ENGLISH: A CHRISTMAS CAROL PDF Free Download
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“Every person has a right to take care of themselves. He always did!”
How does Dickens show us that a selfish life is an unsatisfactory life?
In his gothic parable ‘A Christmas Carol’, Charles Dickens conveys a profound social message as
he recites the moral and spiritual revival of the “odious, stingy, hard, unfeeling” Ebenezer Scrooge.
Allegorical and didactic in nature, the text allows for Dickens’ confronting commentary on the need
for social reform in the Victorian era, a time characterised by class inequality and gross poverty. As
Scrooge receives each spirit, he faces a series of introspective journeys as he comes to realise that
his miserly ways have lead him to a life of worthlessness. Dickens’ message directly concerns those
symbolized by Scrooge himself, as he calls for an end to indifference towards the suffering of others
and for society to recognise the common humanity that we all share.
From the very beginning of the fable, Scrooge is introduced to the reader as a “covetous old sinner”,
a man who “edged his way along the crowded path of life, warning all human sympathy to keep its
distance”. In this early stave, Dickens has created Scrooge to represent industrial capitalism, and so
embodies him with the worst qualities of the Victorian era. Dickens is cautious not to portray
Scrooge as a villainous man, and although his views may be extreme, they are not beyond reason.
Through his use of allegorical contrasts, Dickens highlights the dire need for change in Scrooge’s
life and the depravity of his “tight fisted” ways. While Dickens equates Scrooge himself with
coldness, describing him as carrying “his own low temperature”, the generosity of others is often
accompanied by warmth, such as the shadow of Fezziwig’s ball, where “fuel was heaped upon the
fire”. Imagery such as Scrooge’s “melancholy dinner in his usually melancholy tavern” and his “very
small fire” emphasise the sense of isolation and sorrow caused by relentless greed, and invite the
reader to reprove of Scrooge’s lifestyle.
The visitation of Jacob Marley is the first supernatural occurrence within the novella, and is the first
time the reader is given a sense of Dickens intended direction. In life, Marley upheld the same
extreme values and beliefs as Scrooge, an important subtlety that shows to both Scrooge and the
reader the dire need for change and that there is “yet a chance and a hope” of Scrooge’s salvation.
Marley comes to represent the damnation that Scrooge faces because of his selfishness, describing
his fate as an “incessant torture of remorse”. Dickens employs the symbolism of Marley being
“captive, bound and double ironed” by a “ponderous chain”, in order to show the reader how a
fixation on material gain can ultimately weigh us down and disempower us. Dickens has tactfully
used Marley in order to directly deliver a message to his readership when Marley proclaims that
Scrooge’s real business is that of “charity, mercy, forbearance and benevolence”.
The second spirit, The Ghost of Christmas Present, is particularly relevant to Dickens message on
the importance of selflessness. Dickens depicts the spirit as the personification of generosity, and in
doing so constantly associates the “jolly Giant” with festivity and food, contrasting greatly with
Scrooge’s “melancholy dinner” of gruel. Throughout the novella food is connected with togetherness
and a warm reception as Dickens attempts to show how far a generous gesture can reach. When
sprinkling the Cratchit home, the spirit tells Scrooge that his blessing should go to “a poor one most”
because “it needs it the most”. In doing so, Scrooge is not only taught the importance of giving, but
Dickens is also able to focus on the responsibility of the wealthy to protect and support the
impoverished.
This moral lesson is the center of Dickens ambition with the text, as well as the redemption that
Scrooge seeks, a transformation that Dickens hopes will come to pass for all of society. This
becomes more and more prevalent as the Ghost of Christmas Present changes throughout the third
stave, where he once expressed a “cheery voice” and “unconstrained demeanor”, there is a drastic
tonal shift, as the dialog becomes increasingly prophetic and the spirit more critical of Scrooge.
Through his metaphorical analogy of the wealthy “Insect on the leaf” and the poor “hungry brothers
in the dust”, Dickens underlines the barbarity of the ‘upper class’ leaving the poor in destitution
when it is in their power to save them. However it is through Dickens personifications of Ignorance
and Want that his criticism of selfishness is most overtly shown. Described as “yellow, meagre” and
“wolfish”, the children are the most confronting feature of the novella, and the fact that “devils
lurked” within them contrasts with the benevolence we see in Tiny Tim, whose “childish essence
was from God”. They come to symbolise Dickens concern for the future generations of children,
who’s lives he believed would be devastated by the lack of education and poverty they are born into,
all driven by the greed incited by 19th century capitalism.
Dickens further depicts the consequences of selfishness in the coexistence of Scrooge and Bob
Cratchit, whose lives contrast so sharply the reader is provoked to compare them. As we hear from
the shadow of Belle, Scrooge was enslaved by his “one guiding principle”, leaving him to “weigh
everything by gain” and his views are reflected in the words of his eventual thief when she
emphasises everyone’s “right to take care of themselves”. However Bob Cratchit can be seen as the
moral opposite, winning the approval of both the audience and the narrative voice. Only earning
“fifteen shillings a week”, Bob is considered to have no desire for worldly gain, and places more
importance on upholding Christmas cheer despite having “a small pudding for a large family”. Bob’s
proximity to his large loving family, and determination to provide for them is juxtaposed against
Scrooge’s lack of connection with his merry and “glowing” nephew, Fred. Dickens provokes a sense
that there are different types of wealth, and that while Scrooge is prosperous with money, he is
consequently “as solitary as an oyster”, and his life is ironically “bare”, “melancholy” and ultimately
worthless. Dickens depicts Bob’s generosity, cheerfulness and love for his family to make his life
more desirable than Scrooges selfish existence, despite his extreme poverty.
While Dickens shows us the shortcomings of a self-centered life, he also strives to illustrate the
sense of fulfillment that can be achieved through generosity and Christmas spirit. Dickens strongly
associates both of these qualities with childhood, and his message that “it is good to be children
sometimes, and never better than at Christmas” is resonated through the narrative voice. This
strongly plays into Dickens positioning of Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim as the moral and emotional
heroes of the novella. While the kind and loving aspects of Bob would have been greatly favored by
a Victorian readership, Dickens also instills the light-hearted and playful qualities of childhood in
Bob, which we see when he travels home and goes “down a slide...twenty times, in honor of it being
Christmas eve”.
Dickens is eager to show that a man can simultaneously uphold his responsibilities towards both his
family and his profession, whilst still being able to celebrate and enjoy himself in a state of
childhood. Dickens suggests that returning to a childlike state of generosity and innocence is
important for occasions such as these, as most social barriers between groups are removed.
Dickens shows the importance of being close to our ‘inner child’ through The Ghost of Christmas
Past returning to Scrooge’s childhood in order to reawaken his emotional compassion. However, we
see that in being redeemed, Scrooge describes it as being “as merry as a school boy”, suggesting
that it was in discovering his ‘inner child’ that Scrooge was able to develop a care-free generosity
towards others.
While ‘A Christmas Carol’ tells the tale of a misers redemption in reconnecting himself with humanity
to become “as good a man, as the good old city knew”, Dickens timeless lesson on the dangers of
greed and selfishness are what elevates the novella to takes its place among the classics of
literature. Readers have continued to find motivation and admiration in a salvation of Scrooge for
over 150 years, and Dickens appeal to the human spirit will continue to find its way into the hearts of
readers for many more.
