Title: A Christmas Carol
Author: Charles Dickens
Year of initial publication: 1843
Number of pages: 144
Finished reading on date: 4/01/2012
Phebe Wai
Wateringse Veld College 4v
1) Title
The title of the book is ‘A Christmas Carol’, the theme of the story is all about the Christmas spirit,
about being together with your loved ones and celebrate it with each other. It’s a time of giving love,
happiness and warmth, even though the weather outside is cold.
The theme of the story is about being a good-hearted person, being kind, caring, loving and helping
towards other people.
2) Novel
This novel has different themes. You can see it as a psychological novel, the main character is going
on a adventure, looking for his own Christmas feeling that he never had. He never believed in the
purpose and meaning of Christmas and has always been a cold-blooded person. But three spirits will
bring him on other thoughts and so he turned in to a lovely old men, that isn’t scaring off people
anymore, but kindly says ‘Good afternoon and a merry Christmas’.
The story also learns you to be a good person, to be kind to other peoples,. It’s important to also care
about other persons feelings, you can’t read from their faces what’s going on at home, so it’s good to
encourage and help them.
You can also see it as a novel with a Christmas theme, Christmas was a great and huge holiday back
in those old days. People were coming together to celebrate it with friends and families, eating lots
of food and having the time of their year.
3) The characters
a)
Scrooge
Scrooge is a lonely, old men that isn’t very kind to people. He owned a factory with his good friend
Marley, but when his friend died, Scrooge continued to run their business alone. The expression of
Scrooge scares people off, because he has a mean look. He owns a lot of money, but he is so greedy
that he even tries to live as cheap as possible.
Jacob Marley
Jacob Marley was a good friend of Scrooge, together they ran a successful business until Marley died
on Christmas eve and Scrooge lead the business on his own.
When Scrooge came home from his work, Marley appeared as a ghost in front of him and warned
Scrooge that he needs to change his way of thinking and acting towards people, life and Christmas.
Bob Cratchit
The only employee of Scrooge is Bob Cratchit. He’s very poor and has a big family that he needs
support, his youngest son is very ill.
The Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to come
All of them came to Scrooge, to begin with the Ghost of Christmas Past. He showed Scrooge his past,
his childhood, the town where he grew up. The Ghost of Christmas Present came second and he took
Scrooge to the house of his employee Bob Cratchit, to show him what kind of impact Scrooge his
behaviors had on his employee and his family. The last ghost was the Ghost of Christmas Yet to
come.
b) Scrooge is the main character of this story. Jacob Marley was his best friend and business partner.
Seven years after the dead of Marley, Scrooge hired an employee named Bob Cratchit. All the
three ghosts came to visit Scrooge, to take him on a adventure to different kind of times in his life.
c) We are dealing with round characters.
d) Yes, the characters do develop in this story. Scrooge was a stingy, mean and selfish men before
the three spirits made him realize that he needs to change himself in lots of different ways, but
he became a lovely, generous and a very kind men that wanted the best for everyone.
4) Theme
This play is about an old men named Scrooge, who is going on an adventure in time, guided by three
different ghosts. The purpose of this adventure? To change the way of Scrooge’s living, thinking and
being as a mean and negative old men.
5) Place and time
The story takes place in London and begins on Christmas evening in 1843, seven years after the death
of Jacob Marley. The three spirits take Scrooge to his past, the present and the time that might can
be his future.
6) Chapters
This novel is divided in 5 different chapters:
Chapter 1 - Stave One: Marley’s Ghost
Chapter 2 - Stave Two: The First Of The Three Spirits
Chapter 3 - Stave Three: The Second Of The Three Spirits
Chapter 4 - Stave Four: The Last Of the Spirits
Chapter 5 - Stave Five: The End Of It
All the titles of the chapters are based on what’s going to happen in this story, just by reading the
titles it’s clear of what is going to happen in the chapter.
7) Time Sequence
The story is told in a special chronological way, because there are flashbacks and flash-forward’s as
well. The Ghosts Of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to come take Scrooge into different times of his
life.
8)Perspective
a) The omniscient is used in ‘A Christmas Carol’
b) It wasn’t hard to read this book, the writer didn’t use lots of difficult words, just sometimes. Some
words like humbug, melancholy, garments weren’t in my vocabulary yet, so a dictionary was
handy while reading this story.
c) The novel has a closed ending. After Scrooge woke up from his wild adventure, it became clear for
him that he needed to change and he immediately did. He became a happy, understanding and
cheerful person.
