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Analyse how A Christmas Carol constructs meaning, conveys ideas
and values, and is open to a
range of interpretations.
Although Dickens story is entertaining, even enthralling, it is
mainly intended to educate. Discuss.
The novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is a story of
misanthropy, greed and
servitude, juxtaposed by benevolence, selflessness and laughter.
The tale is about a man named
Scrooge, a man so misanthropic, detached and in ravenous
repugnance with society that no
warmth can warm, nor wintery weather chill him. Dickens
constructs the character of Scrooge to
appear as the metaphor for the epitome of selfishness, Scrooge,
through damning acts and
descriptions is made to appear (without exaggeration) as the
antichrist. The novella A Christmas
Carol is intended by Dickens to not only captivate the reader,
enthral and entertain them but also
to educate them. Educate them on the values Dickens holds in
such high regard, educate them as
to the plight of the masses, and in-so-doing rid the reader
ofall Ignorance (ofWant). A
Christmas Carol is open to a range of interpretations, the
reader can be bought in and enthralled by
the tale of this miserly character Scrooge, connect with the
Cratchits and rejoice at the
transformation of Scrooge, and view the novella as rich and
educational. Or the reader can
disregard all of Dickens lessons and view the novella as nothing
more than fiction, and believe
themselves above Dickens and his wisdom/lessons.
No man is an island and this is why Dickens uses juxtaposition
to create a sense of transformation
and comparison (to/for Scrooge), without said juxtaposition,
without said change and
transformation, Scrooge would indeed be an island, a very lonely
and greedy island. Scrooge is
described as a misanthropic, covetous old sinner, a man without
benevolence and filled with
greed. Without juxtaposition to Scrooges antichrist like
behaviour, the reader would be left with
a hollow tale, a tale without chance for redemption, education
and revitalisation. For this reason,
Freds family, the Cratchit family, the lighthouse family, the
mining family, the Fezziwigs and the
portly gentlemen are presented in such a favourable light,
whenever they are mentioned, they are
mentioned in conjunction with ruddy faces, laughter and light.
The use of contrast and
juxtaposition by Dickens, works to enthral and entertain the
reader, whilst bestowing on them the
knowledge of Dickens and educating them as to the plights of
poor, the plights of the greedy and to
the successes and happiness of the poor, in contrast to the
miserly, sinful and misanthropicnature of Scrooge. An almost
impregnable barrier exists between Scrooge and the needy, this
barrier though psychological, is reinforced by Scrooges greed
and Ignorance of Want, reinforced
until the houses he passes are mere phantoms and the fog so
thick and engulfing that his
Ignorance of Want cannot be dispelled without divine
intervention (The Ghosts).
Dickens, from Marleys reappearance to the fifth stave, provides
lessons and seeks to educate
Scrooge on why he must change, why he has a responsibility as an
employer to his employee and the
degree to which he can make happy or make sad those around him.
Dickens primary goal in
telling the tale of Scrooge and A Christmas Carol is to educate
his readers as to the plight of the
poor and to do this; Dickens presents Scrooge with divine
intervention, in the shape of threeGhosts. These Ghosts being; The
Ghost of Christmas Past, The Ghost of Christmas Present, and
The
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Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. All three Ghosts, along with
Marley and his tales of a rapture like
existence after death, come with the purpose of educating
Scrooge, educating him as to the error of
his ways and educating him as to the plights of the poor and the
plights of mankind. If Scrooge and
all others (meaning the reader/s) do not rid themselves of the
fog which engulfs and deceives
them, do not recognise and seek to fix the strife of the poor
and dispel themselves of Ignorance of
Want, Dickens warns them of the doom that will surely follow.
The first Ghost to appear to
Scrooge, is that of Marley, a man venomously described in the
opening pages of the novella as a
man as dead as a doornail, confirmed dead by such a degree so as
to make this encounter all the
stranger. In life Marley was Scrooges business partner and a man
presumably as miserly,
misanthropic and greedy as his partner. In death, Marley is a
remorseful, educational, doomsayer,
he bestows Scrooge to change and warns him of all that will
follow if he does not. Next comes The
Ghost of Christmas Past, a Ghost who illustrates to Scrooge, the
plights he himself fought through,
the happiness he once had, and the responsibility of employers
to their employees. The Ghost avails
and reveals to Scrooge the hardships he went through as a child,
the benevolence and caring nature
of his sister Fran and his first employer, Mr Fezziwig and the
beginnings of his downfall, when hisgreed first started to rear its
ugly head. The Ghost of Christmas Past takes Scrooge back to
the
break-up between him and his fianc, a time that marks the
beginnings of his greed. When his
fianc notes that the contract between Scrooge and she is an old
one, one made when they were
poor and content to be so, and how his eyes are now filled with
avarice and greed, Scrooge
begins to realise the error of his ways. The Ghost of Christmas
Past reteaches to Scrooge lessons he
has forgot, and helps him on his way to becoming whole again.
Next The Ghost of Christmas Present
seeks to educate Scrooge as to the plights of others, the
plights of Tiny Tim, the Cratchits and the
poor. Scrooge is introduced to the wolfish children Ignorance
and Want, two children who
personify all that his wrong with the world in Dickens eyes.
Dickens is again making a comment on
society and how if people are allowed to remain ignorant to the
want and need of others, doom will
surely follow. Finally The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come
concludes the lessons with the foreboding
of Scrooges unlamented death, a lesson that does not go unheeded
and depending on the readers
interpretation, the most pivotal and powerful lesson, and the
one that changes Scrooge.
The lessons of Dickens are concluded with the dispelling of the
fog, the redemption of Scrooge
and the education of Scrooge as to the error of his ways. Once
the last Ghost leaves and Scrooge is
allowed to resume his life, he immediately emits a laugh, a
laugh which is said to be the father of
a great many laughs to come. This signals his transformation
from a misanthropic, greedy man to
that of a giving and generous one. This is ratified and
strengthened with his giving of the largest
turkey available to the Cratchit family, a family whom relies on
Scrooges paychecks to Bob, to live
and the promise of the raising of Bob Cratchits wages.
Dickens tale, though enthralling and entertaining, is intended
to educate. The story is a social
commentary on the need for the wealthy to help the poor, for
Ignorance to be dispelled and
Want acknowledged and gotten rid of. A story told by Dickens
that makes use of juxtaposition,
metaphors and contrast, so as to enthral the reader and teach
them the lessons that he (Dickens),
holds in such high regard.
