Christmas carol research:
The aim of this book was for people to evaluate what are they contributing to society, are you helping? Or doing nothing at all? Dickens wanted the readers to change, he wanted retribution from society so children don’t have to work in harsh, unsafe environments; So, people and families don’t have to steal food or starve to just survive.
A Christmas Carol tackles this by following an old aged man called Scrooge, who was seen badly among his society for being uncaring and stingy as all he cares about is money. Scrooge is visited by 4 ghosts: Jacob Marley his former business partner, the ghosts of Christmas past who takes scrooges on a journey through his memories, the ghost of Christmas present who shows scrooge how everyone makes fun of him and no-one cares about him, and finally the ghost of Christmas yet to come who leads scrooge on a mystery to found out who the lonely grave belongs to. Eventually, thanks to all of the visits and remembrance of times when he was happy scrooge changed after realised how stubborn he had been.
Key moment in the book is the appearance of the children, ignorance and want. This is a famous moment in a Christmas carol as Scrooge’s own words are used against him “are there no prisons” “are there no workhouses” these two children are presented to scrooge as mankind’s letting not only Scrooge but they reader too that they are represent what everyone has thrown away and left uncared for.
My role: The ghost of Christmas yet to come
In a Christmas carol the ghost of Christmas yet to come is the last of the three spirits to appear before Scrooge. This Spirit has the most dramatic effect on Scrooge as it doesn’t speak and shows Scrooge the inevitable if he doesn’t change his ways. This ghost is known as the scariest and serious of the three, and the least humanlike too; as the spirit does not speak and just ominously points Scrooge in the direction of the scenes to unfold before him. The spectre takes scrooge on a journey showing how the society around him reacts to his death such as the empty funeral, his belongings being stolen to be sold, the death of Tiny Tim as a result for Cratchit’s low wage, and finally being shown his own grave. This leads scrooge to realise just how stingy and unkind he was towards others.
Charles Dickens:
Dickens was from a poor family and was forced to work from a young age of 12, experiencing the cruel working conditions at that time, but returning to education after a couple of years to finish his last two years of school. He started off as a journalist but during his time he published a short story which could be said as the kick start of his writing career and joined the Morning Chronical. He then became well known and wrote Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby and more short stories. With decrease in popularity, dickens went abroad and his reputation was further damaged but all that goes out the window upon his return with the new book A Christmas Carol. He wrote two more novels which were more serious and thought out. He continued to write 5 more major novels and became joint owner and editor of a new weekly journal.
He used a lot of his real-life experiences to write his books and create characters, many say he would sit in public and watch the day unfold letting the scenes write themselves. He used society in his books to demonstrate how tough it was to be poor or to be working in that time period.
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