Analysis and Themes of "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens

Questo appunto di Letteratura Inglese riguarda il racconto “A Christmas Carol” di Charles Dickens. L’appunto riassume la trama, descrive i personaggi principali e illustra i temi dell’opera.

“A Christmas Carol”: plot

“A Christmas Carol” is divided into five chapters. The book opens on a cold Christmas Eve in London. The protagonist is Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly old man who dislikes Christmas. He believes that Christmas is just an excuse for people to miss work and for idle people to expect handouts. He doesn't believe in the good cheer and charity that the season promotes, and he makes sure everyone knows it. Scrooge refuses a Christmas dinner invitation from his jolly nephew Fred and he turns away two men who asks him for a donation to help the poor. That night, Scrooge goes to bed early. He is visited by the ghost of his former business associate, Jacob Marley, a man who was as greedy and cold as Scrooge is. Marley warns Scrooge that if he continues to live so selfishly, he will be very unhappy and he tells him that three spirits will come to visit his house. Ebenezer falls asleep and wakes up to find the Ghost of Christmas Past. The Ghost shows him scenes from his past that reveal Scrooge’s lonely childhood, his relationship with his beloved sister Fan, who died while giving birth to Fred, and a Christmas party organized by his first employer, Mr. Fezziwig, who treated him like a son. Scrooge had a girlfriend, Belle, who broke up with him when she realized that he would never love her as much as he loved money. The Ghost shows Scrooge Belle’s large, happy family on the Christmas Eve that Marley died. When Scrooge hears Belle’s description of the man he has become, he becomes upset and asks the Ghost to leave Belle’s house. Then, the Ghost of Christmas Present arrives and shows Scrooge several current scenes of Christmas joy and charity. They also visit Fred’s Christmas party and the Cratchit household. Bob Cratchit is Scrooge’s overworked and underpaid clerk. The Ghost informs Scrooge that Cratchit’s young son, Tiny Tim, who is seriously ill, will die because his family can’t afford treatments. Subsequently, the silent, black-dressed Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come visits Scrooge. He shows Ebenezer several scenes of people discussing someone's death; he finally discovers that he is the one who has died and whose death has only pleased people. Scrooge awakes on Christmas morning a new man. He becomes jolly, charitable and friendly with everybody. He makes a generous donation to the charity he rejected the previous day, he sends a turkey to Cratchit’s family for Christmas dinner and goes to Fred’s Christmas party. The following day, he increases Cratchit’s salary and begins to become a fatherly figure to Tiny Tim. From then on, Scrooge treats everyone with kindness and generosity.

“A Christmas Carol”: Character list

The main characters of "A Christmas Carol" are:

• Ebenezer Scrooge: he is the greedy owner of a London counting-house, a nineteenth century word for an accountant's office. The three spirits of Christmas visit him hoping to reverse Scrooge's cold-hearted approach to life.
• Bob Cratchit: he is Scrooge's clerk, a kind, calm, and poor man with a large family. Even though he is treated harshly by his employer, Cratchit remains a humble and hardworking employee.
• Tiny Tim: he is Bob Cratchit's young son, crippled from birth. Dickens uses this character to highlight the plight of the poor in Victorian society and to arouse sympathy from his middle and upper class readers.
• Jacob Marley: he was Scrooge’s business partner, who died seven years before the narrative opens. He appears to Scrooge as a ghost condemned to wander the world bound in heavy chains. Marley hopes to save Scrooge from suffering a similar fate.
• The Ghost of Christmas Past: he is the first ghost to visit Scrooge, a childlike spirit with a glowing head. He uses a cap to dampen the light emanating from his head. He takes Scrooge on a tour of Christmases in his past.
• The Ghost of Christmas Present: he is the second spirit to visit Scrooge, a giant wearing a green robe. His lifespan is restricted to Christmas Day. He takes Scrooge on a tour of his contemporaries' Christmas celebrations.
• The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come: he is third and final spirit to visit Scrooge, a silent ghost wearing a hooded black robe. He shows Scrooge his lonely death.
• Fred: he is Scrooge's nephew, a cheerful man who loves Christmas. Every year, he invites Scrooge to his Christmas party, but his invitation is always refused by his uncle.

“A Christmas Carol”: themes

“A Christmas Carol” deals with the following main themes:

• Past, present and future: the three ghosts visit Scrooge to show him how he is living sinfully and what the consequences will be if he doesn’t change his approach to life. The reader follows Scrooge in his journey through his past, present and future.
• Family: Scrooge has a nephew, Fred, who wants to celebrate Christmas with him, but every time Fred invites him to his Christmas dinner he refuses. This moment shows how Scrooge makes choices to continue living in misery. In the story, cold and loneliness are in opposition to the warmth of family; cruel Scrooge chooses to live alone, whereas poor Cratchit is rich in family.
• Greed and generosity: Scrooge is a caricature of a greedy and mean man. He spends all day in his counting house, he keeps his house in darkness to save money and at the beginning of the story he refuses to donate money to charity. However, he is the most impoverished character, as he is lacking love, warmth and the spirit of Christmas. Throughout the story, Scrooge becomes aware of his misery, he understands the meaning of goodness and rediscovers his own generosity; he even becomes a symbol of Christmas in the end.

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