A Christmas Carol Practise Essay

A Christmas Carol Practise Essay
Topic = “Scrooge’s real problem is that he has no sense of responsibility to others; he is happy to remain in his insular world
Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, presents to the reader, the transformation of a self-centred miserable old man, Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge, drastically transforms from the protagonist of his society, to a man who realises that life isn’t just about himself and money, other people are important and being kind and caring and helping others are all are his responsibility. Dickens uses gothic element and the most miserable and hard-hearted man, and shows how even he can be transformed and Dickens uses the less-fortunate to demonstrate what goes on in real life and how the rich do not support the poor.
Scrooge is described as “covetous old sinner” and is associated with cold, ice and snow. He believes that poverty could be avoided by hard work, he has lost all empathy and compassion for anyone, and thought that the prisons and the workhouses were well suited to deal with the poor. Two men come to collect charity money from Scrooge and Scrooge replied that he ‘can’t afford to make idle people merry’ and that the poor should die quickly to decrease the surplus population. Dickens uses this scene to show the reader that Scrooge does his own thing in his own world, and that he doesn’t care about anyone but himself.
Scrooge is visited by his dead partner, Jacob Marley. Scrooge first sees him when his door nail is Marley’s ghostly head, representing “Dead as a door nail”. Marley is seen dragging a chain made with cashboxes, keys and padlocks. Each part of the chain represents one bad deed done. Marley tells Scrooge that he too, wears a chain, bigger than Marley’s. He tells Scrooge that three spirits will visit him to help change his ways and he must submit if he wants to avoid the same fate as Marley.
The first of the three spirits, The Ghost of Christmas Past – Scrooge’s past, visits him. The Ghost is a strange figure, almost like a child but as an old man. The Ghost shows Scrooge as a boy at school. We also see Scrooge’s sister, Fan, who has come to bring him home for the holidays. We soon find out that she has died, but she has a son, Fred. Then the Ghost shows Scrooge as a young apprentice working for Mr. Fezziwig. It is Christmas Eve and they are setting up for a party in which everyone is welcome. The Ghost tells Scrooge that Mr Fezziwig has done nothing special just spent a little money that he can afford. Scrooge notices that even though Mr Fezziwig has spent only a little bit of money, the happiness it creates is “as if it cost a fortune”. The final scene is of Belle, Scrooge’s ex-fiancée. His fear of being poor when younger, has now become a love of money. Belle leaves Scrooge because she thinks he no longer loves her. The Ghost then shows Belle many years later, she has a family. Belle’s husband is telling her that he saw Scrooge working alone in his office. While Belle and her husband are having a happy Christmas together, Scrooge is working alone. Dickens uses The Ghost of Christmas Past to show why and how Scrooge became the man he is, unhappy and selfish and what factors led to such detest of the very thing people cherish and love, happiness and celebration
The Ghost of Christmas Present then visits him. The Spirit shows Scrooge how Christmas is celebrated by his clerk's family. Scrooge has never been to Bob Cratchit's house. Here he sees how the Cratchits, despite being very poor, can be happy at Christmas. They struggle because they have six children. One of the children, Tiny Tim, is ill. Scrooge sees how frail Tiny Tim is, and asks the Spirit if he will live. The ghost tells him that unless something changes in the future, the child will die. The Spirit reminds him of his words: "If he be like to die he had better do it and as midnight draws near the spirit ages and shrinks, because he lives for only one year and said that he has had more than eighteen hundred brothers. Now Scrooge sees, two horribly dirty and ugly children. The ghost tells him that they are not his but "man's children" and that the boy represents ignorance, and the girl represents want. Scrooge is told to beware of them both. When he asks if nothing can be done to help them the ghost again quotes his earlier words: "Are there no prisons? Are there no work-houses". He feels deep shame, as the ghost disappears, and he sees, coming towards him, the last of the three spirits. Scrooge is starting to realise what he has done and he has seen the consequences and is already starting to change his ways.
Dickens uses gothic elements to depict the Ghost of Christmas yet to come, like a grim reaper, representing death and unhuman like (a thing) . It first shows a group of men talking about a very unpopular man who has died. It then shows people stealing from the dead man. It seems the only people who care about his death are those who benefit from it. The spirit then shows The Cratchit’s grieving about the death of Tiny Tim. The Spirit then shows the headstone of himself. Horrified, he promises to change.
Dickens uses Scrooge and the Spirits to show that almost anyone can change and that the poor need support and not grief.