A Christmas Carol Analysis- Morality.docx c5o5m

On my honor as a child of God, I state that I have not received unauthorized help with this assignment.

Assignment B: morality essay A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is about an aging, crude man named Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge was a cold, miserly business man whose attempt to avoid kindness and selflessness forms the arc of “A Christmas Carol”. Scrooge represented the rich who neglect the poor and think only of their own well-being. The motivation Dickens provided for Scrooge's character was his vision of himself as a young boy; ignored by his friends and neglected by his father. The young Scrooge seemed determined to live only for himself as he aged. He was not a moral man whatsoever. Scrooge was taken on an adventure through time to realize the true meaning of Christmas, he finds himself becoming less of the selfish, cold, miserable man he began as. At the beginning of the story, Scrooge was extremely selfish. When asked to donate money to poor children, he responded selfishly saying it would be better that they die, and decrease the surplus population. The first spirit showed Scrooge his past, and among the images of his past was a young lover of Scrooge’s, but she left him because of Scrooge’s lust for money. It was apparent that after being showed this, Scrooge regretted his decision of leaving her. Before the story progressed, Scrooge was a very cold man. He glared at people on the streets, he bumped into people without apologizing, and he was disrespectful towards his employee, Bob Cratchit. Scrooge showed little emotion

except anger, even towards his only nephew, who visited him on Christmas Eve. The nephew wished his uncle a Merry Christmas, only to have Scrooge respond with “Bah Humbug”. This started to change when Scrooge was showed by the second spirit the young Tiny Tim. Tiny Tim was an injured, sick boy who touched Scrooge’s heart. When asked if the boy would live, he was told that the boy would not if he continued on the path of poverty. Scrooge was surprisingly a very miserable man. He lived alone, worked alone in a cold environment, and had no friends. It seemed as if Scrooge had always wanted an unsociable life, but this is disproved when each of the spirits show him something that makes him regret his lonely life decisions. The last of the spirits showed Scrooge a grave, and realizing it was his own, begged for life. Suddenly, Scrooge no longer was miserable. He realized he could still have a happy life. When Scrooge woke up unharmed in his bed, he rejoiced with gladness and ran to his window. Realizing it was Christmas day, he ordered a turkey to be given to the Cratchit home. Scrooge decided to spend Christmas with his nephew, and his nephew happily accepted Scrooge into his home. Scrooge was no longer the selfish, cold, miserable man he started out as. He held true to his promise and honored Christmas with all his heart, and treated his fellow human beings with kindness, generosity, and warmth.

On my honor as a child of God, I state that I have not received unauthorized help with this assignment. Assignment A: Theme

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens has a theme that centers on the evils of greed, and loving those less fortunate than the rich. The story begins with Ebenezer Scrooge, a cold, mean business man who loathed Christmas and those who cherished it. Scrooge was visited by three spirits who showed him his previous life, his present life, and his future life. Scrooge learned that one must be able to guard against Want and Ignorance (revealed by the Ghost of Christmas Present) even in the most difficult situations. Scrooge found out that he was meant to die if he continued on his path of loneliness and hatred. It is never too late for a person like Scrooge to change their ways and improve the well-being of others by true charity. A Christmas Carol is a morality tale told through the medium of a traditional ghost story. Death was a very real part of the Victorian time frame - infant mortality such as the potential demise of Tiny Tim. Scrooge is an exaggeration of the fear of poverty that haunted many people who lived in that time period - to the extent that he places the accumulation of wealth over his own personal happiness and his childhood sweetheart, who left him because of his lust for money. We see from the spirit of Christmas past that Scrooge was once a happy boy who loved Christmas. This changed when he became wealthy. The tale ends with Scrooge realizing he must change his cruel ways, or face the consequences. The fate that awaits Scrooge is shown through the four phantoms, especially Marley, and the redemption which Scrooge undergoes gives the main theme of the tale.