Jacob Marley’s demise is possibly part of what shaped Scrooge into the person that he is. These words are then used against him by the ghost of the Christmas present. So we have tried where possible to focus on the most vital sections of the novella.Īt this point, Scrooge’s character has become fairly well established but the reason that this particular meeting is of such importance is that it highlight’s Scrooge’s outlook towards the poor as well as provides his comments about how the poor should be treated. However, some of the scenes are to help develop Scrooge’s character and add backstory. Of course, Dickens does use his trademark lengthy descriptions but nearly everything has a point. Such as the graveyard at the end.īeing such a short story there is very little that is extraneous. Then there are some of the settings contained in ‘ A Christmas Carol‘. Ghost stories were very popular during the Victorian era.
For a start, there is the use of ghosts throughout. But it does share a lot of gothic conventions.
Partially because of the nature of its main character. ‘ A Christmas Carol‘ is rarely classified as a gothic novel. He is designed to show that the wealthy can make a significant difference. I think this is why the character of Fezziwig exists to show that Scrooge is not representative of all the upper classes. I think he wanted to make it accessible to all classes so he could better spread his message. Workhouses were a terrible place and menial and dangerous jobs such as sweeping chimneys still existed.Ĭharles Dickens only really scratched the surface of this. Any study of the time will tell you about the working conditions for the lower classes. However, how the poor were treated was far more extreme in Victorian England. I’m sure you will all e familiar with the “one percent” statistic. Of course, there is still a massive equality gap between the rich and the poor. The book also explores what you might call “the true meaning of Christmas” and while this might not be true from a Christian standpoint, from a morality/spiritual view, you could claim that it really does help to make that point. So while he did not invent these particular traditions many people credit him with popularizing them. What is interesting is that a lot of the traditions that Dickens writes about weren’t quite so commonplace before his novella. With the title of the book being ‘ A Christmas Carol‘ you would expect Christmas to feature prominently throughout the novel. A Christmas Carol Themes Meaning of Christmas
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