Christmas carol Essay Example for Free

Christmas carol Essay Set in Victorian England Dickens A Christmas Carol famously shows a transformation of the character of Ebenezer Scrooge he is portrayed as a tight fisted old man. Scrooge ends up repenting with the help of the ghost of his old business partner, Jacob Marley, and the three spirits. The last stave celebrates Scrooge enjoying Christmas e. g. I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. In this essay I intend to explore in detail, the variety of ways Dickens uses to show the development of Scrooges character Stave 1 In stave 1 we see Scrooge presented as an old, grumpy and selfish man. Jacob Marley, his business partner, had recently passed away on Christmas Eve. Scrooge attended the funeral but on the same day Dickens tells the reader that Scrooge went back to work, where he gained an undoubted bargain. This shows that Scrooge is more interested in money than his business partners funeral. The first words at the start of stave 1 are, Marley was dead Dickens had to make this abrupt point to make it clear Marley had died to prepare the reader for the fact that his ghost can come back. Charles Dickens uses a narrator, to both describe Scrooge and to judge him. The more the narrator describes Scrooge the angrier he seems to become and the harsher he speaks of him e. g. when he exclaims that Scrooge is a tight fisted hand at the grindstone Scrooge! he then uses a long list of adjectives to emphasise the meanness in scrooge and how he is prepared to hurt others deliberately so that he can be more wealthy. These are: A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner. The narrator also makes it clear that scrooge is self-contained and as solitary as an oyster. This is a simile. This may imply that Scrooge is a cold creature protected by his own hard shell, but in the interior he may have the ability to create a beautiful pearl this may be saying that scrooge has the ability. This may be saying that scrooge also has the ability of creating something beautiful and long lasting. No warmth could warm, nor wintry weather chill him. The narrator is saying that Scrooge is unnatural in some ways and the weather doesnt affect him however hot or cold it is. Even the blind mans dog stays away from Scrooge. This tells the reader even the natural world knows that he is a man to be avoided and feared. Dickens uses contrast to highlight Scrooges character at this stage. On page 4 Scrooges nephew comes to meet Scrooge He greets him with a Merry Christmas. Scrooge then replied bah humbug, which shows Scrooges disbelief in Christmas and his sullenness. Later Scrooge asks, What reason do you have to be merry? Your poor enough. This shows that Scrooge bases his happiness only on wealth Scrooge then had two visitors. They were portly gentlemen who ask Scrooge if he will donate money for the poor and destitute Scrooge didnt give them anything. This shows how tight fisted and selfish Scrooge is. Scrooge suggests to the men that work houses and prisons are the place where the poor should go, Scrooge is showing that he does not believe he has any responsibility to help others. This was a common attitude in Victorian England, which Dickens wants to challenge. When Marleys ghost appears for the first time he suspects the ghost is a figment of his imagination. He tries to hide his fear of it by assuming it is an upset stomach which is causing these disturbing images. However when the ghost speaks he begins to believe it is true. The arrival of the ghost disturbs him. The ghost tells him he is going to be visited by three spirits. Scrooge takes this news and replies to it as a chore or menial task. The ghost speaks of why he is weighed down by chains and shackles. He told Scrooge these chains represent all the bad things he did in his life. He also told scrooge that he had a similar chain but longer. His reaction to this is of disliking. He doesnt like what he hears. He asks the ghost to speak comfort to him, but the ghost cannot speak comfort to him because he has done nothing good or pure in his life. His greed and loathing for everything has turned him into an evil bitter man who has no time for friends of family and he is heartless to his employee Bob Cratchit. Now Scrooge has had a terrible warning about what may come to him if he does not change his ways. Stave 2 Scrooge is visited by the ghost of Christmas past in stave 2 who takes him back in time to see his childhood. This is a very effective way of enabling the reader to see how Scrooge was when he was younger and bring the reader to understand why Scrooge is so mean and to show he hasnt always been like that. Scrooge is shown sitting in a classroom on his own while all the other children have gone home for Christmas. This is because Scrooge and his father didnt get on very well and his father didnt want him home for Christmas. We know this because his sister comes to take Scrooge home one Christmas and she says father is much kinder than he used to be Charles Dickens uses this to show the reader that scrooge was very used to being alone and this might explain why he is so solitary when he grows up. This would have had a great affect on Scrooge at an early age and could be the reason why he is so cruel, mean and bad tempered. At this point the reader starts to have some sympathy for Scrooge and care about his future life. The first change in Scrooges personality is when Scrooge looks back at his younger self and is reminded of the carol boy he saw earlier that night. He feels guilty for not giving the boy anything. We can tell this because he says I should have liked to have given him something thats all. This is the first example of kindness and regret we see from Scrooge, reinforcing the point that Scrooge is not completely heartless and cold and shows he is able to change. Dickens involved Scrooges sister fan to remind Scrooge of his nephew because they are similar generous characters. We can see that Scrooge cared about fan. This may be a sign that there is the potential that Scrooges view of his nephew may also change. Dickens next includes a visit to Fezziwig, Scrooges old employer. This is to show a contrast between how scrooge as an employer treats Bob Cratchit and the way Fezziwig treats Scrooge. Whereas Fezziwig threw a party for Christmas. Bob Cratchit had to ask Scrooge for the day off and Scrooge was still reluctant to give it to him. We can see that Scrooge liked Fezziwig by his reaction when he first saw him. He exclaims, Why its old Fezziwig alive again. This makes Scrooge think of Bob Cratchit. He says I should like to be able to say a word or two to my clerk just know. Again Dickens involves this episode to show that a change in Scrooges personality is possible.