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‘How does Dickens present the theme of Christmas in A Christmas Carol?’ Essay help!

Despite his terrible living and working conditions, Bob Crachit is hard-working and kind. However, regardless of his long hours, he cannot support his family. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come shows Scrooge one possible future in which Tiny Tim dies because of the Crachits’ bad living conditions. Ebenezer Scrooge is the main character of A Christmas Carol, who undergoes a positive character arc. In the beginning, he is presented as a greedy and cruel man who refuses to donate to the poor and who exploits his workers.

christmas carol theme essay

After observing more Christmas celebrations, such as at Fred’s house, two ragged children crawl out from the Ghost. The Ghost of Christmas Present introduces them as Ignorance and Want and warns Scrooge to be wary of them, especially of the first. Scrooge is concerned by their emancipated appearance, which the Ghost mocks by quoting Scrooge’s heartless remarks about the poor from earlier. Scrooge falls asleep but is soon awoken by the elderly yet youthful Ghost of Christmas Past, who takes Scrooge to times when he was more innocent. After Scrooge’s loneliness at school and his close relationship with his sister Fan are revealed, they revisit his old employer Fezziwig’s Christmas party. Scrooge rewatches how his fiance Belle ends their relationship as Scrooge has been neglecting her in favour of money.

A Christmas Carol English Teaching Resources

As MW Martin explains, “Dickens’ classic is a powerful reminder of the importance of giving to those in need and of the power of generosity and compassion” (1994). Ebenezer Scrooge must face the cruel character he has become. With the help of three Christmas spirits,  he becomes a kinder, more generous man.

(Where’s  the husky voice-over when you need it?)  The fact is that A Christmas Carol is a ghost story and Marley & Co should be terrifying. Oh, I accept that they could be – especially with a generous FX budget and make-up to rival the worst imaginable zombie movie.

What are the 4 major themes of A Christmas Carol?

The use of pathetic fallacy could also be linked to scrooge himself, rain, snow, hail and sleet are all weather conditions that are cold themselves and bring a chill through those who experience them, that could also be said for Scrooge. Scrooge himself is a cold person, so he brings about a cold atmosphere around him and spreads his coldness to others through the way he treats them. This Graphic Revision Guide for Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol makes studying or revising this classic book easy.

christmas carol theme essay

Equality is something that should be of relevance though any time, weather it is a problem or something newly found, it is an issue and still will be until there is complete equality for all. Dickens uses exaggeration to create a dramatic emphasis custom thesis writing services of an atmosphere or scrooge’s character, the meaning for it varies between the first and last stave. He may not be all these things, but in the readers eyes he is exaggerated to be a somewhat inhumanly, horrible and tightfisted man.

A CHRISTMAS

In the last stave Dickens use of pathetic fallacy is switched completely from negative to positive. He does this through a dramatic change of how the weather is described, phrases such as “No fog, no mist”. Dickens wanted to show two completely different types of pathetic fallacy to create a contrast between scrooge in the first and last stave that the reader can obviously see. For my essay I will explore the language techniques such as repetition, exaggeration, similes, pathetic fallacy etc that Dickens has used to establish and illustrate his points and views through the story A Christmas Carol. The spirit then takes Scrooge to his nephew’s house who is rich and wealthy just like Scrooge but unlike Scrooge he is celebrating Christmas and having fun.

Your son can watch that whilst on the toilet, whilst eating breakfast, whilst getting dressed, even in the shower if he is careful with his phone. If he feels unsure about the rest of the book concentrate on the extract, find something about language in there, try to hit all the AOs. If you have any more questions, English lit, lang, whatever, post here or on secondary.

English – Year 11

Look at the mark scheme of a recent past paper and teach him how to answer those questions as he needs to know the technique for each question to maximise his marks. Talking it over with him will find out what quotes he knows and what he thinks about different themes and characters. Get the Christmas Carol an essay writing guide for gcse by accolade press as this talks about the main themes and how to answer the questions.

Similes are another language technique that dickens has developed and used to create a dramatic sense of scrooges character. A simile used to describe scrooge for example is “Hard and sharp as flint” this gives the impression that scrooge himself is a person with a hard exterior, almost impenetrable for emotion to break through. He is sharp within the sense of his wit, he talks down to those he opposes and with his sharp wit attacks them verbally, such as where he talks to his nephew and says “What reason have you to be merry? You’re poor enough” this shows the sharpness in his tongue, and the nastiness in his personality. This sort of use of simile gives the reader something to compare scrooge to, and so see deeper into his personality. Here is another simile from the first stave “solitary as an oyster” an oyster lives on it’s own at the bottom of the ocean isolated, this idea of loneliness could be linked to scrooge. Oysters are also cocooned within a shell; this connects with the thought of scrooge hiding behind a self indulgent front and not letting anyone in emotionally.

