A Christmas Carol Text Response
A Christmas Carol’
Topic: ‘Charles Dickens presents a warning to society through his novella ‘A Christmas Carol’. Discuss.
Fictional stories, although based upon make-believe tales, can often expose the truth behind an author’s personal views and ideals, as well as act as powerful tools to present social messages and warnings to readers across many generations. ‘A Christmas Carol’, written by Charles Dickens, is a novella in which social inequality is highlighted through the journey of a notorious miser during the Victorian era in Britain. Throughout this morality tale, Dickens presents a warning to society through his ‘social commentary’ which centres on how society has become too self-absorbed and greedy in their ways. Dickens warns his readers that money and materialistic possessions should not take precedence over empathy and compassion towards others. This is portrayed through the journey and transformation of the novella’s protagonist, Ebenezer Scrooge.
Ebenezer Scrooge is a misanthropic moneylender who is introduced as an extremely self-absorbed man with a callous attitude towards poverty. Relatively well-off, Scrooge demonstrates his refusal to assist those nine need and his egotistical personality seems to be the focal point throughout the first stave. This is portrayed through Scrooge’s reaction towards the ‘portly gentlemen’ asking for a donation to fund the poor. “It’s not my business…It’s enough for a man to understand his own business and not to interfere with other people’s. Mine occupies me constantly.” This is an example of how Dickens emphasizes Scrooges lack of empathy towards others in an effort to warn readers of how not to live and focus oneself on personal gain. On a broader symbolic scale, Scrooge represents the many wealthy businessmen of industrial Britain who have cut themselves off from humanity to become fixated with personal gain and wealth. By doing this, Dickens is focusing in on the many wealthy businessmen of his time and
Topic: ‘Charles Dickens presents a warning to society through his novella ‘A Christmas Carol’. Discuss.
Fictional stories, although based upon make-believe tales, can often expose the truth behind an author’s personal views and ideals, as well as act as powerful tools to present social messages and warnings to readers across many generations. ‘A Christmas Carol’, written by Charles Dickens, is a novella in which social inequality is highlighted through the journey of a notorious miser during the Victorian era in Britain. Throughout this morality tale, Dickens presents a warning to society through his ‘social commentary’ which centres on how society has become too self-absorbed and greedy in their ways. Dickens warns his readers that money and materialistic possessions should not take precedence over empathy and compassion towards others. This is portrayed through the journey and transformation of the novella’s protagonist, Ebenezer Scrooge.
Ebenezer Scrooge is a misanthropic moneylender who is introduced as an extremely self-absorbed man with a callous attitude towards poverty. Relatively well-off, Scrooge demonstrates his refusal to assist those nine need and his egotistical personality seems to be the focal point throughout the first stave. This is portrayed through Scrooge’s reaction towards the ‘portly gentlemen’ asking for a donation to fund the poor. “It’s not my business…It’s enough for a man to understand his own business and not to interfere with other people’s. Mine occupies me constantly.” This is an example of how Dickens emphasizes Scrooges lack of empathy towards others in an effort to warn readers of how not to live and focus oneself on personal gain. On a broader symbolic scale, Scrooge represents the many wealthy businessmen of industrial Britain who have cut themselves off from humanity to become fixated with personal gain and wealth. By doing this, Dickens is focusing in on the many wealthy businessmen of his time and