A Christmas Carol - Essay Example

?A Christmas Carol Social criticism is an important responsibility undertaken by the world renowned especially the novelists. Within this context, Charles Dickens’ novella named as A Christmas Carol deals with the social, historical and cultural features of England during the Victorian Period. While portraying the characters, Dickens employs creativity within the scenario of linguistics. In the novella, Dickens’ tone of writing changes from unhappiness to happiness. Besides, the style (literary hymn to Christmas season) and form (allegory) of the story are significant. On the other side, the usage of imagery is most helpful to have deeper understanding of the story and the characters in the work. In addition, the issues raised in the text (poverty and social inequality) are most relevant in today’s multi-cultural society because the same curbs the human progress towards development. Thesis statement: In my essay, I will be analysing how the main protagonist in A Christmas Carol transforms from being a mean and spiteful character to a compassionate and charitable individual. How Scrooge changes throughout the text: In the opening of the work, Scrooge is presented as a mean character. For instance, Scrooge is not ready to be with his nephew and to help his clerk Bob Cratchit. Besides, he ignores two gentlemen who are in search of alms for the poor. But when his diseased business partner Jacob Marley’s spirit visited him, he began to change. Marley’s spirit warns Scrooge that he will be forced to undergo a wretched afterlife without any peace. The three ghosts (spirits) who visit Scrooge can be regarded as his past, present and his life after death. The first spirit (say, named as Ghost of Christmas Past) leads Scrooge to his past and awakes innocence in his mind. In the novella A Christmas Carol, the narrator states that, “During the whole of this time, Scrooge had acted like a man out of his wits” (Dickens, 1858, p.38). Another spirit, who is named as Ghost of Christmas Present, leads Scrooge to his present stage and reveals that his clerk’s son is seriously ill. This incident makes Scrooge to realize his mistakes. Again, another sprit (Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come) visits Scrooge and reveals his afterlife. Moore makes clear that, “Resolved to keep his promise, Scrooge responds with great emotion and energy to the opportunity he has been given to change his life” (Moore, 2011, p.3). Within this context, the visit of the ghosts (spirits) can be considered as the grass root level reason behind Scrooge’s transformation from a miser to a charitable and humane individual. Language: Within the context of language used in the novella, Dickens uses narration and dialogue as effective tools to make the readers to have easier understanding of the characters. The narrator states that, “Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner!” (Dickens, 1858, p.2). The dialogues in the novella consist of convenient length, and the readers can understand and contemplate on the same with ease. To be specific, the conversations in the novella reveal the inner mind of the main characters. The atmosphere portrayed by Dickens is similar to the Gothic genre, symbolic of supernatural setting and superhuman elements. As pointed out, the satiric tone made use by Dickens suits his attitude on the responsibility of writers towards the society. So, the descriptive technique made use by the author in the novella is effective because it helps the readers to have deeper understanding of the author’s aim. Augustine makes clear that, “Since Dickens’ vocabulary and sentence structure present a challenge to modern readers, the story has been introduced by dividing Section One into two parts, with separate Heads-On Projects, Cooperative Learning Activities, etc” (Augustine, 1993, p.3). In the novel, Dickens makes use of metaphors and similes in an effective manner. For instance, the author makes use of a number of similes to portray the protagonist’s attitude towards others. Imagery: style and form Generally, a novella belongs to the literary genre in-between a novelette and a novel. Comparing with a novelette, novella is lengthier. Rabell makes clear that, “Although the novella differs from tragedy and comedy in its narrative mode of imitation, it can imitate the kinds of people and actions represented by these Aristotelian genres” (Rabell, 2003, p.153). At the same time, a novella is in the form of a prose narrative, similar to a novel. In the novella A Christmas Carol, the author plays the role of a narrator. Reading between lines, one can easily identify the fact the Dickens himself is the narrator because he makes use of the narrator as a medium/tool to communicate with the readers in general. The work is rich in imagery because Dickens makes use of a number of comparisons to unveil the personal features of his characters. As pointed out, the works style consists of literary hymn to Christmas season and the character Scrooge is symbolic of the season winter and his gradual transformation is symbolic of the change in season (i.e., from winter to spring). The narrator states that, “No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty” (Dickens, 1858, p.3). On the other side, the allegorical form of the novella is visible in the gradual transformation of the main character from a miser to a charitable individual. Social, Historical and Cultural Features: (Implicit and Explicit) In the novella A Christmas Carol Dickens utilizes the character Scrooge to unveil the reason behind greed and the need of social conscience in general. The narrator states that, “In the afternoon, he turned his steps towards his nephew’s house” (Dickens, 1858, p.97). To be specific, the character Scrooge can be considered as a tool for the author to share his ideas on humane attitude, social inequality and poverty. From a different angle of view, greed and social conscience are interconnected with human nature. When Dickens wrote the Novella, Britain was undergoing rapid urbanization due to industrial capitalism. During this age (Victorian Era) the British society underwent rapid change and traditions related to Christmas were considered as outdated. Still, the writers like Dickens made use of their literary creativity to restore the forgotten traditions related to Christmas. The novella’s message/aim is not limited to the context of the character Scrooge. Instead, the author’s attempt is to comment on wider social issues at that time (say, during the Victorian Age) like social injustice and poverty. Frost states that, “In addition, most Victorian child workers labored in small workshops, agriculture, domestic industry, and domestic service, not in factories” (Frost, 2008, p.55). One can see that the meaning of Christmas varies in different cultures in today’s society. For instance, some societies consider Christmas as an opportunity to provide support to the needy. But, some other societies consider Christmas as festival to commemorate Jesus Christ. So, this is due to the cultural difference that can be seen in today’s society. Summing, the issues raised in the novella are still relevant in a multicultural society. To be specific, the most important issues raised by Dickens are moral degradation, poverty, problems faced by children and other social problems. One can easily identify that these issues are closely related to the author’s childhood life. The degradation of morality was interconnected with the rapid urbanization of England during the Victorian Era. In addition, poverty was a by-product of rapid urbanization and industrial capitalism. The children from poor families were forced to work in factories and this eventually led to further social problems. Within this context, the issues raised by the author are still relevant in today’s multi-cultural society. To be specific, a multi-cultural society is an amalgamation of different cultures. So, moral degradation, poverty, lack of charity, and other social issues can be seen in the today’s multi-cultural society. In short, the novella is an eye opener to the greedy and self-centred people who are not yet ready to help their fellow beings. References Augustine, J.D., 1993. A Guide for Using a Christmas Carol in the Classroom. Westminster: Teacher Created Resources. Dickens, C., 1858. A Christmas Carol. London: Bradbury and Evans. Frost, G.S., 2008. Victorian Childhoods. Westport: ABC-CLIO. Moore, G., 2011. A Christmas Carol. St Kilda: Insight Publications. Rabell, C., 2003. Rewriting the Italian Novella in Counter-Reformation Spain. Wiltshire: Tamesis Books. Read More