A Christmas Carol – a ghost story of Christmas

I read it and then discussed with DS to find out what he knew and where his gaps were. In came a fiddler with a music-book, and went up to the lofty desk, and made an orchestra of it, and tuned like fifty stomachaches. In came all the young men and women employed in the business.

christmas carol theme essay

Scrooge reiterates his selfishness and refusal to participate in the
Christmas spirit, instead justifying his lack of generosity as a means
of supporting the poorhouses. Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is an uplifting story of transformation and redemption. The message of kindness, giving and understanding shines through, giving us a greater understanding of the importance of considering others and the impact of our actions.

Stave II: The First of the Three Spirits

” The spirit replies nothing and Scrooge suddenly falls into grave, which had cracked, open. It sought to free itself, but he was strong in his entreaty, and detained it. Holding up his hands in a last prayer to have his fate reversed, he saw an alteration in the Phantom’s hood and dress.

  • Part of the GCSE English Literature course involves analysing key themes.
  • On page 41 we finally start to see a transition in Scrooge’s character he feels very sorry for his self in the childhood.
  • The ending is near and now Scrooge as he told the spirit has dramatically changed.
  • For example, here is a simile that describes scrooge in the last stave “I am as happy as an angel” that simile sounds very positive in contrast to ones in the first stave.

Examples such as Fred, the Fezziwigs and the Cratchits emphasise the value that Dickens places on the comforts and pleasures of home and family life. Scrooge refuses to participate in the festivities of Christmas, citing
his inability to afford to waste time and money on such frivolities. Scrooge’s uncle dismisses the idea of Christmas, expressing a greed
for money and a lack of concern for the joy and goodwill that the
holiday brings. This quote introduces Scrooge as a greedy and selfish character,
highlighting his tight-fisted nature and obsession with money. Through the redemption arc of Scrooge, Dickens encouraged social justice and responsibility. While the narrative is not based on one particular story, Dickens drew from real historical events of greedy businessmen exploiting the poor, starving working class. The Ghost of Christmas Past takes Scrooge back to when his fiance Belle broke off their engagement.

Snapshot Notes on A Christmas Carol

The Cratchit family are the opposite of Scrooge, whose great wealth does not bring him inner satisfaction or happiness. Through the Cratchit family, Scrooge and also the reader must learn that life is not about collecting money but it is rather about spending quality time with other human beings. The Poor Law of 1834 reduced government spending to support the poor.

  • In conclusion I believe the moral behind Christmas carol is that in a social divided community it is important to treat everyone the same.
  • It opened before them, and disclosed a long, bare, melancholy room, made barer still by lines of plain deal forms and desks.
  • Machines were kept running to ensure constant production, resulting in many workplace accidents.
  • Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

In came the cook, with her brother’s particular friend the milkman. In came the boy from over the way, who was suspected of not having board enough from his master; trying to hide himself behind the girl from next door but one, christmas carol theme essay who was proved to have had her ears pulled by her mistress. In they all came, one after another; some shyly, some boldly, some gracefully, some awkwardly, some pushing, some pulling; in they all came, any how and every how.

Ebenezer Scrooge is a clear example of someone who goes from a place of unhappiness and selfishness to a place of joy and appreciation for what he has. This story can remind us that, with the help of others, we can also make a positive change inour lives and in the lives of those around us.

Ebenezer Scrooge is known as a very selfish, stingy and cruel man. Scrooge runs his own business that provides him with lots of wealth but it’s his heart that never shows any goodness. His former business partner was Jacob Marley who died seven years ago in the novella. Although initially designed to help and support SEN students, the author soon found that all the students in the class wanted copies of the graphic sheets and benefited from using them. Many students find it difficult to remember what happened in a book and in what order, let alone to write a timed essay picking apart the intricacies of it. With this book, students will gain confidence in their knowledge before jumping into the deep end. The book brings an element of fun and informality to the study of this classic GCSE text, repackaging large amounts of complex information in an engaging and simple manner.

She laments that he will never love anything more than money. Scrooge goes home where he is visited by the ghost of his old business partner, Jacob Marley. Marley warns Scrooge of the fate he will suffer if he doesn’t change his ways. Before disappearing, Marley tells Scrooge that he will be visited by three other ghosts. We meet the main character, a miserable old man named Ebenezer Scrooge. He is a rich moneylender who, on Christmas Eve, is visited by his nephew Fred and two gentlemen collecting money for charity. Scrooge dismisses all of the visitors stating that he doesn’t care about Christmas and that the poor don’t deserve his charity since they only have themselves to blame.

christmas carol theme essay