Essay on A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - 3534 Words

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Introduction Charles Dickens was born in Landport, Hampshire, in 1812 and died in 1870. His father was a clerk in the navy pay office and family life was occasionally hard, especially when his father had to go to the debtors prison. The young twelve year old Charles became the main money-maker in the family at this time and worked in a blocking factory. Charles father was released a year later and Charles was able to go to school. After school he became a clerk for solicitors, later becoming a journalist, a reporter at Doctors Commons and at 22 joined a London newspaper. He published various papers in the Monthly Magazine, following this up with sketches and articles for the†¦show more content†¦Charles wrote A Christmas Carol in 1843. This short novel has a Christmas theme and has been popular since it was first published. This moral story is about an old man called Scrooge who hates Christmas and is mean to everyone, but he is transformed. The lessons he learns are as much for the reader to benefit from as Scrooge. His transformation is the key event in the novel and the reader clearly sees Scrooge before and after his experiences. This process will now be explored more fully. A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens When we first meet Scrooge he is described as a cold-hearted, selfish, evil man. He was a Tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner!. He is also described as a very cold man, A frosty rime was on his head, on his eyebrows and on his wiry chin. He carried his own temperature always about with him. The reader gets the impression that whenever somebody may walk past him they would shiver or shudder. When the reader thinks of cold they may think of chilly or they may think symbolically of cold in a person, as in no passion or feeling. When other people meet Scrooge their reaction was to avoid talking to him, nobody asked him even for a little amount of money or what the time was. This was because they knew his answer would be a negative one. Perhaps they thought that if they ignored Scrooge he would go away. It seems as ifShow MoreRelatedCharles Dickens and A Christmas Carol1613 Words   |  7 PagesCharles Dickens and A Christmas Carol: Famed British author, Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812, in Portsmouth, England. He was the second of eight children, living in a poor neighborhood in London. His parents were John Dickens, a naval clerk, who always lived beyond his means. Married to his mother Elizabeth Dickens, who aspired to be a teacher and a school director. Dickens went to William Giles’ school in Chatham, Kent, for approximately one year before his father’s money habitsRead MoreA Christmas Carol By Charles Dickens1139 Words   |  5 Pages The book I have chosen is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. It has been rewrote few times but I wanted to pick the author that started it all. Charles John Huffman Dickens lived from February 7th,1812 – June 9th,1970 making him 58 when he died. He was buried Westminster Abbey. His mother and father were John and Elizabeth Dickens. He had seven siblings four brothers and three sisters. During his life he was married to his wife Catherine Dickens from 1836 to the day he died. Together they hadRead MoreA Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens)1144 Words   |  5 PagesCharles Dickens believed it was up to him to inform the people of Britain of the social problems occurring around Britain. While Dickens was a young man, he suffered from poverty along with his mother and father. His father was imprisoned for dept and Charles wanted to become a social reformer. Dickens used these problems as themes for his book ‘A Christmas Carol. These themes involve poverty, pollution and a c hanging of ways. Dickens used Scrooge, the main character in the book at first to showRead MoreA Christmas Carol By Charles Dickens1160 Words   |  5 PagesCharles Dickens began writing the famous story â€Å"A Christmas Carol† in October 1843 and wrote excitedly during the next six weeks. He completed the narrative at the end of November so that it could be published by the time it was Christmas. It came out on December 17, 1843 and sold out in only three days (Molly Oldfield). The expression â€Å"Bah! Humbug†, a line repeated many times in the story by its main character, a miserable and bitter fellow by the name of Ebenezer Scrooge, has become a well-knownRead MoreCharles Dickens A Christmas Carol Essay922 Words   |  4 Pages â€Å"Bah, humbug!† This well-known phrase is popular thanks to Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. In this literary classic, Dickens tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a â€Å"tight fisted...covetous old sinner† (12). Through a series of hauntings by various Christmas ghosts, Scrooge realizes the error of his ways and changes completely into a warm-hearted, generous man. Scrooge’s tale is a familiar one; countless movies have been filmed, plays have been produced, and references made in other storiesRead MoreCharles Dickens A Christmas Carol1316 Words   |  6 PagesIt can be easily depicted that Christmas is a time of the year to share joyfulness. In Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge is a character that is effortlessly described as a hardheaded cold man. It is simple to judge the character of Scrooge in this manner, but it is important to recognize the change in his personality throughout the story. Scrooge’s transformation happens very quickly, but he becomes generous and caring only when he is forced to see himself through a stranger’sRead MoreA Christmas Carol By Charles Dickens1293 Words   |  6 PagesCharles Dickens presents many sh ort stories and novels. He is greatly known for his short fiction and later theater play, â€Å"A Christmas Carol†. In one short story, a reader could describe it as Charles â€Å"other† Christmas story, an elderly narrator reminisce of holiday past. There is a range of appeal in the story itself from comforting memories of loved toys to leaving the reader with an eerie feeling of various childhood haunts. The reader’s analysis of Dickens use of vivid detail together with hisRead MoreA Christmas Carol By Charles Dickens1331 Words   |  6 PagesChristy Mak 12/21/15 Period three Scrooge Changes In the story, A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, Scrooge is the main character. In the beginning of the story, he is shown as an old miser counting and gripping his money in the counting house. Later on, Scrooge’s dead business partner, Marley, has visited Scrooge from the grave while being bounded in chains to warn Scrooge to change his ways or suffer the same fate. Soon, three ghosts are sent to visit Scrooge to show him scenes thatRead MoreA Christmas Carol By Charles Dickens914 Words   |  4 PagesFew characters in Christmas literature personify the antithesis of the season like Ebenezer Scrooge. Penned in 1843, Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol has been told and retold. It has become a fixture of the season. So ingrained in our culture, is this story, that everyone knows the name Scrooge and the negative connotation that accompanies it. But what if, instead of just a cranky old miser, Ol Ebenezer Scrooge was more of a rather observant social commenta tor? In order to defendRead MoreThe Life Of Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol1062 Words   |  5 Pageslasted from 1832 to 1901 under Queen Victoria’s reign. The culture revealed in this era was a time of rapid change, social inequality, industrialization, supernatural and religious beliefs, and was accurately reflected in the works of Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol. Roles of men and women were strictly defined, as were economic statuses. The hustle and bustle of the streets led to illnesses. Working conditions were destitute and unsanitary. Children often had little to no education, unless very