So much of today has come from this story, ideas and thoughts and
customs that permeate this season. A book written over 150 years
ago still resonates with us. An undisputed classic from a master
storyteller.
It is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
Concepts that are a part of our life around us are created and
espoused here by Dickens. Scrooge. Tiny Tim. The Ghosts. We all
remember these bits and parts and what they represent to us. A
Scrooge is a miserly person turned good. A Tiny Tim is a hopeful
cripple who must be cured. And the Ghosts will show us the way to
betterment. These have become part of the DNA of Christmas.
And in 1843 he created what many consider his greatest story ever.
When he found himself in debt, he created A Christmas Carol to be
serialized in a newspaper. It became an immediate critical and
commercial success. Something we all remember to this day. Was
Dickens the Rowling of the time?
The story of A Christmas Carol is simple and straightforward.
Ebenezer Scrooge is a horrible, miserable old man with a nasty,
hateful outlook on live. His long suffering employee Bob Cratchit
is poor and has to provide for his large family. The youngest is
Tiny Tim, afflicted with some ailment and probably dying. Scrooge
has the means to save Tiny Tim but no intention.
Henceforth on Christmas Eve, he is visited by four ghosts who try
to change Scrooge's ways. Marley, his old deceased business partner
provides the warning. The Ghost of Christmas Past makes him see
where he came from and what tragedies created his woeful existence.
The Ghost of Christmas Present has Scrooge witness the currents
events surrounding his nephew, old love, and Cratchit. The Ghost of
Christmas Future brings the doom and gloom of an evil time to come,
with multiple deaths played out.
And at the climax, Scrooge must changed his ways in order to change
destiny. Does he? I am reasonably sure everyone knows the ending,
but I will not spoil it here. Even for a classic almost 170 years
old.
A wide range of issues are raised by A Christmas Carol. Should the
rich help the poor? Or, is being poor your own fault, which is
Scrooge's position at the start of the story. Does every decision
you make have consequences? Scrooge only seems to live in the
moment with no thought of the repercussions. Is what's done is done
with no fixing past mistakes? Scrooge does not view them as
mistakes. He is a solid wall of unbending, unyielding ignorance of
his own thoughts and actions. That character trait raises the most
important question of all, can someone change?
Which means, at its core, A Christmas Carol is about Scrooge being
a target for redemption. He is a nasty evil rich man who must
change to save a poor little boys life. The Ghosts can say and do
many, many things, take him to all sorts of places and times, but
the ultimate decision of his fate is in Scrooge's hands. Destiny
versus Chance. In this journey, Chance is shown to be the more
powerful force. Everything rests on Scrooge seeing the errors of
his ways. The Ghosts can only lead him so far.
This is an intervention on the cosmic level. Incredible
supernatural power is expensed in order to reach this goal to
change Scrooge, with no guarantee of success. God has assembled
this magical apparatus and employs it as a tool for change, but
still has left the final loophole of free will. If you choose to
still be evil, you can, but God still has the option of taking you
off the chessboard.
So basically Dickens was saying the following. You have free will,
can make bad choices, but can still make good. And you get a
multitude of openings to do this. Also, be nice to others while on
this mortal plain. Since we are all in this together. And God is
looking out for us.
Is it any wonder A Christmas Carol has become a Christmas
Classic?
The magic of this story is so wonderful and the ideas so beautiful,
it does not surprise me it has become one of my favourites. Add to
this the amazing power of Dickens writing. From descriptions that
make you believe in Ghosts to situations that make you want to hug
Scrooge, the reader gets swept up in the journey. Victorian London
in every time period is all around you. I want to reach out and
touch the cobblestones, eat the food, and clutch the precious coal.
The man is a genius.
And it is a journey worth taking and enriching your life with.
Charles Dickens gave us as humanity a present with A Christmas
Carol. And I am extremely happy he did. Thank you Mr. Dickens, and
A Merry Christmas To You!
And Merry Christmas And God Bless Us, Every One!
Scoopriches