing for a funeral. They all try hard to comfort and support each other. Scrooge think that little Tiny Tim who is died. He is to be buried in a beautiful green churchyard he thought. But then Bob comes home from work and goes to sit with his son, Tiny Tim. Scrooge is horrified but still has to learn the identity of the mysterious dead man. He is shown to an ugly churchyard in the town, and here he sees on the gravestone his own name. He realizes that he is the man whom the others were talking. And he begs the Ghost to tell him if he has seen what will be only. He thinks that the Ghost showing pity to him and promises he will change.

            After he backs to his house, he wonders how much time he passed with the Ghost. He asks to the boy from his window to tell him what day is it. The boy surprised with the question as it is Christmas day. Scrooge pays the boy to go to the poulterer and order the prize turkey for Bob family. Out in the street he meets with the gentleman before and whisper to him that he promises to give a lot of money to the charity, as the gentleman doubts whether he is serious. Scrooge goes to Fred’s house and enjoys the party. The next day he arrives early at work and ambushes Bob, pretending to be angry with him for being so late. Bob think that he is truly mad of him, but is convinced when Scrooge tells him to put more coal on the fire rather than work and that he will discuss his affairs over a drink that afternoon. The story end with Scrooge becomes a second father to Tiny Tim who did not die. He changes his life entirely. Some people laugh at him, but he lets them laugh and is happy with his new outlook on life. Dickens ends by repeating Tiny Tim's Christmas blessing: "God bless Us, Every One!"

4.      Setting and atmosphere
      
      Setting 
    Like many of Dickens' novels this one is set in London, sometime in the middle of the 19^th century. Because the story is relatively short, the locations are only sketched. The dominant place in stave 1 is Scrooge’s counting house and Scrooge’s house.

    We also see into the homes of Fred, the Cratchits, Belle and Caroline. In Stave 3 Dickens leaves London for a barren moor, a lighthouse and a ship at sea.While Scrooge's boarding school (Stave 2) is in a little market-town complete with a church and winding river.

      Atmosphere 
      I think that the atmosphere is warm because the story is about Christmas.

5.      Symbol/ Allegory

At the passage in Stave 1, Scrooge is described in a series of weather images. Dickens likening him to the winter, while nothing that no weather has any effect on him. Another important symbol in Stave 1 is when Marley’s ghost come to Scrooge with massive chain weighed himdown, then tell Scrooge that he has an even longer chain. This chain, made up of cash-boxes, padlocks, purses and business documents, represents Scrooge's achievement in life that is earning money which weighs down his spirit.

At the end of Stave 3, Scrooge sees two children under the robe of the Ghost of Christmas Present, whose names show that they are symbols. Ignorance for the boy and Want for the girl.Dickens sees that a lack of education and extreme poverty make it impossible for anyone to have a good life. The Ghost tells Scrooge to beware to the boy because ignorance allows poverty to continue.