Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol Essay

INTRODUCTIONA Christmas Carol (1843) is one of the most recognizable stories in English literature. With its legion(predicate) literary, stage, television, radio, and cinematic adaptations, the tale has become a holiday classic, and the character Ebenezer Scrooge has become a ethnical icon. First published in 1843, the novella garnered immediate critical and commercial attention and is credited with bring round interest in charitable endeavors, the possible perils of economic success, and festive traditions of the Christmas season. It is the first work in hellions series of Christmas stories known collectively as the Christmas Books, as well as the most general and enduring.Plot and Major CharactersSet in the 1840s on Christmas Eve, A Christmas Carol chronicles the personal transformation of the protagonist, Ebenezer Scrooge, the possessor of a London counting house. A wealthy, elderly man, Scrooge is considered miserly and misanthropic he has no wife or children he throws out two men collecting for charity he bullies and underpays his stanch clerk, Bob Cratchit and he dismisses the Christmas dinner invitation of his kind nephew, Fred. Moreover, Scrooge is a strong supporter of the Poor practice of law of 1834, which allowed the poor to be interned in workhouses.As he prepares for bed on Christmas Eve in his solitary, depressed chambers, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his former partner, Jacob Marley. In life story Marley was very similar in status and temperament to Scrooge remote, cruel, and parsimonious. In death he has learned the value of compassion and warns Scrooge to iron out his ways before it is withal late. Marley announces that Scrooge will be visited by three more specters the hard liquor of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come.The Ghost of Christmas Past takes Scrooge back to his unhappy childhood, revealing that the new-fashioned boys experiences with poverty and abandonment inspired a desire to succeed and gain material ad vantage. Unfortunately, Scrooges burgeoning ambition and greed destroyed his relationship with his fiance and his friends. The Ghost of Christmas Present is represented by a hearty, genial man who reminds Scrooge of the joy of gracious companionship, which he has rejected in favor of his misanthropic existence.Finally, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come appears in a dark robe and shrouded in mystery. Silently, the ghost reveals the uncertain reaction to news of Scrooges own death. Scrooge realizes that he will die only when and without love, and that he has the power and money to help those around himespecially Bob Cratchits ailing son, trivial Tim. Scrooge begs the ghost for another chance and wakes in his bed on Christmas morning, resolved to changing his life by being generous and loving to his family, employees, and the poor.Major ThemesA Christmas Carol has been deemed a biting small-arm of social commentary by some. Critics catch underscored the scathing criticism of 184 0s London, an economically and socially stratified urban center that Dickens believed imprisoned its poor and oppressed its lower classes. The prevailing socio-economic theory of that time held that anyone who was in debt should be put in a poorhouse. In his story, Dickens contended that the reformation of such a materialistic, shallow decree can be achieved gradually through the spiritual transformation of each individual.The story is well regarded for its rumination of a fundamental faith in humanity and its unflagging censure of social injustice, which was inspired by Dickenss troubled background and his visit to the Cornish tin mines where he observed young children laboring under appalling conditions. As Scrooge transforms from a cruel, embittered miser to a kindly philanthropist, Dickens advocates a more forgiving, generous society that values spiritual growth, not material wealth. Other major thematic concerns in A Christmas Carol include the role of memory, the importance of family, and the soul-deadening effect of greed on the human spirit.Critical ReceptionUpon its initial publication, A Christmas Carol was greeted with mixed reviews. Some commentators derided the tale as too sentimental and laden with exaggeration other critics maintained that A Christmas Carol lacked the complexity of Dickenss later work. Yet the novella remains a Christmas favorite. Commentators praise Dickenss evocative depiction of 1840s London and his passionate exploration of social and political issues. Dickenss fervent belief in social justice as depicted through A Christmas Carol is credited with inspiring an rill of charitable endeavors during his time and a revival of Christmas spirit and traditional celebrations.Critics drive also explored the fairy-tale and gothic elements in A Christmas Carol, and many praise Dickenss use of wry humor in the story. The relevance and power of Scrooges transformation from forlorn old niggard to benignant philanthropist is regarded as the key to the novellas unflagging popular appeal. Several scholars have debated the nature of Scrooges conversion, which is known as the Scrooge problem.Some critics, including Edmund Wilson, conclude that the transformation is a temporary one others have maintained that it is total and irrevocable. Scrooges metanoia has also been placed within its historical and literary context, and critics have related it to the religious revival then fervent in nineteenth-century England. A few full-length studies of the novella have traced the impact of the story on English and American culture and have discussed the copious imitations, adaptations, and overhaul versions of the tale.