A Soul Scared to Change- a Take on "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens
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- Category: English: Novels
- Date Submitted: 02/11/2011 06:10 PM
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A Soul Scared to Change
Upon hearing the word “Christmas”, what comes to mind? Is it the chilling winds, cheerful carolers, or the adrenaline that pumps through ones veins as the vibrant paper is stripped off a mysterious box? In A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, Ebenezer Scrooge, a gloomy hateful man, thinks of Christmas in only one way; that wretched time of year when false merriment is proclaimed to make one feel better about them. The story takes place in the late 19th century in London, England where a bitter, cold-hearted man, Scrooge, denies all of the joy from the “giving time of year”. It is not until he is visited by three ghosts that his façade begins to fade, and he begins to feel true happiness. Dickens shows that with enough faith, any man can change from a misanthrope into a kind, peace-making man, being only a positive influence.
Scrooge’s heart was as cold as the winter snow. He didn’t care about helping others or making Christmas a joy for them. Therefore, when charity men came to ask for a small shilling of a donation for the poor, Scrooge whisked them away, not wanting to contribute anything for the unfortunate. Any man who’s heart is content with knowing that there are people out there with nothing on their backs or in their stomachs is a sad excuse for a human being. Then, as cheerful carolers came to spread Christmas cheer, Scrooge threatened them violently with a ruler, and watched them scurry off. No singing could melt his frozen heart. Even the narrator calls Scrooge a “…tightfisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner!” (Dickens 2) To illustrate this, his nephew, Fred, begged his uncle to come have dinner with his struggling family, but in reply, Scrooge said, “Merry Christmas! What right have you to be merry? What reason have you to be merry? You’re poor enough” (5). In the beginning, the old, bitter man with a chip on his shoulder had no remorse or love for...
Upon hearing the word “Christmas”, what comes to mind? Is it the chilling winds, cheerful carolers, or the adrenaline that pumps through ones veins as the vibrant paper is stripped off a mysterious box? In A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, Ebenezer Scrooge, a gloomy hateful man, thinks of Christmas in only one way; that wretched time of year when false merriment is proclaimed to make one feel better about them. The story takes place in the late 19th century in London, England where a bitter, cold-hearted man, Scrooge, denies all of the joy from the “giving time of year”. It is not until he is visited by three ghosts that his façade begins to fade, and he begins to feel true happiness. Dickens shows that with enough faith, any man can change from a misanthrope into a kind, peace-making man, being only a positive influence.
Scrooge’s heart was as cold as the winter snow. He didn’t care about helping others or making Christmas a joy for them. Therefore, when charity men came to ask for a small shilling of a donation for the poor, Scrooge whisked them away, not wanting to contribute anything for the unfortunate. Any man who’s heart is content with knowing that there are people out there with nothing on their backs or in their stomachs is a sad excuse for a human being. Then, as cheerful carolers came to spread Christmas cheer, Scrooge threatened them violently with a ruler, and watched them scurry off. No singing could melt his frozen heart. Even the narrator calls Scrooge a “…tightfisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner!” (Dickens 2) To illustrate this, his nephew, Fred, begged his uncle to come have dinner with his struggling family, but in reply, Scrooge said, “Merry Christmas! What right have you to be merry? What reason have you to be merry? You’re poor enough” (5). In the beginning, the old, bitter man with a chip on his shoulder had no remorse or love for...