9) Writer’s background
Charles John Huffam Dickens was born on February 7, 1812 in Portsmouth. He was an English
novelist that was popular in his lifetime and still is right now. His work has been praised for its
comedy, realism, unique personalities and concern for social reform by writers like George Gissing,
Leo Tolstoy and G.K. Chesterton.
Charles Dickens grew up in a big family, his parents John and
Elizabeth and seven siblings. John Dickens was a clerk in a
payroll office of the navy. Charles dreamed of becoming a
gentleman at a very young age, despite his family’s financial
situation. His father John was arrested and sent to dept
because he didn’t pay a debt. Besides that, Charles needed to
work in a shoe-polish factory. Charles Dickens was deeply
marked by these experiences . He rarely spoke of his
childhood. But within a year the situation improved for the
family Dickens. Charles was released from his duties at the
factory and his father was free to go from jail. When he was
fifteen years old, he became secretarial in a Law Firm and
later a reporter by a newspaper. From then on he began to
write short stories, which became very successful. He never
quit writing from that moment. Charles Dickens got married
and ten children. Later he divorced and died on June9, 1870.
10) My opinion
‘A Christmas Carol’ is a great book for young and old ones, it contains lots of stuff we can learn from
nowadays. We often forget that our moods have an influence on other people, that we can say
things that really hurt people, I think this story shows us that it’s good to care about other and not
put yourself in the first place every time.
This story also reminds us that Christmas isn’t just one of the holidays, but a time that we celebrate
the birth of Jesus Christ, and a happy time that you share with your loved ones.
The theme really appeals to me, I thinks Christmas is the best time of the year, it’s a time full of
warmth, love, joy and peace. That’s why I read this book during the Christmas holiday, it was suitable
for that time of the year.
I like the way this book has a great moral, it’s not only the theme that interest me, but the way
Charles Dickens presents is good. A simple, clear story with a great message behind it.
Summary
This story is about Ebenezer Scrooge and his Christmas-experience. Jacob Marley is a good
friend and business partner of Scrooge, together they have their own business. Seven years
later after Marley died, Scrooge still is running the business. The snow is falling outside, the
streets are filled with people who are singing Christmas songs and having a great time
playing with the snow. But not everyone is in the mood for Christmas, Scrooge hates it and
that’s why he only goes outside for work or going home. When he was at work, his nephew
Fred came by to invite his uncle to come over for a Christmas dinner, but Scrooge refused
the offer and send away two gentleman who were asking for a donation from Scrooge for a
dinner for the poor.
When Scrooge arrived at home from his work, he sees that the door-button turned into
Marley’s face. It scared the old men so much that he didn’t believe what happened. It’s a
cold night and Scrooge is having dinner in his room when suddenly he hears bells ringing and
Marley appears in front of him as a ghost, tied with a bunch of chains. He tells Scrooge that
he needs to change his life if he doesn’t want to be like Marley after his death and that three
spirits will visit him. After this unbelievable happening, Scrooge goes to bed to forget
everything, but he wakes up at midnight. The Ghost of Christmas Past is the first of the
spirits that takes Scrooge on an adventure, traveling through his life time. He shows Scrooge
different moments of his past, when he was a young boy and the first time when he fell in
love.
The second spirit is the Ghost of Christmas Present. He takes Scrooge to different places, like
a market filled with people that are buying stuff for their Christmas dinner and a lighthouse.
Besides these places, the spirit also takes him to the house of Scrooge’s employee, Bob
Cratchit, where Scrooge listens to the conversation about the life circumstances of the
family Cratchit. But there’s something wrong with Tiny Tim, he is very ill and needs help if he
wants to stay alive, Scrooge becomes very sorry for Tiny Tim.
Finally the Ghost of Christmas Yet to come, comes to visit Scrooge. This ghost doesn’t say a
thing, he just leads Scrooge to different places that scare him off and Scrooge want to go
home as soon as possible, because he can’t handle ‘the future’ anymore.
When Scrooge wakes up in his own bed, he’s like the happiest person on the world. He
thanks Jacob Marley and the three spirits for changing him. And guess what… it was
Christmas Day! Scrooge immediately arranged a big turkey for the family Cratchit. The days
after Christmas are very surprising for everyone, Scrooge became a good-hearted and kind
men towards everybody, he is full of happiness and very generous. He pays for Tiny Tim’s
operation and donates lots of money for a dinner for the poor.
Well, a happy ending after all!